Alternative Approaches to Teaching Chemical Information Retrieval George Gorin Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078 This article oresents a series of librar, exercises designed to give students experience in using bbth the printcd-and mhne computer versions of Chemical Ahstrorts (CAI and in preparing a review of original research papers. This approach is an alternative to one presented earlier (1)that used different exercises. Both approaches reflect my belief that the best way of learning information retrieval is to practice it. The last section of the paper discusses some alternative ways to offer the desired instruction and discusses the exercises in the context of recommendations made by the Committee on Professional Training (Cm)of the American Chemical Society (21, with a model syllabus for a course which fulfills them. In the exercises, students select topics according to their interests. Then they do a systematic search for recent pertinent documents. Finalk they write a critical review based on those documents. The greatest merit of this approach is that students gain both the experience of searching and some advanced knowledge of a subject. To do these exercises properly, the students must have access to a fairly large library. However, with some modification, the essential part of the exercises is kept even ifthe library resources are limited; this alternative is discussed below. The First and the Last Exercise There are five exercises, and the last is described first because the students must keep it in mind as they select their topics. If necessary, their choice may be changed or refmed later, but the exercises proceed more smoothlyif the right choice is made a t the beginning. Exercise 5 The studentswrite an essay ofabout 1500 words, entitled "Recent Advances in [Their Selected Topic]". The essays are in the style of a critical review and cite 12-15 primary documents, preferably published in the last 12-18 months. The discussion should explicate the development of the subject in a logical manner. To fulfill this assignment, the scope of the topic must be carefully considered. Students with topics that are tw narrow will not find the requisite number of documents, and, if the topic is too broad, the essay will not cover it adequately A good approach is to find an existing review, preferably two to five years old, that can be used as a reference and for information. Ideallv. 20-40 of the references rired in the review should have L e n published in the urecedinr! triennium: if not. thc student should adiust the ;cope of
