the chemical information instructor
editec by
ARLEENSOMERVILLE Carison Library University of Rochester Rochester,NY 14627
Undergraduate Instruction in Online Searching of Chemical Abstracts Jerry A. Jenkins Otterbein College, Weste~ille,OH 43081 Historically, the instruction of our students in the methodologies of systematic retrieval of specific information from the printed chemical literature has paralleled that of the majority of other departments: (1)rather than offering a formal course encompassing the whole of chemical literature, some coordinated instruction of information retrieval is presented in the context of courses primarily devoted to other topics. That is, students in general chemistry are taught the organization of and the strategies to search ChemicalAbstracts (CAI; as they progress to organic chemistry, they are then exposed to the journals, treatises, compilations, handbooks, ete. of that area. The specialized literature of other subdisciplines is, thus, presented as they advance through the curriculum. Our aovroach to instruction in online information retrieval, however, has resulted in more formal packaging. In 1980. recomizina that it was becoming increasingly importantfor o;r s t d e n t s to he comfortable with accessing computer-interactive files in general, and as an approach to addressing the complexity of information retrieval due to the expansive growth in chemical literature in particular, we established a specific one-quarter hour elective course (Computer-AssistedSearching of the Chemical Literature) available to junior or senior chemistry majors. A central premise in creating this offeringwas our belief that undergraduates should learn to conduct their own searches, rather than having them performed by a faculty member or information specialist. At that time, only the capability to search a bibliographic and index database (CA Search) through non-ACS vendors was available. In 1982 the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board of Directors approved an experimental program offering CAS ONLINE a t reduced rates to six U. S. schools, ours included. to determine (1)whether this database could be used ekectively in teachjng and (2, the extent to which colleees would use CAS ONLINE for ~nstmctionalvurvoses (2i In response to the enthusiastic results of thii Lperiment, the ACS established in January 1984 a n academic subscription poliey to CAS ONLINE that has evolved into t h e current Academic Plan. Incorvoration of CAS ONLINE'S Chemical Registry File into bur course now allowed us to teach searchim techniques for (sub)structurd information. Later t h a t y e a r STN International was formed, providing us a single vendor of databases that enabled u s to teach retrieval of bibliographic, index, (suh)structural, and abstract information through inexpensive learning files (LCA and LREG) for CAS ONLINE. ~~~
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Presented in part at the STN International User Meeting, held in conjunction with the American Chemical Society National Meeting. Atlanta, GA, 18 April 1991.
Recognizing t h e ACS Committee on Professional Training's desire "that students gain some experience with online interactive computer files" (3),we subsequently removed the course from elective status and incorporated it into the fvst term of a required three-term senior seminar course (two-quarter hours credit). It is the purpose of this article to discuss the way we currently teach undergraduates to search CA online. Objectives The objectives are to familiarize students, through direct, hands-on experience, with the content, design, and scope of several online databases; to teach them what types of questions can be asked of the system and how to develop and format basic search strategies that lead to ,complete and relevant answer sets. It is not our goal that they become fully proficient with a retrieval system. Although students are restricted to learning files in this course, the latter serves as a prelude to two more terms of seminar during which they may use the full FILE CA or REG to research topics for oral presentation or prepare term papers. Materials The evolution of instructional materials has kept pace, fortunatelv. with the advancements in user-friendliness of the searclkg software. Earlier manuals, while laudable for their efforts, appeared somewhat overwhelming in technical jargon (4a) to students less than inclined on becoming information specialists, or presented a too problem-solving approach without first developing a more systematic search stratew -" (46). Conseauentlv. .. the bulk of classtlme was devoted to lectures and explanations of considerable amounts of additional handout mformation. Publication of Searching STN: The Basics (51, including the companion instructor's Notes teaching guide, however, has nicely addressed these concerns. We have used this resource for teaching online searching of CA for two years now and believe it to be the best tool currently available. The series of five lesson booklets can be largely self-taught, freeing valuable classtime for clarification of reading assignments, discussion of homework, and presentation of selected handouts. Each lesson booklet can be covered in two 50-min class periods, thereby filling all 10 periods of the term. Appreciative of the statement "copying of material from this publication for educational purposes is encouraged," found on the title page of each booklet, we photocopied Searching STN: The Basics, making it available for students a t cost ($12 versus $50 from STN). Additional reference materials such as the CA Index Guide, Using CAS ONLINE: The Registry File Vol. ZZ A, B, and STN ZnVolume 69 Number 8 August 1992
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ternational: A Guide to Commands and Databases were available in the library.
Lesson 2 -Subject Words The Basics
Course Structure The itemization below gives an indication of the primary content of each of the fi;e lesson booklets, supp6mengl material presented, and homework assigned. The Basics refer to concepts covered in the booklets. Supplements list a variety of additional topics intended to mund out, reinforce, o; expand upon f i e Basics; generally, numerous handouts of material drawn fmm workshops, user dommentation, STN Technical Notes, STNews updates, etc., were distributed. Assignments were selected from the ~racticeoroblems at the end of each lesson. Each student &as al1ol;ed one hour per week of online searching during times consistent with the Academic Plan and was restricted to the lower-wst static training fdes, LCA (about 64,500 rewrds fmm eight issues of the eighth through 11th Collective Indexes, and references from LCASREACT (1987-1988)) and LREG (about 124.600 records for substances indexed in LCA). Except for.the exercises in Lessons 4a and 4b. all others were easily searchable within 30 minutes of online time; therefore, students were encouraged to use the remaining time to search other unassigned exercises or topics of individual interest. Bevond the first. each class ~eriodwas divided into sessions for homework review, lecture on new material, and discussion of supdemental handouts. The aceompanvine Answers to practice Problems booklets were placed on closed reserve in the library aRer homework assignments were due. Therefore, homework discussions could be contained easily, allowng for overhead projections of many of the same searches done bv the instructor on the full FILE CAor FILE REG, therebyexposing the students some of the problems encountered in real-world searching. The first session began with a review of the organization and searchine of orinted CA and an introduction to online ~earchinithrdu~h STN, including a sample search demonstration. At the conclusion of the wurse a written final examination was given.
Implied proximity operator (W). Use of parentheses with Boolean operators. '!"and# wild cards, system limits. DISPLAY SAM versus SCAN. Finding review articles. Abstract text searchine UAB). Document tme index (/DT). Query refinement.-CA~Standard %breuiations. faSTNotes on Combining Search Terms.
Lesson 1 -Author and Organizational Names The Basics
Major Messenger commands: FILE (CA versus LCA), SEARCH, DISPLAY (BIB versus CBIB). Basic Index versus specialized indexes (e.g., /AU, ICS). Query syntax. Online search aids (EXPAND). Boolean operators (AND, OR). Combinine answer sets. author and comDanv searches. "?" wild c a r d ~ ~ i sdefiult ~ l a ~option versis &tomized formats. Crossover to other fdes (CAPREVIEWS, BIOSIS). Hit-term highlighting. DISPLAY HISTORY and HELP commands. faSTNotes on Searchine for Authors/Com~anv Names.
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Course syllabus. Info on printed CA. Current pricing structure of STN. STN database summary sheets for FILES CA, LCA, REG, LREG. Steps for conducting effective online searches. Sample record from FILE CAshowine searchable fields (biblio&aphic, abstract, index) and defi; ine codes (ex.. AN.. TI.. 1.0.. IT.. etc.,. Loaodloaoff - -Dmd e h e s . hgi&l/ password. Assignments Retrieve papers (1)by Hiroyuki Ohara; (2) by H. Naarmann and Volker Miinch: (3) bv Kenneth Mackenzie about mullite; (4) on polycarbonatesFrom General Electric; (5)onimaeineat 3M:(61about DuPont researchoncoatine.. materials.Journal of Chemical Education
Search terms in the Basic Index--sources of words. Keywords versus index terms. Controlled versus natural language vocabulary (e.g., results of searching PLASMA versus PLASWCVversus BLOOD PLASMAICV. Use of CAS Index Guide. Truncation/ character masking. Limitations of Boolean operators. More on proximity operators (results of searching SHALE [(W) versus (A)versus (L)1OIL versus SHALE AND OIL). Other searchable fields (e.g., /LA, /PY, ISC, /SO). Sectional coverage of five fields. Assignments Find citations on (1)work by Sumitomo Electric Industries. Ltd. on fiber optics: (2) conversion of oreanic waste to of gas chrom~ographycolgasoline; (3) pmpe; umns: (4) com~ositionof a stick antiperspirant or deodor. . ant; ( 5 ) applications of chromatography to monitor wine quality; (6)patentson the disposal of radioactive waste; (7) patenis on hydrndesulfurizaiion catalysts: (8) by 3M on making fibers waterproof. Lesson 3 -Specific Chemical Substances The Basics
Searching for substances by complete name UCN). F i d ing regist+ numbers (~N'sjonli'e. Command stacking. Text structure display. Handline special nomenclature symbols (Greek letters, parentheses, primes, brackets). Searching for substances by molecular formulas (IMF), limitations of. Hill system. Dot-disconnected formulas for salts, coordination compounds, mixtures, etc. RN's as search terms. Retrievine ore~arationsof substances. faSTNofes for Finding CSl&$stry Numbers Using Comolete Chemical Names and Usine CAS Reeistrv " Numbers hFile Crossover Searches.
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Supplements Combining molecular formula with name fragment searches. Assignments
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Supplements
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Supplements
Find RN's for (1)y,y-dimethylallyl alcohol; (2) N,N'dimethylbarbituric acid; (3) three forms of copper bromide; (4) 1,3-dimethyl-ui-indole; (5) all Lexans; (6) ICF2CF2CF2CF2CF(CF3)CFa; (7) wmpound a labeled anywhere with four deuteriums. (8) Retrieve references for the preparation of the pesticide b. (9) Has triethylene glycol been used in antifreeze?
Supplements Refining your search-using bond values. Demonstration on building and searching stmctures with STN Express (6).
Assignments Retrieve references (1)from S. Illinois U. on h (any other substitution allowed, no ring fusion); (2) for i (X = any halogen, R1 = H, C1, Me, OMe = H, C1, Me, OMe, OEt). (3) Perform two and substructure searches on j, one specifying t h e amide bond as N, t h e other as SE.
Observations
The Strengths of Using Searching STN: The Basics Speedy entry into effective searching. At the end of the first ~eriod,students are prepared to conduct author searches. .User-friendly searches. Detailed discussion of ahstracting policy and technical jargon are avoided at this intmductory level. 'Pedagogical advantages. Freauent reviews or summaries in the middle or end of lessons are IS ut~llzed presented. Repct~t~on ~ffectlvelyand new stratcglca arr backcd up wth numerous examples. The search-and-discov"0 N(~.sE) ery method (EXPAND, SEARCH, DISPLAY) is stressed as the best approach to query refinement. Ample practice problems, usuall",~~ with a tareet number of ansuers kqven, that can bc searched in the learning files are found at the end ofcach lessnn. The Innhwtor'uNotps are helpful in pmvidina, fir a n y particular useful teachingpoints, and pospage, statements of sible transitions to the next page. Especially beneficial to the students are faSI1Votes. condensed cribsheet strateeies - that serve a s quick references while preparing or executing seanhes. Flexibility. Students can gain cansiderable practical searching ability simply by reading the haaklets on their own. Yet the opportunity readily exists for the instructor (as noted by the supplemental information outlined above) to modify the level of detail ureaented. *Cost-rffcetive searches. Continual encouragement to use EXPAND to verify the existence of terms before searching. the use of wild cards" to reduce search terms, and SCAN (free) to analyze results illustrate this point. Inexpensive training. Learning files permit inexpensive training of students. Based upon the Academic Plan and 10 hours of searching time on either LCA or LREG, the cost per student to the department is about $30. Effective January 1992 online charges for those learning files were reduced 50%, thereby bringing the cost down to about $15 per student.
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Lesson 4a -Specific Chemical Substances Using Chemical Structures The Basics C o m m a n d s for b u i l d i n g s t r u c t u r e s b y t e x t i n p u t GRAPH (R. C). BOND (U. DE. N. mnthnd: . . . .....-. STRIJCTURE. .- --~ - - . -~~~ etc.), NODE, END. Searching on thd'basis of'st'ruct& Dmcess (screen. iterative).. t w e s (EXACT. FAMILY. closed substructure, substructure), scope (sample versus full). Variable nodes (svstem versus user-defined). Shortcut s y m b o l s . DELE:?E, MOVE, RECALL c o m m a n d s . fnSTNotes on Building and Searchine Structures-a Sum;nary and Shortcuts ~ i a i l a b l for e ~ t k c t u r Building. e
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Supplements More on structure building commands.
Assignments (1)Perform a n EXACT search on c to find its RN. (2) Find t h e RN then r u n a FAMILY search on d. (3) Retrieve references by Edward M. Arnett on e. (4) Find bibliographic referenms on f, where R is OH o r COOH. ( 5 ) Find bibliographic references on g,where R i s H o r C1.
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Lesson 4b Specific Chemical Substances Using Chemical Structures (Continued) The Basics Substructure searching (SSS). Attribute commands: RSPEC (I)and NSPEC (R, RC). DISPLAY SATISIA. Use of RN i n STRU to build a structure. Normalized bonds (N versus DE or SE versus D o r E). Tautomers - contmlling extent of substitution on amides, acids, etc.
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Copies of t h e course syllabus and final exam a r e available from t h e author.
Literature Cited 1.somewille.AN. J. Chem Inf Cornput. Sci. 1986,314423. 2. Chemical Abstrads Seavie.CAS Report 15 1984, M . 3. CommitteeofPm(easiondTraining,AmeticanC h e m i d SoeietyUnder@duate Rofeasionai Education in ChemirtR: Gvidelines aod Evdvation hdures: Am&can Chemical Sanety:Washington, DC, 1983.17. 4. (a) CASeareh for Beginners, SDC Version. American Chemical Society: Washin-, oc, 1980. (b) AD lnhoduefion to Seamhing CAS ONLINE Using the Learning Files. AmenChemical Socidv: Washinmn. . . DC.. 1985. 5.8STN:The Bssica 1-4b. American Chemical S e e t y : Wmhingtrm.DC, 1990. 6. STN Erpress for Wmdo-, m.3.0 (mRwsre1. h e l i e a n Chemical Society:Washington, DC, 1991.
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