Publications: Pitfalls and Problems' M . G . MELLON Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
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HE LIBRARY, which means publications, has been very improbable that all slips have been so recorded. aptly designated as the factual storehouse of availSuch errors originate in various ways. Some auable information in chemistry and chemical technology. thors are physically and/or mentally too .lazy to get Efficient functioning of most chemists and chemical things correct in their manuscript; some obviously do engineers depends very largely upon their ability to not know right from wrong; and some are careless in find and to use this information discovered and re- taking the material through the printing stage. But corded by others. even with the utmost care, an errorless book or periodiMany papers and several hooks (3, 5, 8) have been cal probably remains an ideal. written describing the resources of chemical libraries Inaccuracy. The errors just mentioned are often and their use. The writer has no intention now of add- typographical, that is, of the letter or figure type. By ing to this material. The objective of the present inaccuracy is meant lack of preciseness in a statement. paper is rather to summarize some ideas which are hy- It does not convey the thought intended, or it unjustifiproducts of dealing for two decades with graduate stu- ably limits something. The statement may he partly dents in chemical research and with a class in chemical true, rather than general, or it may apply only under literature. These items coucern getting more certainly certain conditions. Two examples in analytical chemand more easily what we want from publications. Pri- istry will illustrate the point. marily, we shall limit ourselves to the problem of using By definition, a gravimetric method of measurement these sources as they exist. Secondarily, we shall con- should mean a procedure in which the determination sider certain broad possibilities of improving the litera- made is the mass of the desired constituent, or someture. thing related directly to it-that is, niatter is weighed. Obviously, there is no implication about any process of PITFALLS separation used to prepare the material for weighing. Because of certain characteristics of publications, Yet some authors apparently think that the desired inexperienced library searchers are liable to submit a constituent must he separated by precipitation. A report a t least partially unreliable, even if they avoid few prescribe the further limitation that this precipibecoming discouraged or confused. Such individuals tate must be a t least a binary, ionizing compound so do not evaluate the dependability of information, or that the ion product principle will apply. According they may even fail to find what there is. Frequently to this final restriction, the implication is that metallic these results are caused by what may be termed pit- selenium, although separated by precipitation, cannot falls in the literature. Alertness to these concealed he measured gravimetrically. dangers is One mark of a competent searcher. To he For the second example we may take the statement alert one must know such pitfalls as those listed, and that all samples, prior to analysis, have to he dried, where they are found. ground, and dissolved. Although ores and similar nonError. First of all, we must ever be on the alert for homogeneous, solid material usually do, i t is evident error. Personal experience has convinced the writer from these directions that the authors never analyzed that the only safe practice is to be a disciple of Robert gas, milk, or their urine. Boyle, as suggested by the title of his hook, "The Another inaccuracy is really a kind of inconsistency. Skeptical Chemist." Probably no volume of a chemical Two examples may he cited. The words oxidimetry, periodical or hook has been issued free of errors. Some reductimetry, and precipitimetry refer, respectively, to books contain a large number. Even if the general methods involving titrations with oxidants, reductants, level of reliability equals the 99.44 per cent purity of and precipitants. Very curiously, acidimetry, as used the famous soap, one never knows when he is using the by nearly everyone, refers to the determination of acids erroneous 0.56 per cent. It seems necessary, therefore, rather than to their use as titrants. Again, in referring to warn searchers to think through and check every to procedures of analysis, one may find as coordinate word, sentence, and paragraph as far as possible, and methods, density (a property), thermal (an adjective), to scrutinize all numerical data, formulas, equations, interferometer (an instrument), colorimetric (an adjecoriginal references, and spelling. The importance of tive), gas (a state of matter), and steel (a kind of matethis admonition has been emphasized recently by Egloff, rial). The first example is a t least confusing; the et a/. (4). Published corrections may he found, of second, although probably clear, is disturbing to one's course, in works such as "International Critical Tables" sense of consistency and esthetics. and in the last issue for the year of periodicals, hut it is Obscurity. How often one reads a sentence or para-. graph only to be uncertain just what the author meant. ' Presented before the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society, 106th meeting, Pittsburgh, Penneyl- There is lack of clarity, with the result that the reader does not know what to do. A frequent variation is vania, September 7, 1943.
ambiguity, leaving the reader with two or more alternatives. Thus, if someone refers to the milliequivalent weight of phosphorus, one would hardly know the value to use. Even if orthophosphoric acid were specified, the reference might be to a reaction involving one, two, or three hydrogens, or possibly even to the substituted heteropoly compound. Since chemical literature abounds in similar examples, writing a foolproof statement must be no insignificant accomplishment. Any analyst will agree with this conclusion if he has tried to write a laboratory procedure which cannot be misinterpreted by a beginning student. Such lack of clarity may occur anywhere; but it is especially prevalent in the directions for procedures in analytical chemistry, for operations in physical chemistry, and for preparations in inorganic and organic chemistry. Egloff (4) encountered it frequently in the reports of experimental results. Subject Index Headings. In general, searchers use extensively one or more of the following kinds of indexes: patent number, author, formula, and subject. The first two ordinarily present no pitfalls, except for an occasional question of names because of transliteration changes, as from Russian to English. Formula indexes should be clear if one keeps in mind the system employed in the work consulted. This requirement may necessitate a working knowledge of a t least the following systems: Hoffmann, Richter, Hill (Chemical Abstram), "International Critical Tables," and the French "Tables Annuelles.. . ." Frequently beginners, in searching for known compounds, do not look under all possible entries for differentnumbers of each element in the compound. To the uninitiated the subject index is much more of a problem. Even the expert cannot guarantee no misses here. The pre-eminent pitfall of a subject index seems to center inlack of coordination between searcher and index builder. The former's perennial puzzle is to think of the heading selected by the latter to make the index entry. As admirably pointed out by E. J. Crane (Z), only perseverance, experience, wide chemical knowledge, and a kind of searching instinct will make one reasonably proficient in the art of thinking of the right entry. IIidden Facts and Abstracts. The over-all accomplishment of the best abstracting journals, particularly the general periodicals Chemical Abstracts, British Chemical Abstracts, Chemisches Zenlralblatt, and a number of specialized periodicals, deserves the highest praise. However, critical searchers never forget that all such publications, although often they do provide desired facts, serve ~rimarilyas guides to the original literature. Details frequently are too involved and too extensive to summarize in an abstract. Especially is this criticism true with the description and claims in patents, although it is hardly less important in long operational procedures of analysis, measurement, or preparation. Since extensive collections of original publications are
not widely distributed, and since translations of much material in unfamiliar languages are expensive, many searchers must depend more or less upon abstracts. In such cases, as many abstracting journals as possible should be consulted. But if reliance must be placed on abstracts alone, there is always the uncertainty as to whether the abstractor did his work adequately. Even if he succeeds in presenting, in suitable perspective, what he deems the most significant contribution of the author, space limitations may well prevent mention of the particular item one desires. In the body of many publications appear these incidental statements of fact, such as properties, methods of analysis, and similar items. These hidden facts, although possibly very important in themselves to various individuals, are subordinate to the general material. As already stated, the abstractor may not mention them. Presumably the indexes of the abstracting journals cannot be expected to cover anything outside the subject matter of the abstract. Nor can much dependence be placed upon the subject indexes of the original publications to cover such details. At their worst, the latter indexes are largely word entries based on titles, and not infrequently these titles reveal chemists' greatest ineptitude in writing. Thus, in an article entitled "Chemical affinity," one could not reasonably be expected to guess that there is described a potentiometric study of the electrochemical displacement of copper by lead, and the periodical index probably would not mention this detail. Borderline publications present an important variation in this kind of pitfall. Here arises the question of whether the item is chemical in nature. Even if it is not primarily chemical, there may be chemical aspects or applications. Spectrophotometers are a fine example in analytical chemistry. Until very recently they have been considered primarily an instrument of physicists. Consequently for years one could not depend on finding information on these instruments in chemical publications. Journals on physics have to be consulted. PROBLEMS
Under this heading the writer proposes to discuss briefly several problems from the viewpoint of the possibility of making chemical publications, particularly the periodical literature and treatises, more useful and readily available sources of information. It may be taken for granted that improvement would result from any decrease in error, inaccuracy, obscurity, and hidden facts, and that better abstracts and indexes would help, to whatever extent they are better. The writer's present interest is somewhat broader. Content and Make-up of Journals. Original source periodicals are assumed to publish new material. There is no assurance today, however, that such an assumption is justified. In analytical chemistry, for example, one has little idea whether a paper abstracted is really something new. There is entirely too much repetition. a t least in part, of previously published work. I t has
been stated that one is likely to see any given paper republished in essence each 30 years. If an author cannot, or will not, see that his material is new, we need more careful examination of manuscripts by reviewers and editors. Rather disconcerting to the writer, a t least, is the practice of various editors of putting ordinary reading matter and advertisements on the same page so that the bound volume has to include everything. Advertisements are often important as the latest technical announcements of manufacturers; but the material should be segregated, as in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, so that the hound volume contains only what may be assumed to be of permanent value. As a matter of possible historical interest, a few libraries might bind the advertising separately. At present i t is rare to find a library file of current manufacturers' technical bulletins, which often are of much more value tlian mere advertisements. Separately paged issues of a periodical seem inexcusable in these days of industrial efficiency. No advantages are evident, and there are several disadvantages. Along with this point may be mentioned the practice in some periodicals of issuing each year a number of volumes, usually unpredictable. There seems no disadvantage in a single volume, continuously paged, even though it is large, such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The inclusive pages of separately bound parts should appear plainly on the outside. Some editors do not seem to be aware of the convenience to the searcher of having the volume number appear as part of the running page heading. Likewise, many reprints are issued without a statement of the volume, page, and year of the periodical in which the material appeared. Editorial Conventions. It would seem possible, for the sake of consistency and mutual understanding, to reach some agreement, a t least in this country, on hibliographical details to include in references to periodicals, government bulletins, patents, and books, and also on the general manner of arranging the references to the literature. The writer has previously directed attention (6) to some examples of lack of such agreement. Recommendations for uniformity were made a t that time. Certainly it should be easily possible to agree upon workable details for our own society publications. In fact, if we could agree upon the I. U. C. system of recommendations for nomenclature of organic compounds and for abbreviations of periodical names, and if we could leave the approval of atomic weights to an international committee, it would seem just as feasible to have I. U. C. bibliographical recommendations. Cooperative Publications. Some years ago (7) the writer commented on the time-lag of chemical literature. Most original sources are issued with reasonable promptness. In the secondary sources, the abstracting journals are about as nearly up to date as possible. From this point on, however, one can hardly view with satisfaction our accomplishments in collecting, classify-
ing, and makiug available the tremendous accumulation of known facts, the total of which is increasing a t an amazing annual rate. This problem is especially acute in the comprehensive tabular compilations and in the great treatises. Thus, the information in "International Critical Tables" is now nearly 20 years old, and Beilstein's "Handbuch is nearly all more than 20 years behind present knowledge. In the latter case, there is no other comprehensive treatise to which to turn. Only recently a ghost of 1916 arose in the proposal to prepare an English edition of the Beilstein set. Instead, why not pool our combined resources and efforts and try to bring the present set up to date? Here again the writer sees no insuperable obstacles to extensive international cooperation, through a rejuvenated I. U. C. office, to make our literature much more serviceable. Let us decrease duplication and competition and increase cooperation through unified effort. This could produce better abstracts and indexes, more critical monographs, and reasonably up-todate treatises. One might even venture to suggest the merit of fewer and more critically written textbooks, produced on a cooperative basis. Few individuals have the perspective and knowledge to write authoritatively on a broad field. Present Status Articles. With the continuous accumulation of more and more facts, accompanied by the development of increasing specialization involving numerous new techniques and devices of experimentation, there is an ever pressing need for competently written reviews to summarize this material in the form of articles or monographs defining the present status, or in some cases the historical development, of many different subjects. The primary purpose should be to provide the nonspecialist with efficient and reliable surveys to enable him to secure a perspective of a given . . fieid. We do have the periodical Chemical Rwiews devoted to this field, but the annual total number of articles is small. Although some appear also in periodicals such as the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION and Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, the coverage of subjects of possible interest is entirely inadequate, and apparently there is no unified, long-time program under way. The writer believes there is a real need here, and there is no doubt of the vastness of the stock pile awaiting study. In his own experience, judging by the number of requests for reprints, review articles are usually more popular than those of other types. That some persons, a t least, appreciate the problem and the opportunity is evident from F. C. Bradford's arresting residential address, "Conserving our harvests," delivered recently (I) before the American Society of Horticultural Science. It seems appropriate, therefore, to suggest the appointment of a divisional or society committee to report on the feasibility of establishing and systematizing a program of preparing and publishing reviews. This, or
some later group could serve as a clearing house to compile suitable subjects and allocate them to individuals interested and able to do the work. As an example, the writer would like to have someone summarize the information available on the analytical applications of complex ions. The problem of searching on such a snbject is difficult, but the contribution would be real. Such a project should appeal to many teachers in smaller colleges, or even occasional large high schools located within reach of adequate library facilities. These men often cannot keep mentally alert through research programs because of impossible requirements in expensive equipment. To those of them inclined toward library work, writing reviews should provide an outlet. Through lending and bibliofilm services much material could be obtained relatively cheaply. The guiding committee could arrange, if desired, for advice on compiling the information and on preparing i t for publication. .Not only instructors but senior and beginning graduate students could contribute. Under competent guidance the work could serve for bachelor or master theses. Even a doctorate thesis should not be ruled out, for often a well-done compilation is of more general
utility than highly specialized experimental theses. Such work should provide the student with experience both in compilation of the library material and in preparation of the manuscript for the report. Egloff (4) has stressed this need among current college graduates, and he has outlined valuable advice on conducting the searching on an extensive project. Altogether, such a program seems a promising possibility to make more information available, and t o help many chemists toward a literary contribution to chemistry. Perhaps even more important would be the strengthening of the scholarship of all the individuals participating. LITERATURE CITED
(1) BRADFORD, Science, 95,465 (1942). (2) CRANE, I d Eng. Chem., 14,901 (1922). 13) CRANE AND PATTERSON. "The Literature of Chemistrv." ~ o h Wdev i and Sons. I n c .New York. 1927. (4) E ~ L O P F ,ALEXANDER, AND VAN ARSDELL, J. CHEM.EDUC., 20,
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ROR , i l-" Q d--, R i. (5) MRLLON, "Chemical Publications," McGraw-Hill Book Company. Inc.,New York, 1940. (6) MELLON, P ~ o cIndiana . Acad. Sci., 40, 57 (1930). (7) MELLON, J. CHEM. EDUC., 10, 284 (1933). (8) Soms. "Library Guide for the Chemist." McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,New York, 1938.
