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Chemistry



Starting point for Chemistry

Starting point contains definitions, facts, figures and overviews

Key online dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks

Encyclopedia of biological chemistry Written for a broad, cross-disciplinary audience, covering all aspects of biochemistry, as well as molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and biophysics
McGraw-Hill dictionary of chemistry A compendium of 8000 terms central to chemistry and related fields
Van Nostrand’s encyclopedia of chemistry A concise, comprehensive and accessible introduction to chemistry

Key print dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks

Use the catalogue to search for more dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks


Catalogue searching

You can search the Library Catalogue to find books, DVDs, journals and other materials

If you know the exact title in the New catalogue

If you are searching for a topic in the New catalogue

Truncation is generally not needed as entering any version of a word will retrieve many variations.

More information


Databases and journal articles for Chemistry

Use databases to search for journal articles, book chapters, conference papers or research reports

Key databases for Chemistry

Databases Notes Help
Academic Search PremierA multidisciplinary database which includes coverage of nearly every area of academic study including the medical sciences, and which also offers full text for many journalsHelp is available from any search screen within the database
PubChemFree resource from the National Library of Medicine, USA. Contains three linked databases: PubChem Substance, PubChem Compound, and PubChem BioAssay. PubChem also provides a fast chemical structure similarity search tool, and links to related resources in PubMed/NCBI Help is available from any screen within the database
ScienceDirectScienceDirect contains over 25% of the world's life sciences, health sciences, social sciences and technology literature. It gives access to full text and bibliographic informationHelp is available from any search screen within the database
SciFinder ScholarComprehensive coverage of all branches of Chemistry literature, as well as chemical structures and chemical reactions. Includes bibliographic information on journals, books, conferences, patents, and dissertations. There are also some links to full textHelp is available from any search screen within the database
SCOPUSScopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources. A multidisciplinary database, it includes international coverage of chemistry. Also provides cited reference searchingHelp is available from any screen within the database
Web of Science Multidisciplinary information from approximately 8,700 prestigious, high impact research journals. Also provides cited reference searchingHelp is available from any search screen within the database

Complete list of Chemistry databases. Also check the multidisciplinary databases as they cover a wide range of academic topics. You can select other subjects from the database subject list


Full text not available?

When the full text is not available, search for the journal title in the Library catalogue to discover if print or online copies are available

Database search tips

For help with searching databases see Connecting and Combining Search Terms or Truncation/Wildcards/Phrase searching: Basic or Online training or Ask the Library


Key internet sites for Chemistry

It is important to critically evaluate all information you find particularly information found on the web.

This is a starting list of internet sites. You may want to do your own searches using search engines

Useful starters

Standards and patents/intellectual property

  • IP Australia a government site that deals with intellectual property such as patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeders’ rights

Professional organisations


For further information about any of these resources please contact the Ask the Library service or ask at the library desk

Coordinated by: Health Sciences Academic Library Services Team