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CHEM 2289 SO Gilchrist

This guide has been created for students taking CHEM 2289 course

Where Do I Start

1. Define your research topic: Start with your assignment

2. Find relevant sources: Explore the library's resources – databases, journals, books, and online materials.

3. Evaluate the credibility of sources: Consider the source's authority, objectivity, and currency.

4. Analyze and synthesize information: Critically analyze the information you find, identify key points, and synthesize them into your own understanding.

5. Cite your sources: Give credit to the authors of the information you use following a specific citation style

Chemistry is a broad subject with multiple research areas. If you are not keen enough, you may easily get lost in its variety and fail to select a congenial title. So, how do you deal with this issue? In a nutshell, the process comes down to two aspects – your passion and competence. Below are step-by-step guidelines that you can follow to determine interesting topics about chemistry:

  • Pick chemistry research topics with your knowledge capabilities in mind. Do not choose a topic that is beyond your academic level.
  • Choose something that is interesting to you. If you are fascinated with the selected topic, you will find responding to the research questions to be much simpler.
  • Select a research title that is convenient to work on due to the sufficient amount and availability of existing evidence and references.
  • Ensure that the chosen chemistry topics for research paper are within the subfield you are majoring in and that it meets your instructor’s requirements. [Original source: https://studycrumb.com/chemistry-research-topics]

When choosing keywords to use for searching, think about your topic. What are the main ideas that you are interested in? What words could be used to describe these ideas? 

Example: 

If your topic is Chemistry of Green Technologies, consider some of these keywords:

  • environmental impact chemistry
  • sustainable chemistry
  • green synthesis
  • renewable resources
  • green solvents
  • clean energy

General Search Strategies

asterisk

Known as truncation, using an asterisk at the end of part of your search word will pull different endings, searching for many different keywords at one time.

Example: 

React* this search will bring results that include terms reactants and reaction products

quotation marks

Put quotation marks around your keywords to search them as a phrase.

Example: 

"Natural product synthesis" 

Venn diagram showing only the non-intersecting part of the first of two overlapping circles shaded in

Results do not include any that have the keyword following NOT.

Example: 

spectroscopy* NOT mass spectrometry

 

 

Venn diagram showing only the intersecting part of two overlapping circles shaded in

Results only include those with both of your keywords.

Example: 

Sustainability AND "environmental impact"

Venn diagram with intersecting and non-intersecting parts shaded in

Results include those with either one or both of your keywords.

Example: 

peptides OR polymers