Class: M,W 1730, McCracken 4420
Online practice sessions: TBA
Prerequisites
none

Text
Maizell, How to Find Chemical Information, 3rd edition

Course Topic s:

Topic	Reading
Introduction	Ch. 1-3
Primary Literature	Ch 12.7-12.19
Review Literature	Ch 12.1-12.2
Handbooks & Tables	Ch 12.3-12.6
Physical & Spectral Data	Ch. 15, 18
WMU Resources	---
Current Awareness	Ch. 4, 5
Abstracts & Indices	Ch. 8
Chemical Abstracts	Ch. 6
CAS Online  with hands-on practice	Ch. 7
Other Online Databases	Ch. 10.1-10.14, 10.16-10.18
Other Internet Resources	Ch. 10.15
Specialized Resources	Ch. 9, 14, 16, 17
Intellectual Property	Ch. 13
Student Presentations

Absence Policy
Attendance in class is important, as material is often covered in lecture that is complementary to the text.

Instructor

Dr. John B. Miller	Office Hours
Office: Wood 3156	M 1400-1500
Lab: McCracken 4020, 4022, 4030	(F 1100-1200)
387-2871
john.b.miller@wmich.edu	or by appointment

Assignments
Four brief assignments will be given. The tasks involved will typically require locating a particular set of information or sources from the chemical literature. Where possible, these will be linked to the student's research interests.

Late Work Policy
Late assignments and final projects will be assessed a penalty of 10% per week.
Assignments more than three weeks late will not be accepted.
Final projects more than two weeks late will not be accepted.

Project
The student will select a topic to search, as if preparing a research proposal or writing a comprehensive review. The topic should be broad enough to be interesting, but narrow enough to be finite. It should also make use of several (>5) different types of literature resources. The topic should be discussed with and approved by Dr. Miller by 4 November. To maximize the benefit of this exercise for the student, the topic should be related to ongoing or planned research, or similar work activity. The project will be completed by 2 December. A 2-3 page (at least) synopsis of the information found during the search will be prepared and handed in, as will a complete bibliography. To be certain the student is on track, there will be an interim review of the search strategy, topic breadth, and search results.

Presentation
The student will give a brief presentation describing:

Why the search topic was selected

The sources used (and why)

What the most productive search technique(s) were, and why

How the search could have been improved

Online Resources
Online computer resources will be used extensively in this course. Most resources can be accessed via the World-Wide Web at the URL http://unix.cc.wmich.edu/~millerj/chem505/chem505.htm as a portal.

Computer facilities are available in the basement of the Bernhard Center, in the UCC labs, and in McCracken 5160. Dialup connections via the University modem pool (387-2040) may also be used (contact the UCS help desk for detailed information about dialup). Instruction in the basic use of these online resources will be provided as required.

Assignments	80 (4@20) points	40%
Student Presentations	20 points	10%
Final Project	100 points	50%
TOTAL	200 points

The following approximate grading scale will be used:

	A	186-200
	BA	176-185
	B	166-175
	CB	156-165
	C	146-155
	DC	136-145
	D	120-135
	E	0-119