Syllabus for CHM 513: Chemical Literature Spring 2013 Chemical Literature Course Number: CHM 513 (1 credit) Class Meetings: Thursdays, 12:30‐1:20 PM Location: SC 246 Instructor: Professor Jeremy Garritano Office: WTHR 310 Office Hours: Immediately after lecture or by appointment Email: [email protected] Office Phone: 496‐7279 Graduate Assistant: Michael Hands, [email protected] COURSE OUTCOMES As a result of this course, you should be able to: 1. Understand the structure of the scientific literature in order to understand the scope and nature of scientific literature, interpret and evaluate scientific literature, and follow a logical path of inquiry. 2. Develop search strategies, including using unique features of the chemical literature, in order to most efficiently obtain needed information related to publications. 3. Develop search strategies, including using unique features of the chemical literature, in order to most efficiently obtain needed information related to data. 4. Understand the scientific publication process (both formal and informal), especially as it relates to issues involving ethics and accountability, in order to be well‐informed managers, producers and consumers of information. 5. Develop an organized plan for gathering information on a topic, including specific search strategies and presentation of results, in order to effectively communicate information to others. (More specific course objectives are listed at the end of this document.) COURSE POLICIES Academic Integrity: Scholastic dishonesty is not tolerated at Purdue University, and therefore not in this class. Please refer to “Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students” at http://www.purdue.edu/usp/acad_policies/student_code.shtml for more information. Attendance and Promptness: Attendance is highly encouraged. Since this is a one‐credit course and many assignments and activities will be explained during class time, it is important to attend each class meeting. Also, part of your grade is based on in‐class worksheets (see below). If you are sick or have an emergency, please make all attempts to e‐mail or call Professor Garritano BEFORE class. In addition, it is expected you will be ready for class at the scheduled time and we will start class on time. This policy avoids the problem of having people wander in late and not being able to pick up the discussion. Cell Phones and Personal Web Surfing: Cell phone use in class is not allowed. Don’t be on the phone, text messaging, surfing the web, checking your email, playing electronic games, or reading the Exponent during class (pay attention instead). GRADES AND ASSIGNMENTS Grades: The course will employ plus/minus grading. The breakdown of grades is as follows: A+: 97‐100% C+: 77‐79 A: 93‐96 C: 73‐76 A‐: 90‐92 C‐: 70‐72 B+: 87‐89 D+: 67‐69 B: 83‐86 D: 63‐66 B‐: 80‐82 D‐: 60‐62 F: 59 and below The following scale is used for converting letter grades to scholastic indices: A+ or A = 4.0 C+ = 2.3 A‐ = 3.7 C = 2.0 B+ = 3.3 C‐ = 1.7 D+ = 1.3 B = 3.0 D = 1.0 B‐ = 2.7 D‐ = 0.7 F = 0.0 Your grade will be determined based on the following: 35% ‐ Homework Assignments 25% ‐ Midterm Exam (take home) 35% ‐ Final Group Project and Poster 5% ‐ In‐Class Participation/Worksheets *There is no final exam for this course. Homework Assignments: There will be eleven homework assignments given throughout the semester. Each homework assignment will be available via Blackboard approximately one to two hours after each class meeting. Homework will be submitted via Blackboard and is due before class starts the week it is due. If there are issues with Blackboard submissions, you may email an electronic copy of your assignment to Prof. Garritano, but due dates/times still apply. Homework will be graded as much for effort as for accuracy. Please explain your search strategies and thought processes when answering each question (sources consulted, keywords used, page(s) where information was found, etc.). This will help us to better grade your homework and to steer you in the proper direction if you need help. Homework must be turned in by the beginning of class. If on your homework you show a good faith effort to understand and accomplish the assignment, you will earn full credit (10 pts.). If you turn in a partial assignment or have failed to grasp the fundamental concepts of the assignment, you will be given 5 points but may resubmit the assignment by the following week’s class with corrections to earn the full 10 pts. If you choose not to resubmit the assignment, you will only receive 5 pts. Answer keys for each homework assignment will be posted within Blackboard when appropriate. Homework may be turned in late via email to Prof. Garritano up until 5 PM Friday the week it is due for a maximum value of 5 pts. Homework submitted later than that will not be accepted. If there are circumstances that affect the entire class (for example, a database provider is having technical problems and the database is down for a few days), an extension may be provided for the whole class as appropriate. Midterm Exam The midterm will cover all material taught in class up until the point of the midterm. In terms of length and difficulty, it is roughly the equivalent of between two to two‐and‐a‐half homework assignments. The midterm will be a take‐home exam and you will have two weeks to complete it (this time spans spring break). The midterm must be turned in at the Chemistry Library by NOON, March 21st, 2013. (Please note this is BEFORE class that day.) Final Project: Group Project and Poster The final project will be to create a poster displaying two chemistry faculty profiles regarding their research as reflected in the chemical literature. Group memberships and faculty members to be profiled will be assigned after spring break and several group assignments will be given to help you gather the information needed for your poster. Besides giving credit for each group homework assignment, the instructor will assign the poster a final grade as well. Also, there will be a peer evaluation for each group member to evaluate their group members’ efforts, and during the poster session all students will have the opportunity to rate each poster based on certain criteria discussed in class. Your final poster must be up for display by the beginning of class, April 25th, 2013. Specific instructions for the poster will be discussed during the class periods after spring break. In‐Class Participation/Worksheets During each week’s class we will be using worksheets for in‐class exercises. You should put your name on each worksheet and turn them in at the end of each class period. While there are necessarily no right or wrong answers, you must turn in a sheet for full credit and do independent work (unless group work is part of the exercise). Continue for course calendar and more detailed objectives ↓
CHM 513 Class Schedule, Spring 2013 Date Class Jan 10 Introductions ; Why this course? ; Structure of Chemical Information Homework Due
Jan 17 Secondary/Tertiary Info 1: Compiled Data ‐ Handbooks, Knovel, Safety, etc. #1: Brief bio; structure of chemical information Jan 24 Secondary/Tertiary Info 2: Encyclopedias, “Comprehensive” works, Methods, etc. #2: Secondary/Tertiary Resources Part 1 Jan 31 Primary Literature Overview ; Citations ‐Why and How? ; Types of Journals ; Types of Articles ; Formulating an Effective Search Strategy #3: Secondary/Tertiary Resources Part 2 Feb 7 What is an Abstracting and Indexing resource? ; Chemical Abstracts and SciFinder—Part 1 (text based) #4: Primary Literature Overview Feb 14 Chem Abs and SciFinder—Part 2 (structure based) #5: SciFinder (author/text search) Feb 21 Web of Science (WoS) & Citation Searching Feb 28 Patents #6: SciFinder (structure/reaction search) #7: WoS and Citation Searching Mar 7 finish Patents; EndNote; Hand out mid‐term #8: Patents Mar 14 (Spring Break) Mar 21 Information as a Commodity ; Open Access ; Mid‐term due by noon Copyright ; Author’s Rights ; Introduce group project and assign groups Mar 28 Reaxys—Part 1 (text based) #9: Information as a Commodity; Group work #1: keywords, review articles, secondary sources Apr 4 Reaxys—Part 2 (structure based) ; Measuring Scholarly Impact (Journal Citation Reports, h‐
index, etc.) #10: Beilstein—Part 1; Group work #2: Analyze features and citation searching—
who is doing similar research? Apr 11 TBD #11: Beilstein—Part 2; Group work #3: Journal and Database evaluations via JCR Apr 18 Visual Literacy ; Representation of Data ; Tips for Poster Session Storyboard due Apr 25 Poster Session Poster and Team Evaluations More specific course objectives for each of the course outcomes: 1. Understand the structure of the scientific literature in order to understand the scope and nature of scientific literature, interpret and evaluate scientific literature, and follow a logical path of inquiry. a. Describe the structure of the chemical literature in order to place the flow of research findings/data into context of various publication venues. b. Compare qualities of primary/secondary/tertiary resources in order to distinguish the type and purpose of research/information found in each resource. c. Describe reasons for citing the literature in one's own writing in order to develop conventional research and publication habits. d. Interpret citations to the literature in order to follow the citation back to the original source. e. Create citations to the literature using appropriate formatting and standard abbreviations in order to present citations in a consistent manner. f. Interpret journal abbreviations in order to find the original publication. g. Describe indexing/abstracting concepts (such as controlled vocabulary, unique identifier like CAS #, etc.) in order to understand the content and organization of a database (whether print or online). h. Describe the purpose of different types of journal publications in order to understand different venues for reporting or describing research. i. Describe the purpose of different types of journal articles in order to understand different venues for reporting or describing research. j. Describe the purpose and parts of patents in order to relate intellectual property to chemical research. k. Describe the purpose and implications of citation counts in order to illustrate one method of measuring scholarly impact. l. Compare methods of measuring the scholarly impact of publications/research in order to evaluate the potential influence or importance of information. 2. Develop search strategies, including using unique features of the chemical literature, in order to most efficiently obtain needed information related to publications. a. Perform appropriate search strategies within databases (author, topic, numeric, structure, etc.) in order to fulfill a particular information need. b. Perform appropriate search strategies for research articles in order to collect current and/or historical information on a particular topic. c. Perform appropriate search strategies for review articles in order to collect background information on a particular topic. d. Perform appropriate search strategies within handbooks, encyclopedias, treatises, and other reference works in order to collect background information on a particular topic. e. Perform appropriate search strategies for patents in order to identify intellectual property related to a particular topic, person, or organization. f. Use appropriate database tools to perform citation searches in order to gather information on the potential scholarly impact of a publication. g. Use appropriate database tools to analyze and refine literature searches (by topic, author, year, document type, language, etc.) in order to limit to more desired search results. h. Use appropriate database tools to analyze and refine substance/reaction searches (by structure, yield, steps, classification, etc.) in order to limit to more desired search results. 3. Develop search strategies, including using unique features of the chemical literature, in order to most efficiently obtain needed information related to data. a. Locate physical and chemical properties in secondary/tertiary sources in order to identify commonly accepted data on compounds. b. Locate physical and chemical properties in the primary literature in order to identify experimental values for lesser studied compounds. c. Locate chemical safety information in order to be better informed of hazards and necessary precautions to take when working in the lab or other environments where chemicals are encountered. d. Locate syntheses for compounds in order to determine possible outcomes for particular reactants/reagents/catalysts and/or for synthesizing desired compounds. e. Locate spectra and spectral data in the literature in order to identify data for lesser studied compounds. f. Locate crystallographic data in order to identify data for known crystal structures. 4. Understand the scientific publication process (both formal and informal), especially as it relates to issues involving ethics and accountability in order to be well‐informed managers, producers and consumers of information. a. Explain the general nature of the peer review process in order to relate the flow of research to publication and how information can be seen as a “commodity.” b. Explain two models of Open Access publication in order to be more aware of increasingly relevant examples of scholarly communication. c. Explain issues related to intellectual property (especially copyright) and publication in order to be more aware of concerns as potential producers and consumers of information. d. Explain issues related to “author’s rights” and publication in order to be more aware of concerns as potential authors. e. Relate the use of EndNote to manage citations and documents in order to incorporate the use of bibliographic management software into the research process. 5. Develop an organized plan for gathering information on a topic, including specific search strategies and presentation of results, in order to effectively communicate information to others. a. Perform appropriate search strategies within databases (author, topic, numeric, structure, etc.) in order to fulfill a particular information need. b. Synthesize gathered information in order to produce a summative and concise scientific poster. c. Integrate basic principles of visual literacy in order to produce a visually appealing and well‐organized scientific poster. d. Operate cohesively as a team to work toward a single project goal.