Which Chemical Abstracts Database Should You Use?
Here is a table comparing the two interfaces to Chemical Abstracts for your literature searching needs.
| |
SciFinder Scholar |
CA-Student Edition |
| Audience
|
SciFinder provides access to the full suite of CAS databases for advanced students and researchers. It is comprehensive.
|
CA-Student Edition provides a more familiar, web-based interface for students and non-specialists. As a subset of the full CA file, it's ideal for term papers, literature reports, and preliminary searches where comprehensiveness is not required.
|
| Access
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via proprietary client software available for downloading.
|
via any web browser.
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| Number of bibliographic records
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Over 23 million
|
About 4 million
|
| Journals Covered
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About 9,000 currently scanned. UT-Austin subscribes to only a fraction of them.
|
About 300 titles as determined by wide holdings in academic libraries. UT-Austin subscribes to almost all of them.
|
| Types of Literature Covered
|
All kinds: Journals, Patents, Dissertations, Technical Reports, Conferences, selected books, etc.
|
Core journals; U.S. dissertations
|
| Dates Covered
|
1907-present
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1967-present
|
| Languages Covered
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more than 50
|
English
|
| Types of Searching
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Research topic; chemical name/synonym; chemical structure and substructure; chemical reaction; Registry Number; Author/Inventor; molecular formula; patent number; etc.
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Keyword; Author; Registry Number; chemical name (CA Index Names only, no synonyms)
|
| Chemical Structures?
|
Yes
|
No
|
| Links to Electronic Full Text
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Yes: 
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Yes:  (in full record display)
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| Off-Campus Access?
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Yes
|
Yes
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| Number of Users Allowed
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A limited number of ports are shared across UT System campuses and medical sites. During peak times, SciFinder may be unavailable due to too many people trying to connect.
|
Unlimited
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| More Information
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SciFinder FAQ
|
CA-SE Guide
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