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Reference Sources*,

Or, finding specific data, such as physical & chemical properties, definitions, thermodynamic values, etc.

* (located in the Science Library if a print source; for online sources you must be on campus, or an authorized UO user if off campus, to access)

See the library's web Chemistry Research Guide, for more information but here are a few places to start:

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Chemistry: Foundations & Applications [QD4 .C48 2004 -4 volumes] and available online via: Gale Virtual Reference Library

Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. [QD5. C5 2007]

Oxford Reference Online: Physical Sciences

• A collection of online dictionaries in chemistry, physics, and related subjects.
  

Van Nostrand's Encyclopedia of Chemistry. [QD4 .V36 2005]

Handbooks & (other) Sources of Reference Data

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. [QD65 .C4 -- latest editions in Reference]

• Doh. Always a good place to start.
  

Index to Physical, Chemical and Other Property Data from Arizona State University.

• Some of the online resources are for ASU only, but many of the books indexed can be found in the UO Science Library.

 Materials Properties Locator Database from SUNY Buffalo.

• Helps to locate reference books containing property data. Searchable by property and type of material. The UO Science Library will have some, but not all, of these books.

NIST Chemistry WebBook

• National Institute of Standards and Technology thermochemical, thermophysical and spectral data for thousands of compounds and reactions.>

See the Handbooks, Tables & Reference Data section of the Chemistry Research Guide for more sources.

Compare the above reference sources with:
Wikipedia

• Do the articles have identified authors? Are the authors credentials and affiliations available? Do the articles have references or bibliographies? If so, are there differences in the kinds of references given?
• Wikipedia is a very handy, free Internet source, but it is not always reliable or the best source. For a humorous demonstration of this phenomenon, watch this excerpt of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. (Some improvements have been made to Wikipedia since this segment aired.)

Evaluating Sources

This web page contains a wealth of information on evaluating information sources both in print and on the Web: Critical Evaluation of Information Sources

To determine whether a particular periodical (magazine, journal) is scholarly (peer-reviewed, refereed) or popular, see these pages:

• Scholarly or Popular?
• Types of Periodicals (pdf)

What is "peer-review"?

Here are a couple of pdfs that provide good explanations of what it is (and is not), and why it's particularly important in the sciences:

• Peer Review in a Nutshell
• Sense About Science Short Peer Review Guide
  

(NB: both of the above are produced in the UK, so there are a few Britishisms that may not make sense)