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Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

Information Cycle

Circular image. Research and publication cycle. Clockwise. Primary sources. 1. Research and development = Laboratory notebooks. 2. Non-formal communication= Invisible college. (subcategories: memoranda, departmental colloquia, correspondence, and email). 3. Preliminary communication = Letter to the editor (subcategory letters, journals) and Biosequence data and patents. 4. Formalize = Conference proceedings, technical reports, dissertations, theses, journal articles. Secondary sources. 1. Organize = Indexes and abstracts (subcategories: bibliographic databases, bioinformatics databases, and bibliograpies). 2. Repackage = handbooks, directories, dictionaries, yearbooks, and almanacs. 3. concentrate = encyclopedias, treatises, monographs, and reviews. Tertiary sources. 1. organize = library catalogs and guides to the literature. Search strategy. counter clockwise meaning, tertiary sources, secondary sources, then primary sources. Guide to library research in science by Julia Gustafson.

Searching Chemical and Polymer Literature

Background Information: Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias are very helpful to find background information. In addition, it will help you with polymer related terminology.

Polymer and Chemical References

These are references specifically on polymers, plastics, composites and related subjects.