Search tip: Core Documents

I am not a desulfurization expert. You are. But I am good at finding things. I’m probably better at finding things than you are. I should be … I have been finding useful information for people like you for over 30 years. I believe that it makes sense for you to spend your valuable time doing what you are good at and for people like me to support your work by doing what I am good at … finding you the articles and papers you need to continue your research.

However, management often takes a different view, and expects you to do your own online searching.

If you find yourself in the position of having to do the job of library researcher in addition to the job you were hired to do, you need to follow this blog.

It is a blog focused on desulfurization, but it also focuses on search technjques I have accumulated over the course of my career in library research. You can pick up some tips and tricks that you may not have thought of … and thereby increase the effectiveness of your online searching.

Today’s search tip … Core Documents.

I have a folder on my hard drive named “Core Documents.” Within that folder are subfolders labeled according to technical topic. In my Desulfurization subfolder, some of the core documents are …

A Literature Review on Cold Cracking of Petroleum Crude Oil (2006)
Bacterial Degradation of Aromatic Compunds (2009)
Basic research needs-Catalysis for energy (2007)
Bibliometric Analysis for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Office of Research and Development's Science and Technology for Sustainability (STS) (2009)
Motor Gasolines Technical Review (2008)
Frontiers in Catalysis-Advanced Synthesis, Characterization, Modeling (2009)
Overview of FCC Gasoline Post-Treating Technologies (2008)
Petroleum biotechnology-Technology trends for the future (2009)
Toward the computational design of solid catalysts (2009)

I review these core documents whenever I am asked to find information on a particular topic. They provide key words, names of significant researchers in the field, and a context within which to organize the key concepts of the technology in question.

Most of these core documents are the accidental result of searches on other topics. When I find one that may be of future interest, I download it and save it in the appropriate folder.

This saves a huge amount of time whenever I am asked to research a particular topic. You are an expert in your field, but as the focus shifts to related, but less familiar fields, you can get a leg up by finding and perusing a relevant review in that field.

Comments? Let me know at research@JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com