Special INSPEC Fields

Over 40 fields can be searched in the OVID INSPEC database. Most of these are quite typical for a literature database and include author, journal name, title, and subject headings. However, the three fields listed below (chemicals, numeric data, and treatment) are unusual, powerful features of this database.

ch Chemicals [Phrase Indexed]

The Chemicals (CH) field, which first appears in 1987, contains data on the significant substances discussed in an article. Organic substances are not covered. Search on either an entire chemical compound as a molecular formula, or any chemical group that is a subset of that molecular formula. For example, search on H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) or simply search on SO4 (sulfate) for all compounds containing SO4. Roles can be applied to compounds to indicate the number of elements in the compound. For example, to retrieve a binary system containing H2, enter the compound followed by the appropriate code for the type of role you are interested in. For example, "H2 bin" will search for H2 as part of a binary system. Or, search for H2 and use the Limit/Chemical Role menu to select a role. Roles which can be used are:

ads - Adsorbate or any sorbate	bin - Binary System
dop - Dopant	El - Element
int - Interface System	Ss - System with 3 or more components
sur - Surface or Substrate

Examples: caco3.ch. pbo3-ss.ch.

nd Numeric Data [Word Indexed]

The Numerical Data (ND) field, which first appeared in 1987, gives numeric values for over 45 different properties. The property indexed, e.g. velocity, gain, or pressure, can readily be directly searched or used to limit a retrieval set via the Limit / Numeric Data option. Unfortunately, there is no way to effectively search for the actual numeric value or a range of values. The values are displayed when using the Complete Reference format.

The data is more likely to be operating or experimental parameters rather than measured values or experimental results. Only data which is in the title or abstract or is encountered by the indexer in writing the abstract is considered for inclusion. 17% of the records from 1987+ contain this field.

tr Treatment [Phrase Indexed]

The Treatment (TR) field describes the approach taken by the article to the topic. Using the Limit option, a large results list can quickly be made more manageable. Treatments can also be searched directly using the phrase or code. The treatments, along with their short code, are:

Application (A)	Bibliography (B)	Economic (E)
General Review (G)	New Development (N)	Practical (P)
Product Review (R)	Theoretical or Mathematical	Experimental (X).