How to find information on specific compounds

The chief sources of data for particular compounds are Chemical Abstracts and the numerous reference handbooks, including Beilstein. Information on relatively simple compounds can often be obtained from handbooks such as the following  

These sources contain physical and chemical data for a large number of organic compounds. 

These multi-volumed works quote physical properties and references to the preparation and properties of about 75,000 compounds and many derivatives. Both have name and formula indexes, kept up to date by the publication of annual supplements. They are also available on-line. 

Several extensive collections of spectral data are available. The most extensive of these are produced by Sadder Research Laboratories and cover ir, Raman, uv, nmr, nmr, and mass spectra. The Aldrich Chemical Company has produced three excellent collections of data ir, FT-ir, and nmr. 

---