STM publisher Elsevier has announced the availability of Elsevier Reference Modules on ScienceDirect, which allow researchers to access updated reference content as science progresses.
Reference Modules combine thousands of related reference work articles into one source of trustworthy information that is continuously updated by experts. The first modules available to researchers are Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering, and Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences.
Researchers benefit by gaining access to the most current foundational content that was previously locked up during the lengthy publishing process. In the past, updated reference work content would have been unavailable to researchers until the publishing cycle was complete, typically a five to seven year process.
Reference Modules include content from Elsevier's authoritative, peer-reviewed reference works; articles that are continuously reviewed, updated as needed and then time stamped by an expert editorial board; intuitive subject hierarchies designed by each module's editorial board that make the articles easy to navigate and find essential information; and linking to relevant journal articles and book chapters on ScienceDirect for additional information.
In addition to providing authoritative foundational content, Reference Modules will help researchers access increasingly interdisciplinary content. With interdisciplinary subject hierarchies, Reference Modules can be used at any stage of the research process and offer a better starting point than the web for exploring a new topic and staying current.
Both new Reference Modules are available on ScienceDirect, a full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. Elsevier will launch additional Reference Modules in 2014.
