Identifying organic compounds in Infrared spectrum
If you're analyzing an IR spectrum to find out what compound you have, you'll first want to look past the 1500/cm region to see what functional groups you have. For example, a 1700/cm peak will tell you you have a carbonyl, alcohols will have a peak around 3000/cm, etc. From there, pull up spectra of well known compounds with those functional groups, and compare your compound's 1500/cm to 500/cm region to them. This region is called the "fingerprint region" because it's practically unique for all molecules, so if the spectra match there, they're likely the same compound.