Engineering information resources Engineering Planning, Design and Communication Useful Shortcuts Library Catalogue Indexes and databases for general sources see the indexes which cover a wide range of journal and newspaper articles Academic OneFile Academic Search Elite Expanded Academic index Factiva for engineering aspects try - Engineering Index Civil Engineering DataBase EnergyFiles INSPEC ENGINE for business and management issues try - Business Source Complete Emerald for ideas about dwellings try - Avery index BUILD for social aspects try - PsycINFO Sociological abstracts for Australian aspects try - APA-FT Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre ENGINE Which library has this journal? Intercampus Requests SBIGs - Subject-based internet gateways Essay, thesis, report writing - some ideas How your references should look Image and Copy Centre Exam papers Ask a Librarian For your assignment you are expected to find additional sources of information. You may be interested to learn about how to read references and interprete citations before you start searching for your assignment task. To get an understanding of aspects of your topic you may need some background information so try encyclopaedias and handbooks.  Once you know which aspects of the topic you want to develop for your report you will need to read comment and opinion from others working in the field.  Do this through the the Library Catalogue for books. Then use the databases, which provide indexes of what has been written by whom, to find out what articles and papers you might read. (1) Encyclopaedias and handbooks These are often useful sources of information and ideas. The encyclopedias are aimed at an undergraduate level of knowledge, and provide information on a topic as well as a list of the main books and articles on the topic.   Most of the handbooks are aimed at professional engineers.   Many encyclopaedias and handbooks are still in print form and will be found in the Library's Reference Collection. for social background see International encyclopedia of the social sciences. 1968-1991. Reference collection 303 I61 International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences.  2002. Social science encyclopedia. 2nd ed. 2003 Encyclopedia of population.  2003. Encyclopedia of world cultures.  10 volumes. 1991-1996. Reference collection 306.03 L665e for aspects of accommodation and the built environment Encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world.  3 volumes.  1997. Reference collection 720.9 O48e   Volumes 2 and 3 provide a regional coverage. Books in 305.4 cover aspects of communities. Books in 307.76 cover urban issues Encyclopedia of architecture, design, engineering & construction.  5 volumes.  1990. Reference collection 720.3 W682e for aspects of science and technology see McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology. 9th ed. 2002. Reference collection 503 M14.8 Encyclopedia of earth science system.   4 volumes. 1992. Reference collection 550.3  N675e engineering handbooks may be useful, such as Engineering handbook. 1996. Reference collection 620 D695e Standard handbook for civil engineers. 4th ed. 1995. Reference collection 624 M572s Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology. Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. 6th ed. Marks' standard handbook for mechanical engineers. 10th ed. 1997. Reference collection 621.02 B347s.10 Encyclopedia of electrical and electronics engineering. 24 volumes. 1999. Reference collection 621.303 W381w (2) The Library Catalogue will lead you to books about aspects of your topic. When you have a topic search, at the Library web page, from the yellow boxes across the top of the screen, click on the one labelled [Catalogue] This will bring up the Catalogue search bar. At Search by: pull down and select Keyword  (use and, or, not, " ") to find books covering aspects of your topic. Before you start a Keyword search - Think about the concepts in your topic. Think of terms, words and phrases, to cover a concept in your topic. These words may include a place name, company, etc. as well as words which you think indicate your interest. Truncate search terms using a ? Combine terms with the operators,  and or " " Remember to use brackets ( ) where you separate words with the OR operator See examples of search strategies using Keyword (use and, or, not, " ") (3) Databases and indexes to journal articles and papers You cannot use the Library Catalogue directly to find out which journal or newspaper articles are available through the Library. To find out what relevant articles or papers have been written, and where they were published you need to search databases or indexes.  Once you have found an interesting reference, search the Library Catalogue by: Title (for  book) or by: Journal or Newspaper Title (for an article or conference paper) to find out if the Library provides access to that item. First, choose a database or index depending on your topic. Remember that your topic looks at many issues so databases indexing social issues, commercial issues, psychology, politics. may be as useful. Consider other what issues you need to address depending on the focus of your report.  Is an Australian database appropriate? What journal dates is the database covering? Examples of possibly useful databases are: for general aspects, including public comment Academic OneFile Academic search elite 1985- Expanded Academic index 1980- Factiva APA-FT: Australian Public Affairs, 1978- with full text 1995- for social aspects ERIC 1966- Philosopher's Index 1940- PsycINFO 1983- Sociological abstracts 1963- for business and management aspects Business Source Complete 1965- Emerald 1989- for technical issues Engineering index  1884- INSPEC  1898- CEDB: civil engineering database 1973- Note that once you know the name of a database, you can always link to it by searching the database name in the Library Catalogue. This is only a selection of available databases. If you need information not covered by the databases above or in the column to the left, click here for a detailed list of databases for aspects of Engineering and related subjects or click here to get ideas for other databases for other subjects. Contact the Engineering Librarian for more possibilities from other subject areas. Second, searching effectively. Search techniques vary in databases but most use the same search principles as the Keyword search in the Library's Catalogue. Before you start a search - Remember that journal articles and papers given at specialist conferences, are usually on a specific topic Think about what information you would like to find to support your case. Think of terms, words and phrases, that could be used in the title of an article that might give the information you need. Consider searching for a named device, project, company, structure, place name etc. as well as more widely for the type of project and well as type of utility Truncate terms. * is the most common truncation symbol, but there are others. Check the database help information. Combine search terms with Boolean operators, and, or, " "   Remember to use brackets (  ) around search terms separated by the or operator. If you need a better understanding for the database you are using, check the help screens for that database to find out about techniques for truncation, phrases, etc. Next, dealing with the results Gather other, useful, search terms from the titles and abstracts of the first articles you retrieve. Consider 'improving' your search strategy! Look for a refine search option to modify your search. Look for the instructions to display full references, that is to give an abstract and subject terms. Look for instructions to mark records. Look for icons and instructions for emailing, printing or saving your results. Finally, once your database search has given references to articles, you need to find the full text of the article. Sometimes, when the Library has paid for full text access, you can go directly through an .html or .pdf link within the database to the electronic full text of articles. If not, always search the journal title (not the article title) in the Library Catalogue. For journals in print form the Library Catalogue record lists the Location: (which library), Call Number: (where in that library) and what the Library Has: (which issue our set starts with, and if it has finished, the last issue) For journals available in electronic form the Library Catalogue record provides a Link to e-Resource: and indicates the years available electronically. Check the date and volume number of your reference against the Catalogue information to make certain that the Library has access to the article you want. REMEMBER - the Barr Smith Library does not hold all journals indexed in the databases. You can also try: the Other Catalogues to search the catalogues of UniSA and Flinders University libraries Other libraries' catalogues Libraries Australia a database of books and journals held by libraries in Australia. Report writing If you need help with ideas for the presentation of your essay or seminar, try some of the guides to report writing and presentation. Referencing styles When you are listing works that you have consulted to write an essay, you should use a definite referencing or citation style. A referencing style is simply a standardised way of writing down the elements of information about a book or journal or electronic source. For this Engineering Communication E.S.L. essay you should use the Author-Date (Harvard) style. See "Referencing - a quick guide" in your Course Notes. The Library provides a guide with a range of examples in An introduction to the author-date (Harvard) referencing system  .