Useful
Shortcuts
Library
Catalogue
for material that the Library has in print or
electronic format
Indexes and databases
for sources of general comment see the indexes which
cover a
wide range of journal and newspaper articles such as -
Academic Search
Premier
Australia/New
Zealand Reference
Centre
eLibrary
Expanded academic ASAP
Factiva
Web of Science
from specific publishers are -
Academic
OneFile
Scitopia
Scopus
for
engineering aspects try
EiCompendex international engineering index
CEDB
Civil
Engineering
DataBase
INSPEC electrical & electronic engineering; computer
science; manufacturing
ENGINE
IEAust
publications
for architecture issues try
AVEry index
ARCH: Australian architecture
for business and
management aspects try
Business
Source Complete
international coverage of business,
commerce, economics, management
Emerald
FullText management
for social aspects try
ERIC education
PsycINFO psychology
Sociological
abstracts
for Australian aspects
try
APA-FT
Australia/New
Zealand Reference Centre
ENGINE
IEAust publications
Which
library has this journal?
Intercampus
Requests
Essay,
thesis, report writing - some ideas
Harvard
reference system
Image
and
Copy Centre
Exam papers
Ask a
Librarian
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You may be
interested to learn about how to read references
before you start searching for your assignment task and collecting
information.
Finding information
To get an understanding of aspects of your topic, some
background information is useful so, try encyclopaedias and
handbooks. (1)
For more detailed discussion find other books and handbooks through the
Library
Catalogue (2)
Once you know which aspect of the topic you want to develop for your
part of the report, you will need to read comment and opinion written
in journal
or newspaper articles. Use
specialised indexes, known as Databases, to find out what articles
might be
relevant. (3)
(1) Handbooks and Encyclopaedias
The Library has a number of specialised handbooks and
encyclopedias, presenting information at a graduate level. Many
of these are
still in print form, shelved by Call Number in the Library's Reference
Collection, (Level
3, South) or in the Main Collection, Levels 1 and 2.
In engineering and technical subjects, handbooks and
encyclopaedias are aimed at professional engineers.
for all aspects of engineering
see -
Engineering handbook.
24 volumes 1995
Reference collection 621.303. W381w
McGraw Hill encyclopedia of
science and technology. 24 volumes. 10th ed.
2007.
Reference collection 503 M14.10
Use the index in volume 24 to trace relevant information eg.
Encyclopedia of applied physics.
23 volumes. 1998.
Reference collection 530.3 T828e
The Library has titles covering all disciplines for example
for aspects of civil, environmental and mining engineering -
Civil engineering handbook.
Reference collection 624 C518c
Wednesday- Section
IV: Hydraulic
Engineering includes Water Resources Planning and Management.
Friday- Section V111: Transportation
Engineering includes 55 Transportation Planning; 58 Urban Transit
Civil engineer's reference book.
Reference collection 624 C582.4
Wednesday- Section
28: Water
Supplies includes Transportation Planning; High-Speed Ground Transportation;
Urban transit
Friday- Chapter 32: Tunnelling
Davis' handbook
of applied hydraulics. 4th ed. 1999.
Reference collection 627 D26.4
Wednesday- Section 27: Water
Distribution and Treatment includes Treatment of water for potable Water Requirements ; Water Distribution Storage Facilities.
Encyclopedia of environmental
pollution & cleanup. 2 volumes. 1999
Reference collection 628.5 M613e
Encyclopedia of tunnelling,
mining and drilling equipment. 3 volumes.
Reference collection 622 S775e
Ground engineer's reference book.
Reference collection 624.15 B433g
Friday- Part 4: Construction
in Ground Engineering includes 41: Tunnels
and Underground Chambers; 42:
Buried Structures; 44: Embankments.
Standard handbook for
civil engineers. 4th
ed. 1996.
Reference collection 624 M572s
Wednesday- Section
21: Water
Resources Engineering includes Water Supply; Water Treatment; Water Collection, Storage, and Distribution.
Friday- Section
16: Highway
Engineering; Section 19: Rail-Transportation
Engineering; Section 20 Tunnel
Engineering;
Standard handbook of hazardous
waste treatment and disposal. 2nd ed. 1998
Reference collection 628.42 F855s.2
Water quality and treatment: a
handbook. 5th ed. 1999
Reference collection 628.16 A512m.5
Wednesday- Chapter 1 Drinking
Water Quality; Chapter 3 Guide to Selection of Water Treatment Processes;
Chapter 4 Source Water Quality Management.
Water treatment handbook.
7th ed. 2007.
Reference collection 628.16 A512m.5
Wednesday- Chapter 2 What
Water Should We Treat? and Why?; Chapter
22 Drinking Water Treatment
for aspects of chemical
engineering -
Kirk-Othmer
encyclopedia of chemical technology. current
and
Ullmann's
encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. current
In both Kirk-Othmer
and Ullmann's,
type the search strategy in the
"Search this
title" bar in the right hand column.
for aspects of electrical
and electronic engineering
Wiley encyclopedia of electrical & electronic engineering.
24 volumes 2007.
Reference collection 621.303 W381w
Check the index in volume 24 for relevant material
eg.
Tuesday- solar
energy; solar energy
conversion.
Electrical
engineer's
reference book. 16th ed. 2003.
Reference collection 621.3 E278 16
Tuesday-
Section
F: Power
Generation includes part 27: Alternative Energy Sources.
for aspects of mechanical
engineering
CRC
handbook
of
mechanical engineering. 1997.
Reference
collection 621.02 K922e
Tuesday-
a useful
coverage in Section 7: Energy Reseources,
and Section 8: Energy
Conversion.
for aspects of petroleum
engineering
Petroleum engineering handbook.
2000
Reference collection 622.338 P497
for aspects of architecture
and building
Encyclopedia of architecture,
design, engineering & construction. 5 volumes.
1990.
Reference collection 720.3 W682e
Use the Index, volume 5, to find relevant material eg.
Monday-sections such as Sports
Stadia; Membrane structures; Space frames.
Architects' data
(Neufert) 3rd ed. 2000
Reference collection 721.1212 N482a
Monday- section on Sports
and Recreation includes Sports: stadiums
Tuesday- see Solar and energy
efficient design
Metric handbook: planning and
design data. 2nd ed. 1999.
Reference collection 721.0212 N532.2
for aspects of energy
Encyclopedia of energy
technology and the environment. 4 volumes. 1995.
Reference collection 621.042 P622e
Tuesday- see headings
beginning Solar
for aspects of ergonomics
International encyclopedia of
ergonomics and human factors. 3 volumes.
Reference collection 620.8203 K18i
for aspects of business,
commerce and economics
Encyclopedia of business.
2 volumes
Reference collection 650.03 E56
for aspects of the social
sciences
International
encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences.
2002
If your design is in the context of the Australian situation you may
need to look at the codes and regulations
Australian
Standards Online
Building
Code of Australia Online
(2) The Library
Catalogue will lead you to books about
aspects of your topic, available in or through the Library.
From the rectangular boxes across the top of the screen, click on the
one
labelled [Catalogue]
This will bring up the Catalogue
search bar.
At by:
pull down and select Keyword
(use and, or, not, " ")
Before you
start a
Keyword search -
Think
about the concepts in your topic
think of terms, words and phrases,
that could be used in the title of a book that
could provide information for aspects of your topic.
At the Search
for: bar type in the
words that you think could appear in the title or subject headings of a
book that could be useful to you.
Type the computer command and
between each word
to tell the system to find only those Catalogue records which include
each word you have selected.
eg.
Monday- football
and
stadium
Tuesday- solar
and
energy
Wednesday- water and
potable
Click on the [Search]
button to bring up the Search Results:
that is the titles that match your search
strategy.
The Brief Record
format indicates the location of the book and whether
it
is on loan. Click on the title for more details in the Full
Record.
The Full Record
describes the physical format of the book and lists the Subject Heading(s):
which may give leads to more books on the topic. Click on a Subject Heading:
to bring up a list of headings that you can select from to find other
relevant material.
To improve your
search
strategy to get more relevant results, think about other
words that an author might use in their title, which would still be of
interest to you.
eg.
Monday- football
and
stadium and
design
Tuesday- solar
and
energy and
cell
Wednesday- water
and
potable and
treatment
Where the search word could be singular or plural, use the truncation
symbol ?
to tell the system to find all words beginning with the
letters you have typed
eg.
Monday- football and
stadium?
Tuesday- solar
and
energ?
and
cell?
Wednesday- water
and
potable and
treat?
There might be other words which could be used for each concept so combine
search terms with the
operators and,
or, " "
eg.
Monday- (football
or
soccer or
baseball or
sport?)
and
(stadi?
or
arena? or
oval or
ground?)
Tuesday-
(solar
or
photovoltaic?)
and
(energ?
or
cell?
or
power)
Wednesday- water
and
(reuse?
or
"re-use")
and
(potable
or
drinking)
and
(treat?
or
recycl?)
Remember to use brackets ( )
where you
separate words with the OR
command
(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. The Library's
subscription to some databases may include access to the
full text of the article.
First,
choose a database or
index
depending on your topic.
Your topic looks at many issues. In addition to databases covering
business and commerce, consider databases
indexing technological issues, social issues, psychology, politics,
etc.
Is an Australian database
appropriate?
Examples of possibly useful databases are:
for general issues,
including public comment
for architecture and building issues
for business
aspects
for social
aspects
for engineering aspects
CEDB:
civil engineering database 1973-
for an Australian focus
This is
only a selection of available databases.
Remember, if you need information not
covered by the databases above or in the column to the left, check the [Resource guides]
on the Library web page,
or contact
the Engineering Librarian
for
more possibilities.
Second,
searching
effectively.
Search techniques vary in databases but most use the the same search
strategy as used when searching in the Library's Catalogue by Keyword (use and, or,
not, " ").
For most databases the truncation symbol is the asterisk *
Before you start a
search -
Remember that journal articles
are usually on a specific
topic - try not to use
general search terms.
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 type of
utility
Truncate terms. *
is the most
common
truncation symbol.
Combine search terms with Boolean
operators and, or, " "
Remember to use brackets ( )
around search terms separated by the or
command.
Next,
dealing with the results
Look at the titles - are there
other, useful, search terms
in 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 strategy.
Look for the instructions to
display the
full
record. The full
record may have subject terms which enable you to locate other articles
on the same topic, and an abstract
which provides a brief summary of the article.
Look for the 'boxes' to mark
useful 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
In many cases,
the Library has paid for full text access through our subscription to
the journal or the database, so you can go directly
through an .html
or .pdf
link to the electronic
full text of articles.
Alternatively, look for the blue box to
go to [Check fulltext options] which
may also lead to the full text electronically.
If the article is not available
electronically, the Library may have the article in print form, so go
to the Library
Catalogue and search by:
journal or newspaper title.
For journals
available in electronic form
the Library Catalogue record provides a Link
to e-Resource: and indicates
the years available electronically.
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)
Check
the date and volume number of your reference against the Catalogue
information to make certain that the Library provides access to the
article
you want.
REMEMBER - the Barr Smith Library does
not hold all journals indexed in the databases.
To find out if a journal is
available in Adelaide, you can also try the Other
Catalogues option to search the catalogues of UniSA and
Flinders
University libraries
Report writing
If you need some ideas for ways of presentating the arguments in a
report or
essay or giving a paper at a seminar, try some of the guides
to report writing and presentation.
Referencing styles
When
you are listing works that you have consulted to write a report or
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.
The Library provides a guide with a range of examples in An introduction to the author-date
(Harvard) referencing system which is widely used in
the engineering literature.
Check what style your supervisor expects you to use.
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