Engineering & Physical Sciences Librarian
Organizations & Clean Water
Citation Resources
Finding References
- Access Engineering This link opens in a new windowA reference tool for students, professionals, and academics in the sciences and engineering. Includes multiple resources for environmental engineering.
- Engineering Village This link opens in a new windowSearches Compendex, thereby indexing journals, conference proceedings, and more in engineering and technical fields around the world. Includes technical standards from SDOs such as ASTM, IEEE, IET, and others. Coverage starts in the 1800s and continues to present day.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatistics, studies and reports created from data pertaining to industry, academia, and more. All look at answering specific questions and have an accessible lens.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowIndexes tens of thousands of scholarly journals across all disciplines, as well as conference proceedings, monographs, and more. Pulls data from several different databases, but is traditionally strong in the sciences. Coverage (in Science Citation Index Expanded) starts in 1900 and continues to present day. Previously known as Web of Knowledge.
Class Activity
In class, we'll use the worksheet linked below to find sources and think about information that you might use in your annotated bibliography. Download a copy for yourself and your team.
Using the resources mentioned above, good search strategies, and evaluation methods: what sources can you find for your team's project? You can use this information when you're working on your annotated bibliography!
What's an Annotated Bibliography?
- A bibliography is a list of sources that you have consulted.
- An annotation is a description or analysis.
Putting them together, an annotated bibliography is a list of citations with a brief description following each source.
What Should be in an Annotation?
- What's in an annotation?
- An annotation consists of two general parts: a brief summary of the source (why is it relevant to your work?), and an analysis. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the design mentioned in your source?
- What elements should go in an analysis?
- Use the search exercise worksheet (above) to draft your analysis.
- How long should an annotation be?
- It depends! The best thing to do is check with your professor for specific requirements. In general, your annotation should be clear and concise, but still give enough detail for the annotation to be useful (for yourself and for your group).