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Engineering Research Guide

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Ellen Cline
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Belk Library 117
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Citation Resources

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Finding Sources

colorful image of library shelves with the word "journals" in the middleAlso known as "Scholarly Articles," "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:

  • written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic
  • usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
  • intended for an academic audience

Know your types of articles:

  • "peer-reviewed" means the article is approved by other experts before publication or presentation
  • a "review" article summarizes the field's current understanding of a topic (great for background information!)
  • a "preprint" is an early version of an article, usually prior to peer review
Pros Cons
  • information is based on research and expertise
  • information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
  • the peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
  • each article adds to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas
  • information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
  • often filled with field-specific jargon

Find Engineering Articles:

colorful image of open books with the word "Books" in the middleBooks written by experts are a good source of information for many topics. Books in the sciences and engineering often contain:

  • exercises and examples
  • problem sets
  • other practical tools

Use these tools to help learn as you read.

Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!

Pros Cons
  • easier to read than journal articles, and (usually) written for a wider audience
  • often undergo a peer-review process
  • contain less recent information, due to the long publication process
  • can be lengthy

Find Engineering Books:

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You may find that a number of engineering books are located in:

Datasets are collections of data, numeric or textual, arranged in tables. Data and datasets are often used in engineering work, whether you need:

  • experimental data for a report
  • detailed data on material properties
  • a dataset to test a computational process
  • something else entirely; data can be almost anything
Pros Cons
  • exact and specific
  • can contain incredible detail or level of granularity not found elsewhere
  • can be messy or contain bias
  • sometimes difficult to locate the exact type of data needed
  • might be restricted access

Find & Use Data:

Standards or Codes are used by engineers, researchers, and industry to ensure safety and consistency. Standards and codes are created by experts and follow a cycle of review to ensure currency. They often contain:

  • guidelines or specifications for design or testing
  • requirements (if applicable)
Pros Cons
  • detailed and exact, whether in terms of schematics or applications
  • created by and for engineers
  • sometimes multiple conflicting versions exist
  • can be difficult to locate the exact one needed

Find Standards & Codes:

You can use Interlibrary Loan for standards that the library doesn't currently have access to. Alternatively, request a purchase (individual standards).

Technical Reports are detailed explanations of the results of a project. They are usually prepared by government agencies (NASA, DOE, etc) or companies with an interest in the topic. Technical Reports:

  • are written by researchers, but often aren't peer-reviewed
  • can contain large amounts of data
  • may be restricted access
Pros Cons
  • data and/or designs often very detailed
  • provide a better understanding of a topic of interest
  • sometimes difficult to locate the full text
  • can be difficult to understand (lots of jargon)

Find Technical Reports:

Subjects: Engineering