Gaining an OverviewTo develop and refine your search, it often helps to consult a specialized dictionary, encyclopedia, handbook, textbook, guide, or bibliography. These tools are designed to offer an overview of your topic or research problem written by an expert. They may provide an historical perspective, a chronology of events, definitions of terms or concepts, or bibliographic references leading to the literature in a particular field of study. Many useful reference works are now available online. These handy e-reference collections are accessible via Find Resources By... Subject, Title, or Type on the library's homepage.
Selected Reference Works for this CourseCodes and Standards lists resources for finding and learning more about electrical, fire, building, and other codes and technical standards available at IPFW Helmke Library.
ASHRAE Handbook, including HVAC (1999), HVAC Systems and Equipment (2000), Fundamentals (2001), and Refrigeration (2002), in both I-P and SI eds. (Science Reference Collection TH7011 .A4)
CRC Handbook of Engineering Tables (Science Reference TA151 .C76 2004)
Electrical Engineering: A Pocket Reference (Science Reference TK151 .K583 2003)
Electrical Engineer's Reference Book (Science Reference TK145 .E36 2003)
Electromechanical Design Handbook (Science Reference TJ163 .W35 2000)
Handbook of Electrical Tables and Design Criteria (Science Reference TK151 .C468 1998)
Means Estimating Handbook (Science Reference Collection TH435 .M42 2003)
Wiley Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dictionary (Science Reference Collection TK9 .K39 2004)
Searching IUCAT for Books and PeriodicalsSearch IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog), to find books and periodicals (scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, and other serials), or library materials such as music CDs, electronic resources, and videos. Materials at the Fort Wayne Helmke Library are designated by the library location FORTWAYNE.
IUCAT searches from on-campus computers will show only materials held by the IPFW Fort Wayne Helmke Library. To search all IU libraries, choose ALL from the Select Library pull-down menu on the search screen.
Sometimes IUCAT will lead you to articles in periodicals, but the most efficient way to locate articles is to use a periodical database or index to search many periodicals simultaneously.
Choosing the Type of SearchUse the default Basic Search search option to find important keywords or phrases in an IUCAT record, in any order. Choose this search when you are unsure of the exact author or title of works on your topic.
Choose the Begins With (Browse) option from the box labeled More IUCAT Searches to find words or phrases exactly as typed, letter-for-letter, searching from left to right. Choose this search to find known authors or titles. Step 1. Enter term(s) in Title, Author, or Keywords Anywhere search boxes.
Step 2. Under Library, leave Fort Wayne Helmke Library as default, or change to ALL.
Step 3. Click the Search button.
Keyword Search ExamplesKeywords Anywhere will search for words anywhere in a record. This search is the default when the Enter key is used instead of clicking the button.
Example: ozone
Example: air pollution
Author will search for first or last names in any order in the author fields of a record. Included are personal names, organizations, agencies, corporations, conferences, etc.
Example: carson rachel (finds works by or about Rachel Carson)
Title will search for important words in the title. Do not use initial articles: a, the, la, das, etc.
Example: silent spring
Example: air quality criteria for carbon monoxide
Subject will search for important words in the official Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).
Example: environment$ and (land use or public lands)
Finding Periodicals in IUCATStep 1. Choose Periodical Title Search from the box labeled More IUCAT Searches.
Step 2. Enter the periodical title. Choose Keyword or Exact depending on the search you need.
Step 3. Select the correct record from the Search Results screen.
Step 4. In the IUCAT record look for the URL (for Electronic Resources available Online) or Holdings (for printed periodicals) to find what specific years and volumes are available at IUCAT's FORTWAYNE location.
Step 5. When the library owns the printed volumes you need, write down the call number and location. The call number and IUCAT Shelving Locations will help you determine where an item will be shelved in the library. Or if the resource is available online, follow the URL link to the full-text content.
Locating Books and Periodicals in the LibraryBooks, printed periodicals, and other library materials are shelved in Library of Congress Classification (LC) call number order. The call number and IUCAT Shelving Locations will help you determine on which floor of the library an item will be shelved.
Searching for Periodical ArticlesThe most efficient way of finding a high-quality periodical article , is to search a periodical database or index that provides descriptive abstracts, subject indexing, and often, the full-text content of articles. Check out the interactive Finding Articles Tutorial to learn the basics of choosing and searching the Academic Search Premier database. Below is a selection of databases useful for your course. For a complete list, see the library's Find Resources By... page. Select a resource by Subject, Title, or Type (choose Abstracts & Indexes).
Databases for this Course
Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost)
Content: | Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in nearly 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers, updated daily, in a wide range of fields including business, education, science and technology, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. Limit to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or full-text articles only, if desired. Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. A complete list of titles covered is available. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). Other Indiana residents with an Internet service provider not based in Indiana (AOL, MSN, EarthLink, etc.) must first register for an INSPIRE password account. |
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ACM Digital Library
Content: | Bibliographic information, abstracts, reviews and the full text for articles published in Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) periodicals and proceedings since its founding in 1947 are available in the ACM Digital Library. The ACM also provides access to selected works published by affiliated organizations. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). |
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American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) journals
Content: | Access to 30 ASCE journals is provided from 1995 to present covering all aspects of civil engineering. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). |
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The Civil Engineering Database (CE Database) offers a flexible search screen. Does not support IULINK
Applied Science and Technology Index
Content: | Provides indexing for more than 400 of the most-used English-language professional and scholarly journals in engineering and the applied sciences. |
Access: | IPFW library owns the printed index 1978-1995 (Science Reference Z7913 .I7). |
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Compendex (Ei Engineering Village 2)
Content: | Compendex provides bibliographic references with abstracts to over 7.5 million articles in 5,000 engineering journals as well as to technical reports, conference papers, and proceedings issued from 1970 to present. This comprehensive, interdisciplinary engineering index is updated weekly. Use IU-Link to access the full text of articles through Document Delivery Services or from other full-text databases. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). IPFW library owns the printed Engineering Index 1892-1997 (Science Reference Z5851 .E62). |
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IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP) (IEEE)
Content: | The IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP) provides access to a 118 core engineering, electronics, and computer science periodicals with backfiles to 1998. ASPP contains leading peer-reviewed publications, concentrating on theoretical and experimental papers and quality magazines focusing on practical applications in research, design and specification. Multiple search options via IEEE Xplore are available. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). |
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Web of Science
Content: | The Web of Science provides access to the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts and Humanities Citation Index published by the Institute for Scientific Information. These unique citation indexes scan the content (including cited references) of nearly 9,000 major journals published worldwide. Updated weekly. Each record offers access to the author's abstract (when available), words in article titles (thus, limited subject analysis), and most importantly, the author's full bibliography (list of cited references or bibliographic footnotes). Use Cited Reference Search to find articles that cite an author or a work anywhere in the indexed source journals from 1955 to present. Use General Search to find articles by topic, author, journal, or address; IPFW's license provides access to articles published in the 9,000 source journals only from 1995 to present. Use the Help feature or Information for New Users to learn more about citation searching, including techniques for eliminating self-citations, finding articles that make reference to or include illustrations of works of art and music scores (implicit citations), or how to use the Times Cited feature to trace citation networks. Searches can be saved and run as search alerts. Results can be marked to print, save, e-mail, or export directly into bibliographic management software such as EndNote. A Master Journal List is available after authentication. |
Access: | Database available to authorized IPFW users (on or off campus). |
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Is Your Article Scholarly or Popular?University instructors often ask students to use articles from scholarly journals rather than from popular magazines for their research assignments. The following Is Your Journal Scholarly? (PDF) summarizes major differences between scholarly journals and popular magazines. Which type of source have you located?
What about Full Text?Full text means that the text of the article is available in PDF or HTML digital format. Graphics and tables are not automatically included unless the database producer has rights to publish them. Many of the library's licensed databases offer the full-text content of periodical articles. IPFW students, faculty, and staff now have access to more than 20,000 full-text journals. Find them in E-Journal Finder.
When an article you need is not available full text in the database you are using, choose  to see all of your delivery options. You may be able to access the full-text content in another database, request the article from another library through Document Delivery Services, or make a photocopy of the article if the printed periodical is owned by Helmke Library.
When a Resource is Not Available in the LibraryRequest Delivery is an IUCAT feature that allows IPFW faculty, students, and staff to request materials held by other Indiana University Libraries and to have them delivered to Helmke Library (see the IUCAT Request Delivery Fact Sheet).
You may also request any item that is not available at Helmke Library through Document Delivery Services (DDS). DDS borrows books and provides photocopies of periodical articles from other library collections. The service is free for IPFW faculty, staff, and students.
Using Government InformationThe U.S. government is an excellent source for primary research materials. Helmke Library has been a selective federal depository for U.S. government publications since 1965, receiving items in the categories of business, the census, commerce, defense history, education, health, justice, foreign affairs, presidential and congressional materials. Many federal government publications are freely available in digital format, and these resources can be accessed using IUCAT Catalog. The library's Public Information Reference Service (PIRS) provides research assistance as well as access to the wealth of local, state, federal, and international government information on the Web. The Allen County Public Library is also a federal depository library.
Searching the InternetFor some information needs, the Internet may supplement library resources. To begin an Internet search, try one of the many search engines on our Internet Search site. One that works well is Google, which ranks results by number of links leading to a site. The section on Subject-Oriented Tools includes directories that have evaluated and selected sites for specific subject areas, such as the Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Because the World Wide Web is a massive, tangled directory of knowledge producers, research, facts, and entertaining tidbits of information, you must be critical about the material you find there. Quality and validity are not assured when anyone can publish anything, anytime, without the benefit of scholarly peer review. There are many useful guides and tutorials to help you understand how to navigate and evaluate Web sites, including Is Your Web Site Credible?
Style Guides and Useful Tools for WritingA variety of style guides are on reserve at the Service Desk on the first floor. These tools help you organize and write your paper, and format in-text references and bibliography lists. For more information, also see our Style Guides and Writing Guides subject pathfinders.
Style Guides for this CourseThe key style manual for the social sciences and some science fields: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (Service Desk BF76.7 .P83 2001) Sometimes called the "APA style guide," this comprehensive manual illustrates how to cite articles, books, book chapters, technical reports, and more. Use the table of contents to locate examples of each format. APA's Web site updates the printed manual with examples for citing Electronic References.
Other style guides and online resources for technical report writing include: Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Service Desk Z253 .U69 2003)
Electrical Engineering Citation Style: Lehigh University
IEEE Transactions, Journals, and Letters: Information for Authors
Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, 3rd ed. (Service Desk T11. M467 2004)
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL), especially Resources for Documenting Electronic Sources
Science and Technical Writing: A Manual of Style (Service Desk T11 .S378 1992)
Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age (Service Desk QA76.15 .W55 1999)
And Finally, Ask a LibrarianLibrarians and skilled information assistants are always available to assist you. Visit the Service Desk to meet an information assistant who will help you get started. You are welcome to make an appointment with Your Subject Librarian if you need more in-depth assistance.
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garrisoj@ipfw.edu
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
260-481-6499
Fax: 260-481-6509
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Judith Garrison M.L.S.
Reference & Information Services Librarian; Liaison to School of Business & Management Sciences, Labor Studies, Division of Public & Environmental Affairs; Assessment Coordinator
Helmke Library, LB 160 |
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