Using the Library for this CourseAlthough no formal research assignments are required for this course, library resources can clarify or deepen your understanding of the material covered in ME 250 Statics. You may want to review math concepts, read a different presentation of material than is available in your textbook, or look for practical applications of the concepts covered in class. This guide has been created to lead you to books, journals, and Web sites that may provide the information you need. All the materials listed are available in Helmke Library.
This document is based on the standard guide format developed for students doing formal research. The same steps outlined here are ones you can use to meet your information needs for ME 205 Statics
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 CourseDictionaries such as these provide concise definitions of terms used in course materials: Dictionary of Applied Math for Engineers and Scientists (Science Reference QA5 .D49835 2003)
Dictionary of Engineering Acronyms and Abbreviations (Science Reference T11 .K43 1994)
ASTM Dictionary of Engineering, Science, & Technology (Science Reference TA402 .A86 2000)
Encyclopedias that specialize in scientific subjects offer articles on many topics. Entries range from a broad overview of general topics to in-depth explanations of more specialized subjects. Encyclopedias can vary in size from one volume to multi-volume words. Here are a few other authoritative subject encyclopedias: The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (Science Reference Q121 .M3 2002)
The Penguin Desk Encyclopedia of Science and Mathematics (Science Reference Q121 .B86 2000)
Science & Technology Encyclopedia (Science Reference Q121 .S34 2000)
Handbooks, Tables, and Guides are often written for practitioners in a field rather than researchers. These reference books present summaries and working knowledge of material mastered previously. Some important handbooks and tables useful to mechanical engineers are: CRC Handbook of Mechanical Engineering (Science Reference TJ151 .C73 1998)
CRC Handbook of Engineering Tables (Science Reference TA151 .C76 2004)
Handbook of Mathematical, Scientific, and Engineering Formulas, Tables, Functions, Graphs, Transforms (Science Reference QA40 .H357 2001)
Wiley Engineer's Desk Reference (Science Reference TA151 .H424 1998)
Search Tip: Call numbers for items in the Stacks (circulating collection) are the same for call numbers for books in the Reference collection. Older versions of many reference books are available in the Stacks and can be checked out.
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.
Learning about IUCATSave time in the long run by investing a half-hour with our interactive Searching IUCAT Tutorial. It is an easy way to grasp fundamental search techniques and try your hand at practice searches designed to reinforce your knowledge. Also check our other IUCAT Guides for help in using IUCAT to your best advantage.
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: math and engineering
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: pascal blaise (finds works by Blaise Pascal, yields the same results as blaise pascal)
Title will search for important words in the title. Do not use initial articles: a, the, la, das, etc.
Example: treatise algebra (finds A Treatise of Algebra, by Thomas Simpson,) and similar works
Subject will search for important words in the official Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).
Example: pascal and (comput$ or program$) (finds items about Pascal, the computer programming language)
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, Databases, & 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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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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Institute of Physics (IOP): Electronic Journals
Content: | The Institute of Physics provides access to 34 journals in all branches of pure and applied physics. Journal content may be searched by title, author or keyword. Online full text is available for journal titles currently subscribed to in paper format by IPFW. IOP also provides free full text access to selected feature articles and to the latest issue of 29 of its current titles. |
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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Wiley Interscience
Content: | Wiley InterScience is the online content service from John Wiley & Sons delivering the full text of over 300 leading scientific, technical, medical, and professional journals. Subject areas include business, finance, management, chemistry, computer science, earth science, education, engineering, law, life sciences, medical sciences, mathematics, physics, and psychology. Database content is searchable by author, article title, journal title and keyword. Wiley's EarlyView service presents individual articles online as soon as they are ready, even before the release of the compiled print issue. EarlyView articles are complete, peer-reviewed, and citable. |
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.
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?
Some Web Sites with Course-Related Informationefunda: Engineering Fundamentals This online engineering handbook presents basic engineering information as accurately and as simply as possible. Authored by a consortium of engineering professionals with support from companies in the engineering industry (see About Us for more information) this site provides information for working engineers as well as students. It includes explanations of engineering principles, online calculators, and an Ask An Expert link. No fees.
Michigan University: Supplemental Material for Mechanical Engineering Class This site has been developed to support an ME class at University of Michigan and covers much of the material presented in ME 250 Statics. High-quality images illustrating concepts are presented with dynamic examples and practice problems (and answers).
engAPPLETS: Java Applets for Engineering Education Presents interactive presentations of Mohr's Circle, Beam Analysis, and Vector Resultants from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, with funding from the National Science Foundation.
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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mugambif@ipfw.edu
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
260-481-6511
Fax: 260-481-6509
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Florence Mugambi M.L.I.S.
Reference & Information Services Librarian (Visiting); Cataloger; Liaison to Computer Science, CIET, Engineering, MCET & Interior Design; Collection Developer for Career Resources; International Students Coordinator
Helmke Library, LB 425 |
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| Created by: |
J. Garrison |
| Date created: |
2005-1-10 |
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