BE 100: Introduction to Bioengineering

This guide is designed to help you navigate sources in bioengineering and understand where they fit in the process. These resources and many others are also linked from the Science and Engineering Libraries Website.

• Engineering Encyclopedias
  Encyclopedias provide up-to-date, summary-level information on topics within their area of coverage.
• Franklin
  This is the library's main catalog, where you can use keyword searching to find general books on a topic.
• Dictionaries
  Specialized dictionaries define words, phrases, acronyms and journal abbreviations relevant to the field of engineering.
• Guides to the Research Literature
  Guides to the literature are essentially directories of information sources. They will let you know what information sources are out there, what kinds of information these sources contain, and how they are organized.
• Guides and Tutorials
  These guides and tutorials are geared specifically to BE 100.

• Databases
  Here you can identify journal or magazine articles, conference papers, and technical reports and magazine articles on your topic. You can then check FindIt to see if we have the journal, conference proceedings, or magazine here at Penn. If not, you can order it through Interlibrary Loan.
• Patent Databases
  Patent searching will let you make sure that your project does not duplicate work already done in the field. Patents also have very detailed procedural information and are often used for that purpose. They are also available from other specialized patent sources.
• Business resources
  Consult these to discover current products and the market need in order to evaluate the viability of your product idea.
• Background, limitations and shortcomings
  Check these resources for background reports and to research limitations and shortcomings.

• Handbooks
  Handbooks contain specific data, properties, facts and figures, for instance the boiling point of a compound or the tensile strength of a material.

• Bioengineering books
  This is a list of relevant books selected by librarians. It includes both print and electronic books.
• Franklin
  For more books and textbooks held in Penn libraries.
• WorldCat
  WorldCat lists books held in many different libraries. Use interlibrary loan to order books that Penn does not hold.

• Directories
  Directories can help you locate relevant experts in the field.

• FindIt!
  Once you've found a citation to an article, use this to see whether the journal is included in the library's holdings, either electronically or in print.
  NOTE: Remember to search by the title of the journal, e.g., Applied Catalysis, not the title of the article.
  
  If not, you can order the article through Interlibrary Loan.

• Citation Styles
  Use the style your professor recommends. It may be one of these:
  • IEEE Information for Authors
    From IEEE Transactions, Journals and Letters.
  • ACS Style Guide : A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd ed.
    by Janet S. Dodd
    Engineering Reserve QD8.5.A25 1997
    Chemistry Circulation QD8.5.A25 1997
    
• Penn Online Research Tutorial
  More information on citation styles can be found here.

For help with business-related questions, visit the Lippincott Library Reference Services page for their reference desk hours and contact information.