Sidebar

Main Content

ESE Senior Design Project - Course Guide

The research process is complex and involves not only many sources, but many different kinds of sources. This guide is designed to help you navigate these sources and understand where they fit in the process. These resources and many others are also linked from the Science and Engineering Libraries Website.

---

Finding Books	Patent Databases	Technical Reports	Encyclopedias	Ref Works & Citation Style Guides
Finding Journal Articles	Standards & Specifications	Manufacturing & Component Information	Handbooks	Get Help

Finding Books

• Franklin
  Online catalog for Penn Library's collections.
• WorldCat
  WorldCat lists books held in many different libraries. Use BorrowDirect+ or Interlibrary Loan to order books that Penn does not hold.
• Knovel Engineering & Scientific Online Reference Books
  Large collection of full text engineering handbooks, textbooks and reference sources.
  • Electrical & Power Engineering Materials from Knovel
• Lecture Notes in Computer Science
  The series Lecture Notes in Computer Science, including its subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, has established itself as a medium for the reporting of new developments in computer science research and teaching.
• Morgan Claypool Synthesis Digital Library
  Lectures that synthesize an important research or development topic, authored by a prominent contributor to the field. .
• Google Book Search
  Permits searching of the text of selected books. You must create a free account for access to some of the books. Here's the link to create an account.

Finding Journal Articles

• COMPENDEX/INSPEC
  The broad subject areas of engineering and applied science are comprehensively represented.
• ISI Web of Science
  Multidisciplinary database. Premiere source for citation searching.
• Scopus
  Scopus is a comprehensive abstracting and indexing database covering scientific, technical, medical and social science research literature back to the mid-1800s, including 15,000 peer-reviewed journals from more than 4,000 publishers
• IEEEXplore
  Full -text of IEEE journals, transactions, letters, and magazines from 1988.

Patent Databases

• Derwent Innovations Index
  Search more than 11 million patent records from 40 worldwide patent-issuing authorities.
• esp@cenet - European Patent Office
  Full text of EP, WO and other patents back to the 1970's.
• US Patent and Trademark Office
  Covers all US patents from 1790 onwards. Download or view high-quality images of the actual pages of the patents, including diagrams and structures from 1790 onwards.
• United States Patent and Trademark Office Manual of Classification
  Patents are classified in the U.S. by a system using a 3 digit class and a subclass to describe every similar grouping of patent art. A single invention may be described by multiple classification codes.

Standards & Specifications

• Standards Research Guide
• IEEE Standards
• NSSN: A National Resource for Global Standards
• Index and Directory of Industry Standards, Engineering Library Reference T59.2.U6 I5

Manufacturing & Component Information

• University of Pennsylvania Electrical Engineering Department - Undergraduate Lab
  Pages maintained by the Undergraduate Lab that detail the components available in the lab, with links to datasheets and manufacturers, many in the local area.
• EEM Online
  EEM (Electronic Engineers Master) is a complilation of catalogs of electronic components, equipment, and services. Search by product type (transformers, integrated circuits, filters, etc.) or by manufacturer. Product information is taken directly from the manufacturer's or supplier's catalog.
• GlobalSpec
  Available on the internet from the above link providing instant access to over 590,000 electrical, mechanical and optical component families. You will need to register (this is free!) to access the product information.
• Thomas Register of American Manufacturers and Thomas Register Catalog File
  Product information from American manufacturing companies. Access is free, although registration is required to search the database. It is an excellent source for finding out who makes what.
• U.S. Electronics Manufacturers Database, U.S. Electronics Manufacturers Database

Technical Reports

• ScholarlyCommons@Penn
• Virtual Technical Reports Center
• NTIS
• NASA Technical Report Server
• FirstGov for Science

Encyclopedias

• AccessScience
• Encyclopedia of Energy
• Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures
• Encyclopedia of RF and Microwave Engineering, Volumes 1 - 6

Handbooks

• Electrical Engineering Handbook
• Handbook of Electric Power Calculations
• Hanbook of Semi-Conductor Technology
• Electro-Optics Handbook
• Electrical Engineering Handbook, 3rd edition Engineering Reference TK7885.E44 2006
• Electronics Handbook Engineering Reference TK7867 .E4244 2005

RefWorks & Citation Style Guides

• Citation Guides and Style Manuals

Refworks

• Refworks
  Refworks is a citation and bibliography management tool. It is free to register for all Penn Students.
• Refworks Tutorial
• Guide to Using Refworks with Library Databases

Zotero

• Zotero
  Zotero is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources
• Zotero Quick Start Guide
• Zotero Microsoft Word Plug- in
• Zotero Server Access

EndNote

• EndNote
  EndNote is an independent software that manages citations. While Penn does not provide this software, it does provide support to it's users. A web version of EndNote is available for use in ISI.
• EndNote User Guide: How to Import References in EndNote
• EndNote Tutorial with Videos
• Accessing Full-Text Journals within an EndNote Library
• Guide to Manipulating Citations in EndNote
• Troubleshooting EndNote Problems
• Using EndNote for NIH PMCID Citations

If you need any further help, would like more assistance in getting started, or can't find what you are looking for, you can

Douglas McGee
Head, Engineering Library
217 Towne
Email: dmcgee@seas.upenn.edu
Phone: 215-898-8170
AIM/MSN/Yahoo:PennEngSciDir

Top