Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Library resources to support course work and research

Welcome and overview

Welcome to the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering research guide.

You can use this guide as a starting point in your research for Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. The tabs on the left have more information about the following topics:

For help with your research, please contact your librarian, Anne Graham.

Types of Information in Library Databases

Information Type	Content and uses	Authority	Audience	Sources
Books	Technical information written by experts Learn about a topic, gather background information, historical and/or technical overviews	Author's and publisher's credentials	Varies depending on author's intent	UMass Amherst Libraries Discovery Search Encyclopedias
Newspapers and Trade Magazines	News and journalistic reporting on events, industry developments Follow events, industry trends	Written & edited by journalists and industry experts	General public, scholars, and professionals	News and Trade article databases
Scholarly Journals & Conference Proceedings	Research conducted by experts in a field Content is advanced & technical Read about primary research written by scholars	Peer-reviewed, edited by experts	Scholars, researchers, and professionals	Scholarly research article databases
Patents	Legal document disclosing a novel, useful invention Identify new research fronts or learn how something works	Created by inventors, reviewed by government patent examiners	Innovators and scholars	Patent databases
Standards	Requirements, specifications, and guidelines to ensure that materials, products, processes, & services are fit for their purpose Learn current "best way to do this"	Created by teams of experts in professional societies such as ASTM & ASME	Engineers and scholars	Standards databases Requests to Engineering Librarian