Writing in Engineering - ENGIN 351

Welcome and overview

Welcome to the Writing in Engineering research guide.

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

For help with your research, please contact your librarian, Brendan Kelly.

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 scholarship and experience which build knowledge	Varies depending on author's intent	UMass Amherst Libraries Discovery Search Encyclopedias
Newspaper and Trade Magazine Articles	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 Journal & Conference Proceedings Articles	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

Store your citations and create a bibliography in many citation styles

Use this UMass Amherst Libraries Guide to managing citation information with two software packages we support: Zotero and Mendeley.

ENGIN 351 Library Workshop

ENGIN 351 Library Workshop 2024
Please contact your librarian, Brendan Kelly, with any questions about finding and working with library information. My contact information is below my picture on the left side of this web page.
Acknowledgement: This handout was created by Anne Graham while working at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.