Writing in Engineering - ENGIN 351
Science & Engineering Librarian
740 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
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:
- Choosing a topic and creating a search strategy
- Finding books & background Information
- Finding articles and news
- Patents
- Standards
- Technical Reports
For help with your research, please contact your librarian, Brendan Kelly.
Types of Information in Library Databases
|
Information Type |
Content and uses |
Authority |
Audience |
Example |
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 |  |
|
| 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 |  |
|
| 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 |  |
|
| 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 |  |
|
| 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 |  |
Requests to Engineering Librarian |
Managing References with Zotero
The UMass Amherst Libraries offer support for Zotero, an open-source citation management software. Zotero can be used to store references/PDFs, annotated PDFs, add citations to a writing project, and generate bibliographies. Check out this guide to managing citation information for more information.
ENGIN 351 Library Workshop
-
ENGIN 351 Library Workshop 2024Please 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.
