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Technical Writing and Communication - ENCS 282/5821

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GETTING STARTED

  • Be aware that searching for information can be time consuming and give yourself enough time to find the resources you need.
  • Try to determine the scope of your topic - broad or narrow?
  • Identify keywords/synonyms to use as possible search terms.
  • Be prepared to keep track of the steps you take during your research so you do not cover the same territory over and over.
  • The Libraries' Website is an excellent starting point for any research.

HELP IS AVAILABLE

At the Reference Desks

Reference assistance is available at the Reference/Information Desks in the Vanier and Webster Libraries. However, most of the sources you will be using are at Webster Library. You may also want to try our chat and email reference services.

Contact Subject Librarians

If you require further assistance after consulting with another librarian, you may make an appointment with one of the subject librarians for the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science.

  • Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering: Lee Harris (LB-285-7, 848-2424 ext.7724)
  • Computer Science and Software Engineering: Joe Blonde (LB-285-6, 848-2424 ext.7725)
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering: Joe Blonde (LB-285-6, 848-2424 ext.7725)
  • Mechanical and Industrial Engineering: Lee Harris (LB-285-7, 848-2424 ext.7724)

FINDING BACKGROUND/BASIC INFORMATION

Before looking at a book or periodical article on a topic it is generally a good idea to have some background information. Consulting an encyclopedia or a handbook for an overview of a particular subject can help you determine the scope of your topic as well as provide the keywords to use in searching for information. Handbooks in particular, are excellent sources of all kinds of background information. They tend to be well illustrated and are written by experts in the field. Reference books are shelved in the Reference section of Webster Library, second floor, near the Reference Desk and computer workstations. 

Reference Books

There are several lists of reference books which you can consult to see which dictionaries, handbooks and encyclopedias might be helpful to you for your Technical Writing projects. The lists of  reference sources are available from the Libraries' web site and from the links below:

Another way to identify a handbook that may be useful to you is to search the Knovel Library. This is an index to many handbooks. Concordia does not have the electronic editions of these books so check CLUES  using the title of the book to see if we have it in the library.

Descriptions of Products and Processes

Some sources which do not fall into a given subject category but are good sources for finding descriptions of products or processes are:

SEARCHING FOR BOOKS IN CLUES

Search CLUES to find out what books exist in the Concordia Libraries on a given topic.
Remember: some topics are too specific/narrow to have a whole book written about them. You will need to consider the broader topic within which your topic falls.

  • We recommend that you use the Advanced Keyword Search first and if appropriate, use the hyperlinks in individual CLUES records if there is a Subject Heading that differs from your original keywords.
  • You can pre-limit your search in the Keyword Search by choosing from the criteria offered on the search screen. In other types of searches it is possible to Limit your search if your results list is too large.
  • You can also Print / Save / Email your results if you wish as described in the linked page. If you do not wish to save each title individually, you can save all the results from one screen by clicking on the button called "Save all on page". If you save one at a time, remember to click on "Save Marked Items" at the bottom of each screen.

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES IN DATABASES

There are many databases in which you can search to identify articles on a particular technical topic. Not all databases will provide the full-text of each article. Keep in mind that there are thousands of journals published each year and that no single library can afford to subscribe to all of them. 

Recommended Databases
  • Compendex/Inspec
    The most comprehensive source of references to technical papers published in journals and conference proceedings. There are buttons for full-text of some journal articles and Concordia has access to some, but not all of these. You will be searching two of the most comprehensive engineering and computer science databases together.
  • Academic Search Premier Database
    Multidisciplinary database with some articles available in full-text.
  • Canadian Patent Database
    Contains references to and full-text of Canadian patents issued from 1920 to the present. Many patents include drawings of the invention.
  • ACM Digital Library
    Provides access to citations, abstracts and full-text of articles published in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) journals, magazines, conference proceedings and newsletters. ACM publications cover computer science, information technology, software engineering, networking, wireless communications, and other computing-related subjects.
More Databases

The Concordia Libraries offer you access to over 400 databases.

Finding Articles
  • When the full-text of an article is not readily available in the database you are searching, there are convenient tools to help you locate the journal in which the article appears. You will often see the Find it!@Concordia in your database search results. Click on this icon to link to the full-text online or to locate a print copy of a particular journal. Find it!@Concordia is actually a shortcut to searching CLUES, the library catalogue. When you search CLUES by Journal Title, it shows both online and print copy availability. 
  • The Find it!@Concordia link does not guarantee you will find the item at Concordia. Click here for more about this.
  • Print journals are shelved on the third floor of Webster Library. You will need to know the call number of the journal to find it on the shelf.
MetaFind

Searching individual databases allows you to take full advantage of the unique features of each database. As an alternative, MetaFind can be used to cross-search multiple databases with a single search query. With MetaFind, you can choose the databases you want to search or use one of the default categories. Keep in mind that MetaFind is limited in the display of search results and the flexibility of search options. However, it can be useful for exploratory searching. Getting more information about  MetaFind can help you decide when to use it.

Access to Databases

Most databases may be accessed from outsides the libraries but some are only available from within the libraries at particular workstations in the Reference Area. If you need to use one of these, we recommend that you make a reservation for the computer on which the database is loaded. If you want to consult a database from outside Concordia and will be connecting from a non-Concordia Internet provider, you will need to enter your name, 14-digit barcode number on your ID and library PIN.

OTHER LIBRARIES AND INTERLIBRARY LOANS

If Concordia does not have the journal or book you are looking for:

  • You might want to check if another university library has the title. Check other library catalogues online. Note that undergraduate students cannot borrow material directly from other university libraries. You may choose to go to another library and make photocopies of what you need.
  • Use Colombo to request interlibrary loans service and get materials from other libraries. There is no charge for this service but you must allow a reasonable amount of time for the request to be completed.

KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR REFERENCES

You are responsible for providing the correct references to the books, articles, reports, and web sites that were utilized to research and write the assignments you submit. These references must be accurate and properly formatted.

RefWorks

To assist you, Concordia Libraries provides RefWorks, a web-based bibliographic tool that makes it easier to collect, organize and utilize references. Once you set up a RefWorks account, you can export references directly from CLUES and from databases you are searching. RefWorks enables you to keep track of all your references and organize them into folders. It can also format the references that you will use to create a bibliography for your paper. A Write-N-Cite feature can automatically insert references into Microsoft Word documents for even greater convenience.

WHAT ABOUT THE INTERNET?

Evaluating Web Information

The Internet is not always the best starting point for finding information needed for academic projects. If you search for a term in one of the popular search engines, like Google, Alta Vista or Yahoo, you are searching millions of pages of free information. Many of these pages are produced for commercial or issue oriented groups and are intended to "sell" you on products or ideas. When you find a site on the Internet, you should always evaluate it from several perspectives. Some of these would be authoritativeness, timeliness and objectivity. More information on evaluating sites can be found on the Libraries' web site.

Remember: databases you use to find articles in journals are not searched by general Internet search engines. Google Scholar is a search engine that is still being tested. Your results will be from scholarly sources. Searching effectively in Google Scholar can be difficult if you do not already have a background in your topic. Reading the Help page before you start will save you a lot of time and frustration. If you are using it off-campus you should also be sure to set the Google Scholar Preferences as described in these instructions.

Internet Guides

The following are also good starting points to find engineering information.

Government

Governments can be useful sources for technical information. Laws, regulations and research papers may all be relevant to some topics. Links to a wide variety of government sources are found on:

Electronic Discussion Groups

Topica is a multidisciplinary listing of scholarly discussion groups. It is divided by large subject areas. Within each listing are entries for discussion groups. Each entry includes the group's name, topic, and how to subscribe. It would be rare that this type of list would be beneficial for technical writing projects but the lists might be interesting for those students who already have a specific career path in mind.

page last updated on: Thursday 09 April 2009