Subject Guide
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Resources
What are the common steps that you take to research a topic?
- Articulate your information need.
- Determine which resources you will use to find information about that topic.
- Compose an effective search statement.
- Modify your search statement to get more/fewer/better results.
- Determine which types of sources meet your information needs.
- Determine if the information you’ve found is relevant to your research.
- Evaluate information for credibility, authority, and bias.
- Synthesize your information sources.
- Add your own voice to the scholarly conversation.
- Create a research product that incorporates multiple sources of information.
- Cite sources.
Search for books using Washington University Libraries' catalog.
- MOBIUSUse MOBIUS to borrow books from other academic libraries in Missouri. Most books are available for pickup at the WU library of your choice usually within 3-5 days. To search MOBIUS directly, use the "SEARCH MOBIUS" at the top in WU Classic Catalog.
- Interlibrary LoanLink to WUSTL's Interlibrary Loan.
- ASM International This link opens in a new windowASM International, the Materials Information Society, is the premiere resource for information and networking for materials engineers, scientists, researchers, teachers, and students. ASM Handbooks Online features the complete content of twenty ASM Handbook volumes plus two ASM Desk Editions.
- CRCnetBASE This link opens in a new windowOver 5,000 full-text books across the sciences, fully searchable and browsable. NOTE that the Libraries subscribe to most but not all the full-text content found on this site. Topics covered include the biomedical sciences, chemical engineering, chemistry, computer science, engineering, environmental science, ergonomics and human factors, food science, forensics and criminal justice, healthcare, information technology, life science, material science, math, medicine, nutrition, pharmaceutical science and regulation, physics, and statistics.
- Knovel Library This link opens in a new windowOver 2,800 major science and technical reference books and databases from major sci-tech publishers including John Wiley & Sons and Elsevier.
- Google PatentsSearch the web for patent info.
- US Patent and Trademark Office Web Patent DatabasesFree searchable patent databases, which includes US Patent Full Text Database (contains US patents issues from 1790 to the most recent weekly issue date); patents issued before 1975 are searchable by patent number and current US patent classification only
- National Technical Reports Library (NTIS/NTRL) This link opens in a new windowOnline library of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports, acquired, indexed, and archived by the National Technical Information Service. Contains over 2 million titles with links to over 600,000 full-text reports (in PDF). Note: Search to Public NTRL is free but in order to display a full text document you would need to register. Registration is free but Terms and Conditions of use need to be signed.
Engineering standards are documentation of engineering practices. These include rules, techniques and conditions for engineering design, industrial practices, units of measurement, terminology, etc. Committees, affiliated with societies or organizations, and made up of specialists from universities and industry write standards. All design engineers rely on standards for guidance and to give authority to their work.
Standards can be mandatory or voluntary. Think of standards as rules for uniformity, size, quality, performance, shape, definition and testing methodology of manufactured products.
Washington University Libraries does not actively maintain a standards collection. If you need a standard, contact Lauren Todd for possible purchase.
- IHS Global Standards StoreSearch standards here and email librarian for purchase via libraries deposit account.
- All Standards On FileThis is the most current list of standards on file with the engineering librarian. Please contact Lauren Todd for more information