ECE Undergraduate Library Information

For In-Depth, One-on-One Search Assistance Contact:

• Bette Finn, Subject Librarian for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Georgia Tech Library,  E-mail: bette.finn@library.gatech.edu, mail code 0900. Phone: 404-894-1790.  For one-on-one assistance searching the Library databases, contact Bette Finn at bette.finn@library.gatech.edu. Please send to me a detailed description of your research topic (in sentences), along with Boolean keywords [ (xxxx or yyyyy) and zzzzzz ].   I may be able to conduct a preliminary search in Library databases (such as combined Inspec and Compendex, and the Classic GT GIL Catalog) and send the results to you by e-mail.  If needed, a second search can be conducted using a different or narrower/broader search strategy and/or an appointment scheduled.
• Advanced ECE library orientation classes are listed at http://www.library.gatech.edu/calendar/libclasses.php
• ECE library services, database search hints and guides   http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eceguides.htm

• Ask! US
• LWC Information Services Reference Desk, 1st floor west. Phone: 404-894-4530 or 1-888-225-7804

A good way to find ideas for research topics is to look through indexes and table of contents of encyclopedias and handbooks.

• Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. 24 volumes. TK9 .E53. Latest edition kept in Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner, nearby the current journals.  Comprehensive source.  For search topics, try the table of contents and index in the last volume of the set.
• Handbooks and reference books:
• Selected electrical and computer engineering handbooks and encyclopedias are listed at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eceref.htm. Many recent handbooks are located in the TK's in the Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.
• Knovel.  Handbooks. Subject areas include chemistry and plastics, materials science, environmental science, microelectronics materials, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, chemical engineering, systems engineering, food sciences, and mechanical engineering.  Electronic handbooks.
• ENGnetBASE contains the contents of selected CRC Press engineering handbooks. Chapters can be searched and displayed, from each title or across the whole range of titles.  Electronic handbooks.
• Referex Engineering. (Elsevier) Provides access to the full text of over 300 engineering books, including handbooks, reference books and academic books (materials and mechanical; electronics and electrical; and, chemical, petrochemical and  process). Referex is available through the Engineering Village platform (Inspec/Compendex).
• Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.  CRC Press. Call Number: QA76 .C57315 . Latest edition kept in Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.
• Electrical Engineering Handbook.  IEEE Press.  Call Number: TK145 .E354.  Latest edition kept in Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.
• Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers.  McGraw-Hill.  Comprehensive electrical engineering reference work.  Call Number: TK151 .S8.  Latest edition kept at the Reference/Information Services Desk, 1st floor west.
• Free Online Dictionary of Computing. Online dictionary of programming languages, computer architecture, operating systems, networking, electronics, and any other subjects related to computing.
• IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms.  Call Number: TK9 .I478. Latest edition kept in Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.
• McGraw-Hill: the Online Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Edition:  9th ed. 20 volumes. Call Number:  Q121 .M3 2002, Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.  Might subscribe to online later.
• Gale's new Directory platform (Encyclopedia of Associations, Research Centers directory, etc.) will soon migrate to a new interface.  Search the Classic GT (GIL) Catalog for print versions.
• IEEE Spectrum.  IEEE Spectrum is one of IEEE's journals.  It has news analysis, articles, and other information of interest to electrical and computer engineers.  For ideas of search topics, look at the Table of Contents.
• Style manuals and technical writing.
• "Electrical & Computer Engineering" Research Guide -- "Style Guides, Grammar & Writing"
• The Library has a large number of technical writing books, such as in the T11's in the Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.  Examples of Library of Congress subject headings include "technical writing," "communication in engineering," "business writing," "communication in science," "communication of technical information," and "report writing."

This list provided here is only a sampling of the reference materials in the Library. To locate additional electrical and computer engineering reference items, search the Classic GT (GIL) Library Catalog or browse the Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner under the call number range TK.

• Competitor Company Web Sites.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission.http://www.cpsc.gov/
• Government Information. http://www.library.gatech.edu/research_help/subject/index.php?/govinfo
• The Georgia Tech Library and Information Center is a depository for United States federal publications. The federal government provides help for inventors in obtaining financing(loans, grants and venture capital) as well as help in marketing and setting up their own business.   Small Business Administration. Grants from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
• Business and Industry Guides.
• Business, Industry and Company Information Guide
• Business databases  "Business & Management"
• ABI/Inform search example
• Patents, Standards, Products, and Trademarks guide.
• Research Guides. General Business & Management, Company Information, Georgia & Atlanta Business, Industry Information, International Business, Statistics, and Legal Resources.
• Company Information & Company Directories.
• Thomas Register. TS 199 .T45A (2005), Reference Collection, 2nd Floor East SE corner.  Approximately 145,000 American manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers.  Identifies which companies make what products.  Includes some manufacturers' catalogs.  Thomas Register's "Supplier Finder" database http://www.thomasregister.com/  provides access to approximately half the information found in the Library's print version.  The print version is not expected to be updated; access the web version for recent information.
• Company directories. The Library provides access to many print and electronic company directories, such as Reference USA which is a company directory of 13 million U.S. businesses.

• Patents, Standards, Products, and Trademarks.  Detailed patent guide.
• Patent database search slide examples (USPTO & EPO).  [Get Acrobat]
• Additional patent information
• Patents are a valuable source of information.  Therefore, the patent document is often the first place an invention is described. Patents can be useful for cutting edge technology.  Also the patent must be written in enough detail that another person, familiar with that area, could reproduce the invention.
• Patents Subject Guide is at http://www.library.gatech.edu/research_help/subject/index.php?/patents.
• Patent and product information guide is at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/patprod.htm
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Home Page.
• General Information Concerning Patents USPTO.
• U.S. Patent Databases.
• USPTO Patent Database. http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.htmlUnited States patents. Full Page Images 1790 to present.  Full text is searchable back to 1976.   The USPTO Web Patent Database is now searchable in five year blocks back to 1976, and in one additional block covering the years 1790-1975. The full text of a patent includes all bibliographic data, such as the inventor's name, the patent's title, and the  assignee's name, as well as the abstract, the full description of the invention, and the claims; all of the words (text) in the patent are searchable from 1976 to present.  Current US classifications have been added to the Full Text Database in place of issue classifications.  However, the 1790-1975 block contains only patent numbers and current U.S. Classifications, and thus will produce search results (hits) in only those two fields.  Remember to change the year (“Select years”) on the search screen.
• CASSIS. CASSIS CD-ROM system. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/ptdlcdrm.htm The Georgia Tech Library has a complete collection of full image U.S. patents (DVDs) from 1790 to the present.  The Georgia Tech Library is a USPTO Depository Library  http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/index.html.  Patents BIB contains searchable bibliographic information for utility patent grants issued from 1969 to the present and for other types of patent documents issued from 1977 to the present. In addition, bibliographic information for patent application publications is provided starting in March 2001. There are 15 searchable fields including patent title, patent abstracts from September 1988 to present, current classifications, assignee at time of issue, date of issue, serial number, inventors' names and full addresses (if not assigned at time of issue), and status.  Classes are searchable back to 1790.  Ask at the Information Services Desk 1st floor West for the CASSIS system.
• PubWEST Patent Searching.  Contact Bette Finn at bette.finn@library.gatech.edu for information about searching the USPTO PTDL's PubWEST patent search system.  The PubWEST system uses powerful BRS search software -- proximity operators, field searching, manipulation of previous search statement lines, etc.  Available databases include USPT (full text of most patents 1971+), USOCR (Optical Character Recognition to scan patent copies 1920-1970 and 1971-1976 that are missing from the USPAT file), PGPub (utility applications that have been pending for 18 months), JPAB (English language abstracts of unexamined Japanese patent applications, Oct 1976+), and EPAB (published documents from the European Patent Office, selected EPO member countries, USPTO, and the World Intellectual Property Organization; dates vary).
• U.S. Patent Classification Guides
• The Manual of Classification is used to determine the appropriate U.S. patent classification. Classes/Subclasses are hierarchical. The print (paper) version, located in the Library's patent area (ask at the Information Services Desk 1st Floor West), may be easier to use than the online version
• The Index to the U.S. Patent Classification System is available in paper copy or online.
• Classification Definitions are available online or in microfiche.  Detailed patent guide.    http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/patprod.htm
• Class Subclass Searching.  Although searching by keywords can be easier than searching by classes and subclasses, classification searches will often retrieve patents that are right on target.  Searching by classification is more thorough than searching by keywords.   Keyword searches will miss relevant patents and will also retrieve irrelevant patents.
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office homepage: http://www.uspto.gov
• Full Image Patents. http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
• Free sites for printing patents: pat2pdf.org U.S. patents; Google; Patent Fetcher U.S. Patents; esp@cenet "worldwide patents."
• USPTO Patent Database
• How to Access and View Full-Page Images -- USPTO full page patent images in TIFF format  http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/images.htm
• Commercial on-line searches of U.S. and international patent databases are available for a fee. Contact Bette Finn at bette.finn@library.gatech.edu.  Description of patent fee-based databases.
• Patent Web Resources.
• Foreign Intellectual Property Offices Web Sites.
• Foreign patent databases. http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/other.html
• Patent database search examples slides (U.S. & EPO).
• Foreign patents and treaties. Rights granted by a United States patent extend only throughout the territory of the United States and have no effect in a foreign country.

• Inspec  database (1896+). Institution of Electrical Engineers. INSPEC is the foremost international English language abstracting service covering the field of electrical engineering and electrotechnology. It indexes journal articles and conference proceeding papers in the areas of physics, electrical engineering, computer engineering, electronics, telecommunications, communications, optics, control engineering, computers and computing, automation in any field, manufacturing and production engineering, simulation and modeling, and information technology.
• GIL Catalog & Inspec search examples.  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/gilei.pdf
• Inspec search hints. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eintis.htm
• Inspec search examples. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/3ei.pdf   [Get Arobat Reader]
• Compendex  database (1884+). Compendex indexes major engineering journal articles and conference papers.
• Inspec and Compendex can be "combined" and searched together (about 20% overlap).
• List of databases related to electrical and computer engineering.  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eceindex.htm
• Technical Research Reports.  A technical report is a document written by a researcher detailing the results of a project and submitted to the sponsor of that project.

• General science and technology databases
• Applied Science and Technology Abstracts (1913+) Provides bibliographic references in major scientific, trade, and technology periodicals. Coverage spans many specialties.  Library owns many of the periodicals.
• Web of Science's Science Citation Index.  (1900 to present for Science Citation Index) Institute for Scientific Information.   Web of Science provides access to research literature through standard access points and to cited references (bibliographies, footnotes) published with a scholarly paper.  For cited reference searches, search by first author.  Search example.
• NTIS technical reports database (1964+). NTIS provides citations and summaries of U. S. government sponsored research, development and engineering reports as well as many reports prepared by foreign government agencies and their contractors or grantees.  Coverage includes all disciplines, including science and engineering.  The Georgia Tech Library owns a very large collection of microfiche United States government sponsored research reports. Selected technical reports are available in electronically or in print format.
• Trade, industry and management indexes
• Computer Database.  Gale.  Business/computer trade industry database. (1980+)
• ABI/Inform Complete  indexes U.S. and international journals covering all aspect of business and management. Covers 1971+ and full text from 1991+ (about half full text). Boxes for "Show Results with Full Text Availability Only," "Show Peer Reviewed Articles," and "Show Total Number of Articles."
•  "Search Hints for ABI/Inform and EBSCO Business Source"
• ABI/Inform search example
• Business, management and economics databases: then Business & Management, company information, industry information, etc.
• Business and product subject guide.
• Gale Business and Company Resource Center   (1980+)
• Wilson Business Abstracts (1913+). Provides abstracts to articles in 6000 major English-language business magazines.
• Galileo's Business Source Premier at EBSCOhost. (1984+)  Some full text and images from 1990+
• General interest indexes
• ProQuest Research Library GALILEO Edition  is a multidisciplinary database that indexes academic journals in the humanities, the social sciences, and the general sciences. Covers 1986- for citations and abstracts; 1991- for full text and image (about half full text). Check boxes for "Show Peer Reviewed Articles," "Show Results with Full Text Availability Only," and "Show Total Number of Articles."
• Galileo's EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier (1984+). Some full text and images from 1990 to present. Check boxes for "Full Text" and "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals".
• Galileo's Lexis-Nexis' Academic UniverseNewspapers, legal news, and other publications.
• All databaseshttp://www.library.gatech.edu/search/databases.php

• Access to Library electronic resources requires authentication through the Library’s Proxy server: a Georgia Tech "GT Account" ID and password is required (used for Spectrum email, WebCT, etc.).  Enter at http://www.library.gatech.edu  “Databases” “E-Journals” “GIL Catalog – Electronic Version” field, Galileo Password or “Course Reserves.”  If you have never activated your "GT Account" ID, or if it has been inactive for four months or longer, you will need to activate or reactivate it. The PASSPORT website https://passport.gatech.edu/ offers tools for GT Account and GT Active Directory password changes, student activation, email aliasing and GT Directory options. OIT Support Walk-in Support: Resource Center, Library West (ground floor) Hours: 8:00am - 6:00pm, Monday - Friday E-mail: support@oit.gatech.edu, phone: 404.894.7173.  OIT Helphttp://www.oit.gatech.edu/help/overview.cfm .  OIT FAQ.  OIT User Accounts. How do I change my "GT Account" password?  Your password is set to expire every 90 days.  The GT "Active Directory" password has stricter rules than does the "GT Account" password.
• Linking to Library Resources (http://www.library.gatech.edu/services/linking.php): Add GT Proxy Bookmark; LinkMaker, prefix http://www.library.gatech.edu:2048/login?url=
• GT Web Localizer  (http://www.library.gatech.edu/search/web_localizer.php)
• Search Assistance.

• Library GIL Catalog.

• The GIL Library Catalog  http://gil.gatech.edu/ contains books, journals, conference proceedings, maps, many government documents and other materials owned by the Georgia Tech Library.
• Search examples for ECE undergraduate students, using GIL Catalog and Inspec recordshttp://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/gilei.pdf    [Get Acrobat Reader]
• Once you have finished your research (in a database such as Inspec) and you have complete bibliographic information (journal or conference name, volume, issue number or month, page numbers, author and title, etc.), search the name of the journal or the name of the conference proceedings in the Georgia Tech Library's GIL Cataloghttp://gil.gatech.edu/  Ask us for help.
• Exact Search in GIL Library Catalog
• Use the GIL Catalog "Exact Search" screen for exact word-for-word phrases, left anchored. Do not use initial articles ("The").
• Copy and paste journal "ISSN" numbers from databases such as Inspec and Compendex records to the "Exact Search" screen box and choose "ISSN (XXXX-XXXX)."
• Copy and paste the entire journal title to the "Exact Search" screen box and choose "Journal Title * (e.g., Georgia Review)," if the ISSN number search is unsuccessful.
• Searching by Call Number is also possible using "Exact Search," choosing "Call Number" Browse.
• Keyword Search in GIL Library Catalog
• Use the "Keyword Search" screen for subject searches or author/title searches in the GIL Catalog.
• Leave out the keywords AND, OR, NOT and do not use quotation marks. Searching the keywords and or not will result in zero records and the message "The system could not interpret your search statement."
• Truncation symbol is a question mark (?). Example: http? or aeronaut?   Truncation overflow is possible.
• "Narrow My Search," if used, can be applied before entering the search or from a results screen. You can narrow your search by publication date or by format, such as narrowing your search to Journals ("Serial (magazines, journals)").
• Use the drop down menu to narrow your search. "Any of these" is similar to OR. "All of these" is similar to AND. "As a phrase" is the third option.
• Book Status
• Recalls. A book checked out for 21+ days can be recalledby Circulation immediately. If checked out less than 21days, a recall will be sent on the 22nd day.   http://www.library.gatech.edu/services/borrow/students.php -- See "Recalls:"
• Locates can be placed by Circulation for items not found for a prolonged period of time.
• Journals (Periodicals and Magazines)
• Use the truncation symbol (?) when guessing journal abbreviations in the Keyword Search box (possible truncation overflow). Ask at the Information Services/Reference Desk 1st floor West for journal abbreviation reference books that convert journal abbreviations to complete titles.
• To limit a search to journals use "Serial (magazines, journals)" click on the "Narrow My Search" button (lower left corner of GIL Catalog search screen).
• Copy and paste the journal "ISSN" number from the database record (such as Inspec or Compendex records) into the "Exact Search" search box, choosing "ISSN (XXXX-XXXX)."
• If the ISSN number search is unsuccessful, and you have an exact journal title, copy and paste the complete journal title (exact, word-for-word phrase, left anchored) to the "Exact Search" screen box and choose "Journal Title * (e.g., Georgia Review)."
• Publication coverage, electronic and print.
• E-journal publication dates are listed in the GIL Catalog "Electronic Version: Get fulltext copy. Find It GT" field, after "Available from."  For example, you may need a 1991 volume of an e-journal, but the Library's e-journal subscription may not begin until 1995. The E-Journals list and GIL Catalog e-journal records contain aggregator e-journals with selective coverage and embargo date restrictions (EBSCOhost, ProQuest, GaleGroup, Factiva, Lexis Nexis, etc.).  Choose the Library subscription e-journal before the aggregator e-journal.
• Always check the years (holdings) of the Library's print subscription in the "Library has" fields (General collection, Storage, Recent issues).
• The Library's GIL Catalog contains records for print (hard copy) and electronic subscription, aggregator and open access journals.  Search the GIL Catalog to obtain print holdings (years) in the "Library has:" field.  Separate electronic and print records may exist; print (hard copy) GIL Catalog records will often be listed after the electronic journal records.
• Title changes.  Each time a journal changes its name, there may be a separate GIL Catalog record for each title change. The GIL Catalog fields "Continued By" and "Continues" and "Split into" indicate title changes. Holdings information (years/volumes) is in the GIL Catalog print "Library has:" field and in the "Electronic Version: Get fulltext copy. Find It GT" -- "Available from" field.  Each "title change" record will have its own holdings information (years).
• The GIL Catalog print "Library Has:" fields indicate which print/hard copy journal volumes are owned by the library and shelved under the "Call Number." Separate print "Library has" fields may be present for "Storage" volumes, for "General Collection" volumes, and for "Recent Issues."
• Loose, non-bound "Recent Issues" are shelved on the 2nd floor east.
• Storage. Periodicals through 1979 are located in "Storage."  Storage items are retrieved by the Circulation Department, 1st floor east. To request retrieval of journals published through 1979, obtain a “Storage Request” form at the Circulation Desk 1st floor east  or at the LWC reference desk 1st floor west or at at http://www.library.gatech.edu/services/borrow/storagerequestforms.pdf.  You can call Circulation at 404-894-4500 to request that items be retrieved from storage, usually about an hour ahead of time.
• Volumes which are at the "Bindery" are indicated in the print "Status" field. Volumes are at the bindery for three weeks.
• "Find It GT" works for most (but not all)  journal records (not for most conference proceedings or reports) in databases such as Inspec and Compendex.
• Conference Proceedings
• Searching for conference proceedings in the GIL Catalog can be very difficult. Please do not hesitate to ask us for help. Contact the first floor west Information Services/Reference Desk for quick reference questions and contact bette.finn@library.gatech.edu for in-depth reference questions.
• Conference proceedings are cataloged in the GIL Catalog as either monographs (books) or as serials.
• GIL Catalog "serial" records combine all volumes and years into one record, making searching of specific conference years or unique conference titles impossible; only the title which occurs every year can be searched.
• GIL Catalog "monograph" (book) records are for a specific conference proceedings, held on a specific date and at a specific location, with an unique monographic title.
• Many database conference/proceedings records (from Inspec, Compendex, etc.) contain more than one conference information field -- serial title/source fields, conference name/monograph title fields, conference date/location/sponsor fields and publication year fields. Note all of the information provided in all conference fields, such as the Inspec or Compendex database "Source/Serial/Journal" field and the "Conference Name" field.
• ISSN Problem.  "ISSN number" conference proceedings searches in the GIL Catalog may not work, although the conference is in the GIL Catalog.  Proceedings can require viewing of all database conference fields (Source/Serial/Journal, Conference Name fields; title that occurs every year, specific title of a specific date and location) in Inspec and Compendex or other database records.
• "Find It GT" often will NOT work properly for conference proceedings or technical reports in databases such as Inspec and Compendex. Use the GIL Catalog "Keyword Search" screen for conference proceedings and questionable journal names, leaving out the keywords "and" "or" "not." Ask us for help.
• "Find It GT" will often result in "Not Available" or "Your search failed!" (or only only list "ILLiad Interlibrary Loan") when in fact the Library owns the publication, such as a conference proceedings in the GIL Catalog or a report in the reports collections or a patent.    Ask us for help.
• IEEE Xplore for IEEE and IEE & IET Journal and Conference Papers
• IEEE and IEE/IET.  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) -- Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).  If the database (Inspec, Compendex etc.) record has the keyword "IEEE" or "IEE" or "IET" for the years 1988 to present (and for some journals back to 1950), try finding out if the Library owns the electronic version of the journal or conference paper by going to the database called "IEEE Xplore," under "Databases" "I" then "IEEE Xplore."  Look for IEEE and IEE/IET in the Journal/Source/Serial and Conference Name fields. Many older and some joint IEEE and IEE/IET papers are not in IEEE Xplore (1988+), but are owned by the Library and are cataloged in the GIL Catalog.
• IEEE Xplore is a relatively small subset of the Inspec database. Inspec writes the abstracts for IEEE Xplore.
• IEEE Xplore contains most full text IEEE and IEE/IET conference and journal papers after 1988 (and some before 1988), but does not include many joint conferences, for copyright reasons, etc.  Always search the GIL Catalog.
• There is a simultaneous user limitation, so please log-out when finished.  If you do not log-out, you are still logged-on, even if you turn the computer off or leave your browser.
• Use IEEE Xplore's "Search" "Advanced" screen. Include one word per box for "Author" and "Document Title" fields, taken from database (Inspec, Compendex etc.) fields.
• Inspec/Compendex index a very large number and wide variety of Library owned electronic and print publications (such as ACM, SPIE, ASME, OSA, AIP, IOP, IPC, APS, SIAM, Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, North Holland, Taylor & Francis, MIT Press, Pergamon Press, Kluwer, Academic Press, Chapman and Hall, and many others) not covered by IEEE Xplore.
• Use "electric engineering" when searching for this Library of Congress' subject heading for the phrase electrical engineering.  You can trucate with electric? in the GIL Catalog.
• ECE detailed search hints and database guides
• GIL Catalog search hints and searching GIL Catalog using information from Inspec & Compendex fields
• A detailed GIL Library Catalog Tip Sheet is available at http://www.library.gatech.edu/search/giltips.pdf
• GIL Library GIL Catalog search examples used in class presentations are at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/2gil.pdf

• Inspec Database (Ei Village)

• Log-in for proxy server.
• Search examples for GIL Catalog records, using information from Inspec fields. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/gilei.pdf   [Get Arobat Reader]
• Inspec (1896 to present).  Indexes journal articles and conference proceeding papers in the areas of physics, electrical engineering, computer engineering, electronics, communications, control engineering, computing, manufacturing and production engineering, and information technology.
• Compendex (1884 to present).  Indexes major journals and conference proceedings in most engineering disciplines.
• Compendex and Inspec search examples     http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/3ei.pdf     [Get Acrobat]
• Inspec and Compendex can be "combined" and searched together (about 20% overlap).
• Format for marked records (email, print, download). "Choose Format." Default is "Citation." Change to "Detailed record" or "Abstract" Format.
• Fast searches in Inspec & Compendex for a few papers on a topic: Limit By (drop down menus) (1) "Journal article" (Document Type) -- Find It @ GT works properly for most journal papers, but often does not work for conference papers; (2) "General review" (Treatment Type); (3) "English" (Language); (4) recent date.  Add synonyms to your search strategy by checking: Title, Abstract, Subject Heading fields; thesauri (online); bibliographies/references at the end of similar papers and footnotes.
• "Limit By." Publication Year.  Earliest possible publication date is 1896/1884.  Reverts to default date for each new search.
• Truncation (*) and Wild Cards.
• Truncation (*) and wild cards cannot be used within quotation marks or braces or used with the near or onear command.
• The asterisk (*) is the right and left hand truncation symbol.
comput* returns computer, computerized, computation, computational, computability
*sorption returns adsorption, absorption, desorption
• Stemming allows retrieval of variants of a word using the word root as the stemming basis. Search terms are automatically stemmed in Easy Search and Quick Search except terms searched in the author field.  In Expert Search, stem terms using $-- $management returns managing, managed, manager, manage, managers, etc.  Truncation, wild cards and stemming cannot be used within quotation marks or braces, but stemming can be used with the proximity operators NEAR/#  ONEAR/#.
• Wild cards:     wom?n finds woman, women.      t??th finds tooth, teeth, truth, tenth.     h*emoglobin finds haemoglobin.
• Phrases (" ") and Proximity (NEAR/# ONEAR/#)
• Phrases. Use quotation marks (" ") or braces for exact, word for word phrases, with no truncation or wild cards.  Examples:  "International Space Station"   {solar energy}
• The NEAR/# and ONEAR/# commands do not work with truncation, wildcards, parenthesis, quotes or braces.
• Search for terms that are within 0-x terms of one another in any order: laser NEAR/4 diode.
• Search for terms that are within 0-x terms of one another and searched in the order entered: laser ONEAR/5 diode
• Search for terms that are near and within the same index:   (laser ONEAR/5 diode) wn TI
• Search for terms that are adjacent:   Space NEAR/0 stations
• If no number of words if specified, four is assumed:  laser NEAR diode is the same as laser NEAR/4 diode
• Fields.  Can restrict to field names.  "Search In"
• Title.  TI=
• Controlled Term is a thesaurus subject heading term.  CV=
• Controlled thesaurus terms and uncontrolled identifier subject terms differ in each database (Inspec and Compendex).
• Publication year coverage for controlled terms can vary.
• Uncontrolled Term is the Uncontrolled Identifier subject heading term selected by an indexer (not a thesaurus term).  FL=
• Example: (((model* or simulat* or algorithm*) WN TI) AND (("signal processing") WN CV)), 1980-2004
• Subject/Title/Abstract retrieves from Abstract, Title, Translated title, Ei and Inspec controlled terms, Ei main heading, and Uncontrolled terms.
• Limiting to "Document Type" or by "Treatment Type" will exclude records from Compendex added before 1985.  Each database offers unique "types" not available in the other database.
• Browse Indexes.  Author.  Search AU=(Clough). Spaces and commas are important. The format for author name differs for each database.
• Inspec only uses initials for first names.  Compendex cites authors' names as they appear in the original document (either initials or full first name).
• Surnames can be followed either by a "space" or followed by a "comma."   Example: In "Expert Search," browse Author Index by both "Clough, G" and by "Clough G" or browse Author Index by both "Clough, W" and by "Clough W."
• Use the "Expert Search" screen for "Browse Indexes," such "Author" box. In Quick Search, if more than three terms are selected, the fourth term will overwrite the term in the third search box. In Expert Search, as many terms as needed can be selected.
• "Search History" combines previous search statements with Boolean operators "and" "or" "not."  Can add search terms with item numbers (#).
• Example: #5 and ((simulat* or model*) wn CV).     Example: (#1 or #2) and #3.
• Only searches run in the same database, or combination of databases, are combinable.
• Combined searches allow you to search multiple databases (Inspec and Compendex) databases simultaneously.
• Duplicates. Click on "Remove Duplicates" then choose Inspec at "Database Preferences: Inspec" (Inspec has fewer record errors than does Compendex).  Duplicate records will be removed from the first 1000 records in the result set.  Inspec is the "database that you prefer to see results from."
• Journals.
• Can copy journal ISSN numbers to the GIL Catalog "Exact Search" screen, choosing ISSN (xxxx-xxxx).
• When the journal ISSN search is not successful, copy and paste the exact,left anchored journal name to the GIL Library Catalog "Exact Search" box and choose "Journal Title."  The GIL Catalog may contain separate records for electronic and print volumes. Note publication year coverage and title changes.  Electronic records are often listed before print records.  "Find It GT" works for most, but not all, journals.
• Conference Proceedings.    Please ask us for help!
• "Find It GT" often will not work for conference proceedings and technical research reports.
• Use the GIL Catalog "Keyword Search" screen for conference proceedings and questionable journal names.  Remember that the words "and" "or" "not" are not allowed in a GIL Catalog "Keyword Search."  Try major conference name keywords first.
• Note "Journal/Source/Serial" field and "Conference Name/Monographic title" fields. Conferences can be cataloged in the GIL Catalog as either monographs (books, with an unique monographic title, a specific date and specific location) or as serials (similar to journals; all conferences listed in one "serial" record).
• "Find It GT" link can incorrectly indicate non-ownership (Find It "ILLiad Interlibrary Loan" or GIL Catalog error "Not Available" or "Your search failed!") when in fact the the Library owns the publication, such as a conference proceeding in the GIL Catalog, a report in the reports collection, or a patent.  Ask us for help!
• ISSN problem. Many conference proceeding ISSN numbers will not work with SFX "Find It GT," although the proceedings are in the GIL Catalog.  The Library may own all volumes of a particular conference proceedings in the GIL Catalog, but the INSPEC and Compendex or other database "ISSN number" will not work in the GIL Catalog.
• IEEE and IEE/IET.  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) -- Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).  If the keywords "IEEE" or "IEE" or "IET" are in the Inspec or Compendex "Journal/Source/Serial" field or in the Inspec or Compendex "Conference Name" field, search both IEEE Xplore ("Advanced Search" one word in each box, such as author last name and title keyword) and the GIL Catalog.  Some IEEE and IEE/IET papers are not in IEEE Xplore, but are owned by the Library and are cataloged in the GIL Catalog.
• "Find It GT".  "Find It GT" (located at the end of each record) works for most (but not all) "journal article" document types.  "Find It GT" links to electronic full text or to the GIL Catalog record.  Note that aggregator databases can have selective full text coverage and embargo date restrictions (ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Factiva, GaleGroup, Lexis Nexis, etc.).  Some joint and many pre-1988 IEEE/IEE/IET conference papers are not in IEEE Xplore.  "Find It GT" often indicates that the Georgia Tech Library does not own the record's publication (such as technical reports, conferences, patents) when in fact the Library actually does own it.  "Find It GT" often will not work for conference proceedings or reports -- the conference proceeding may be in the GIL Catalog.  Check journal title changes (Continues Continued by Spilt into) in the GIL Catalog.
• "Refine Search" keeps current settings.  "New Search" erases all settings and return to defaults.
• Spellings.  Remember British and American spellings of words and alternative spellings, and spell out acronyms and abbreviations (fiber/fibre, modelled/modeled, AGV/automated guided vehicle*).
• Session expiration.   Your session will expire after 20 continuous minutes of inactivity.  Mark and send records to email or save in a file.
• Mark your records and E-mail, Print or Download them. Remember to change "Choose format" from the default "Citation" to either "Abstract" or "Detailed record."
• Select range.  You can add up to 400 records in "Select range" before choosing to e-mail or download.   "Choose format" email, print, or download selected records. Check "Clear Selected Records" on new search.  Choose either "Detailed record" or "Abstract" under "Change format." Only 5,000 results can be retrieved from any search.
• Stop words.   Place the phrase within braces or quotation marks. {block and tackle} "water craft parts and equipment"  {near earth objects}
• Thesaurus.  Use "Exact Term" if you know a controlled vocabulary term and want go directly to its thesaurus entry which contains broader, narrower and related terms as well as scope notes, prior terms and lead-in terms
• "Quick Search" and "Expert Search" screens are available..
• Post Search results can be sorted by date (publication year), relevance, author or source.
• Saved searches.  Up to 125 saved searches are available.  Only one search statement line is saved.  Search History then Save.  You can save up to 50 records within each personal folder (3 folders)..
• Alerts.  Create up to 125 weekly E-mail Alerts from the Search History. Up to 25 records are sent within an e-mail alert. If more records were retrieved from the weekly update, a hyperlink appears in the body of the e-mail alert linking you to the Engineering Village 2.
• GIL Catalog slide class presentation examples, using Inspec and Compendex field information  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/2gil.pdf .
• GIL Catalog search hints  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/gilei.htm

• The Library subscribes to a substantial numer of electronic journals by publishers such as IEEE, IEE, SPIE, ASA, AIP, OSA, Academic Press, Springer,  Elsevier, and Wiley.
• Note that the E-Journal list and the GIL Catalog electronic "Electronic Version: Get fulltext copy" "Find It GT" records contain aggregator journals (EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Lexis Nexis, Factiva, GaleGroup, etc.) with selected coverage and embargo date restrictions.
• Note the publication years covered by the Library's electronic journal subscription. The Library may not pay for all years available electronically, but may own the volumes in print, hard copy form, shelved under the GIL Catalog Call Number (print record "Library has:" fields).  Search the GIL Catalog.
• Take special note of the publication years covered by the Library's electronic journal subscription. For example, you may need a 1991 volume of an e-journal, but the Library's subscription may not begin until 1995.  Always check the dates of the Library's print subscription in the "Library has:" fields.
• Electronic journals are linked in the print GIL Catalog "Electronic Version: Get fulltext copy. Find It GT" field. Years of electronic subscription coverage are indicated in the GIL Catalog or E-Journals list "Electronic Version: Get fulltext copy. Find It GT" "Available from" field.  Note title changes ("Continues" and "Continued by" and "Split into").  The Catalog may contain separate records for print and electronic journals; print (hard copy) GIL Catalog records will often be listed after the electronic journal records.
• IEEE Xplore.  Most 1988 to present IEEE and IEE journal articles and conference papers indexed by the Inspec database can be accessed for free (full images) through IEEE Xplore. IEEE Xplore covers the years 1988 to present (and selective journal papers back to 1950). Please log-out when finished (simultaneous users limitation).
• Use the Inspec database for searching!  IEEE Xplore is a subset of the Inspec database.  IEE's Inspec database is the world's foremost electronics and electrical engineering index, superior to IEEE Xplore's limited capabilities of searching of only IEEE/IEE publications.  IEEE Xplore's abstracts written by Inspec. Inspec indexes a large number and variety of Library owned electrical and computer engineering publications not published by IEEE or IEE (IEEE Xplore), such as ACM, SPIE, OSA, AIP, ASA, ASME, IPC, MIT Press, Elsevier, Pergamon Press, Kluwer, Wiley, North Holland, Academic Press, Chapman and Hall, Taylor and Francis, Butterworth, VNU, and many others.
• Science Direct. ScienceDirect offers access to the Elsevier Science journal collection. Full text for Elsevier only subscribed scientific, technical and medical journals.  Note subscription year coverage.
• Aggregator Full-Text Journal/Newspaper Articles.   Selected aggregator databases contain some full text and full images in business, humanities, social sciences, legal, and general sciences journal and newspaper articles (EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Lexis Nexis, Factiva, GaleGroup, etc.). Aggregator databases with full text coverage can be selective in coverage and can have embargo year restrictions.

• Georgia Tech Library's Electronic Reserve (Services -- Course Reserves) System makes course reading materials accessible 24 hours a day. Faculty place both scanned and print [book] material on Reserve.  Class notes, homework solutions, "Word" (old tests and exams), journal articles, and book chapters are the components of Electronic Reserves.

• Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources
• Evaluate Your Sources
• Evaluating Internet Research Sources
• Evaluation: Yahoo
• How to Critically Analyze Information Sources
• Internet Detective
• Thinking Critically About World Wide Web Resources
• How to Pick a Search Engine

• Information Delivery will try to provide loans or photocopies of items not owned by the Georgia Tech Library.
• Electronic interlibrary loan ILLiad forms are at http://illiad.library.gatech.edu/.
• Borrowing & Requesting from other Libraries:  "OPTION 2 - ILLiad Interlibrary Loan System"

Service is available to currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff.
• Most loans and photocopies are free. However, you would be responsible for any charges in excess of $25.00 per item.
• You can  indicate in the "Notes" field that you want to be notified if the item is not free.
• Delivery can range from a few days to several weeks, so allow enough time when requesting material. If you need something in a hurry, indicate a specific deadline. You would still be responsible for charges in excess of the $25 per item limit, even if the material is received after your deadline.
Use the service to obtain:
• Photocopies and loans of books, theses, articles, conference papers, etc. from other libraries or commercial vendors.
• Dissertations from other schools.  Generally we try to obtain a loan of dissertations; however you have the option of requesting a purchase of an unbound copy ($30.00) from Dissertation Express.  Use the ILLiad Request a Photocopy option and put “Order from Dissertation Express” in the Notes field.
• Audio-visual materials.  We will do our best to borrow these for you, but many libraries will not lend them or will lend them with restrictions.  Please contact Information Delivery for further information.
• For charges in excess of $25 per item, ask your ECE advisor if you are eligible to use an ECE PeopleSoft Project Number and its corresponding ECE Document ID Number.
• Notes.  Fill out all empty field boxes and also copy and paste the entire Library bibliographic database record into the “Notes” field box.
• Item Pick-Up.  Pick up loaned items and photocopies at the Circulation Desk, 1st floor east.
• Questions.  For questions about your interlibrary loan, ask the Information Delivery Department, located on the 2nd floor east (office door). Phone 404-894-4511. Hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.  Email: delivery@library.gatech.edu
• Time. Interlibrary loan turn around time is usually 2-3 weeks. Interlibrary Loan FAQ
• Distance Learners Document Delivery and interlibrary loan for Georgia Tech Savannah, Center for Distance Learning, GT Lorraine, and other off-campus. http://www.library.gatech.edu/services/distance.php

• Ethics, Mediation & Arbitration Resources
• IEEE Code of Ethics.

• Professional Organizations
• IEEE Spectrum.  IEEE Spectrum is one of IEEE's journals. It has news analysis, articles, and other information of interest to electrical and computer engineers.  For ideas of search topics, look at the Table of Contents.
• IEEE Standards Style Manual.   Other style guides.
• IEEE Professional Communication Society. The primary mission of PCS is to help engineers and technical communicators develop skills in written and oral presentation, through promoting advanced practices and theories for writing technical and scientific documentation that achieve both technical accuracy and user friendliness, developing presentation skills that capture the audience and deliver information across technical and cultural boundaries, provide information about state-of-the-art technologies for document design and publication, exploring the integration  visual communication tools (e.g., drawings, diagrams, 3-D models, animation) with written and spoken communication, and conducting research on how to ensure effective communication in a modern engineering environment
• IEEE Home page.  Home page for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Includes membership information, publications, job listing service, standards server, society web pages, and more. IEEE is a leading authority in technical areas ranging from electrical and computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace and consumer electronics, among others.
• IEEE Computer Society. Home Page for the IEEE Computer Society. Includes membership information, publications, job listing service, and more.
• ACM Home page.  Association for Computing Machinery.
• IEE/IET Home page. (London)  Institution of Electrical Engineers, now Institution of Engineering and Technology.
• AIP Home page. American Institute of Physics.
• OSA Home page.  Optical Society of America.
• SPIE Home page.  SPIE is the International Society for Optical Engineering.
• Society for Technical Communication's related web links.
• Selective ECE Professional Organizations
• Gale's new Directory platform (Encyclopedia of Associations, Research Centers directory, etc.) will migrate to a new interface.  Search the GIL Catalog for print versions.
• Electrical and Computer Engineering Internet sites  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/ecesites.htm

Standards and specifications are documents that stipulate or recommend minimum and/or optimal levels of performance, quality, conditions and procedures for production, evaluation, distribution, and use of materials, products, and services.  Standards can be set by law. Others are voluntary and are established by societies with particular interest in the field in question.  Specifications are usually narrower in scope than standards.

Search example for Standards.  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/p4stand.pdf

The Library's print and electronic standards. http://www.library.gatech.edu/search_locate/techres/standtech.htm

"Standards at Tech" or "Standards Vendors" or "Society Standards."  Standards Subject Guide. http://www.library.gatech.edu/research_help/subject/index.php?/building_codes

The Library subscribes to full image electronic ASTM and IEEE standards and has access to many free governmental electronic standards.

Selected standards are cataloged in the GIL Catalog at http://gil.gatech.edu/

Index to standards.  The Library subscribes to a bibliographic IHS database with indexingto identify standards produced by over 730 organizations from around the world at "Databases" "Specs and Standards" http://www.library.gatech.edu/gtonly/policy_astm.php (IHS).  IHS's standards database has a limitation of one simultaneous user.

Standards which are set by the federal government.   http://www.library.gatech.edu/search_locate/techres/standgov.htm

A selected list of groups of standards or standard producing organizations follows:

• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) issues test methods for all kinds of materials, products, systems, etc.  Available full image.  Database is limited to one simultaneous user.
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards are available full image at IEEE Xplore  http://www.library.gatech.edu:2048/login?url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org  (log-out when finished).  Database is limited to 15 simultaneous users.
• Department of Defense. Specifications and Standards   http://stinet.dtic.mil/str/dodiss.html
• Code of Federal Regulations codifies federal government rules and regulations.  These are set by law and cover a very wide range of subjects, including:  agriculture, energy, financial practices, aerospace, commerce, food and drugs, housing and urban development, national defense, education, environmental protection, public health, telecommunications, transportation, etc. http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html
• Consumer Product Safety Commission   http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/pub_idx.html.
• DOE Technical Standards http://tis.eh.doe.gov/techstds/
• OSHA http://www.osha.gov/

• Trademarks.Trademarks are words, phrases, symbols or designs, or combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, which identify and distinguish the sources of the goods or services of one party from those of others. Service marks are the same as trademarks, except that they identify and distinguish the sources of services rather than products.
• Federally Registered ® Trademarks. Federal trademarks generally must be used in interstate commerce. U.S. Federal Government trademark information is available at http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm The U.S. federal trademark full image database (TESS Trademark Electronic Search System).
• Library's Trademarks Subject Guideis at http://www.library.gatech.edu/research_help/subject/index.php?/patents. Trademark Web Resources: Free Search Sites.  http://www.library.gatech.edu/search_locate/techres/trademarkweb.htm
• States.  Contact the appropriate state agency for state registered™ or SM trademarks.