Contact for in-depth and quick one-on-one database and verification search assistance or for customized group instruction/course web guides:

Bette Finn, Subject Librarian for ECE
E-mail: bette.finn@library.gatech.edu
Georgia Tech Library, mail code 0900
Phone 404/894-1790, 1-888-225-7804, Fax 404/894-8190

• A list of Library services for ECE students is at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eceser.htm
• Interlibrary loan for books and papers not owned by the Library (use the interlibrary loan ILLiad request form)
• Course Reserves.
• Borrowing from GT Library: Recalls, loan periods, fines, renewals. Graduate and undergraduate students.  Faculty/staff document delivery.

• Aerospace Database.  ProQuest. (1962 -   ) Indexes aerospace proceedings and journals, and technical reports.  Includes aerodynamics, energy production and conversion, environmental pollution, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, materials, mechanical engineering, thermodynamics, atomic and molecular, nuclear and high energy, optics, acoustics, plasmas, propellants and fuels, and structural mechanics. Search multiple ProQuest databases (such as NTIS, Materials, GeoRef, ProQuest Dissertations, etc.) at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Search hints and search examples. Print section called International Aeronautical Abstracts 1942-1962 at Call Number TL501 .A326.  Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• NASA/NACA Technical Reports.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (1917+).  Examples of NASA's STI include research reports, journal articles, conference and meeting papers, technical videos, mission-related operational documents, and preliminary data.  Many NACA reports (1917-1958) and selected NASA reports are full text.
• NASA Thesaurus.
• Technical reports are primarily in the microfiche technical reports collection on the 2nd floor east, or in electronic format.  Selected reports are available full text at Government websites.  Selected NASA/NACA reports are cataloged.  Selected reports are available in the local Government Reports Repository or in the new Catalog (Finder/VUFind).  Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports.  (1963 - 1995).  Call Number: TL500 .S35.  Indexes aerospace technical reports. Available in an on-line service, 1962 to present, for a fee.  International Aerospace Abstracts.  (1961-2002) Call Number: TL500 .I57.    U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Index of NACA Technical Publications.  Z5063 .U592  (1915-1956/58) .  U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.  Research Abstracts. TL501 .U5X   (1951-1958).   U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Index of NASA Technical Publications.  Z5063 .U592  (1958-1959). U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Publications Announcements.  TL501.U5895.  (1958-1962).  Location of indexes: 2nd floor East.
• Society of Automotive Engineers. SAE's web page   SAE Technical Paper TL1 .S58X, 1969 to 2004 (partial)  -- microfiche papers by SAE paper#, located on the 2nd floor east.   SAE Papers TL1 .S55X (hard copy 1961-1968). SAE transactions TL1 .S6 (1907-2007).  See the Catalog for other SAE publications.  SAE Technical Literature Abstracts  TL1 .S67X (1975 - 2000). Annual Index/Abstracts of SAE Technical Papers TL1.S62X  (1984 - 2007). Cumulative Index of SAE Technical Papers  Z5170 S62X (1965-1993) and Z5170.S612X 1990 (for papers 1906-1964). SAE Publications Catalog Z5170.S6X (1962-1981).   SAE's on-line mobility databases are available for a fee through an on-line database service (1906 -   ). The fee based SAE Global Mobility Bibliographic Database (1MOBILITY) is a bibliographic database that contains information on worldwide literature of technologies for self-propelled vehicles. Vehicles include those for land, sea, air, and space. Contact bette.finn@library.gatech.edu for additional information. Preliminary "title only" searches can often be provided for free to Georgia Tech students and faculty.

• Inspec (1896 to present) Bioelectronics, biophysics, computers, modeling, automation in any field.  Journals and conferences. Includes a thesaurus.
• Compendex (1884 to present) All areas of engineering. Journals and conferences. Includes a thesaurus. Search hints
• Combine Inspec and Compendex together ("Select Database"); 20% overlap.  "Remove Duplicates" -- "Database Preferences:" -- choose Inspec.
• NTIS National Technical Information Service. (1964 to present) Technical research reports. Full-Text Availability of technical reports.
• Web of Knowledge.  ISI. Combines multiple databases.  For biological, bioengineering,  and medical topics, combine Web of Science's Science Citation Index, BIOSIS Previews, and Medline into one search (choose "All Databases" tab).
• MEDLINE. NLM's medical and biomedical Medline database. NLM (PubMed) provides free access to Medline 1966+ and OLDMedline 1958-1965.  NLM MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).  PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine) includes over 16 million citations from Medline and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. PubMed includes links to full text articles and other related resources. PubMed help. Medline (1950 to present) is available through ISI Medline.  PubMed Central -- NLM's life sciences journal literature. Older print index: Current list of medical literature; Call Number: Z6660 .C8; library has: v. 1-36 (1941-1959). Cumulated Index medicus; Call Number: R11 .C86; library has: 1960-1965. Web of Knowledge combines BIOSIS Previews, Web of Science's Science Citation Index, and Medline together; use the "All Databases" tab..
• BIOSIS Previews. (1969 to present) Biological sciences. Journal papers, meeting abstracts and books.  Biological Abstracts (1926-2003) Call Number: QH301 .B37. Bioresearch Index/BA/RRM (1967-1988) Call Number: Z5321.B672. Web of Knowledge combines BIOSIS Previews, Web of Science, and Medline together; use the "All Databases" tab.
• Science Citation Index (1900 to present).  Web of Science. Institute for Scientific Information. ISI. Web of Science's Science Citation Index indexes major science and technology journals, including major medical and major biomedical journals.  Web of Knowledge combines BIOSIS Previews, Web of Science's Science Citation Index, and Medline together; use the "All Databases" tab.
• PsycINFO. (1887 to present) Psychological Abstracts.
• Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

• Georgia Tech Library's Classic Catalog  https://gil.gatech.edu/ The Classic Catalog contains books, journals, conference proceedings, maps, and other materials owned by the Georgia Tech Library.  Classic Catalog search hints -- http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/gilei.htm, and Classic Catalog search examples -- http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/2gil.pdf
• GT Catalog (Finder/VUFind) is an overlay to the Classic Catalog.  See search examples at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/2gil.pdf.
• WorldCat. Galileo database. Indexes over 35 million bibliographic records of books and other types of materials catalogued by OCLC libraries worldwide (2150 B.C. to present).  WorldCat overs all disciplines, including engineering and science.   WorldCat includes library locations for journals/serials (OCLC Union List of Periodicals Georgia group gr:gl$d;  Georgia Libraries Journal List/GOLD). Search example.   Borrow many through interlibrary loan.

• Chemical Abstracts, SciFinder Scholar (1907 to present). SciFinder Scholar. CAPlus (Chemical Abstracts) (1907- ) provides access to journal articles, patents, conference proceedings and selected technical reports/dissertations in all areas of chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences.CAS Registry (1957- ) provides access to over 20 million records for organic and inorganic substances and more than 24 million sequences. Records include CAS Registry Numbers, CA index names, synonyms, molecular formulas and structures.CASREACT (1907- ) provides access to more than 6 million single and multi-step reactions of organic substances including organometallic and biomolecules. CHEMCATS (Chemical Catalogs Online) (1996- ) provides access to catalogs and chemical libraries containing information about commercially available chemicals and their worldwide suppliers. CHEMLIST (Regulated Chemicals Listing) (1979- ) provides access to information about regulated chemical substances listed on National inventories.
• Registration is required. With this web version you can create "Keep Me Posted Alerts" for both references and substances. SciFinder Scholar Help, Support and Training
• Complex and efficient searches using Boolean operators, proximity operators and manipulation of previous search statements are available in the STN Chemical Abstracts 1907+ database. Contact Bette Finn, bette.finn@library.gatech.edu. Preliminary "title only" searches can often be provided for free to Georgia Tech students and faculty.
• The Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index. Call Number: Z5523.A525. Location: reference, 2nd floor east. CAS Source Index (CASSI) Search Tool (not as complete as the print version).
• A SciFinder Scholar slide presentation with examples is available at  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/7cas.pdf.
• Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology. (1999 to present). The Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology is a comprehensive account of polymer sciences and technology. Coverage includes physical and chemical properties, manufacture, uses, economic aspects, methods and processes and general subjects. The online version began with the 3rd edition and will be updated regularly as changes occur.
• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (1999-)  An important chemistry encyclopedia with a major emphasis on the applied aspects of chemistry and chemical engineering. Coverage includes chemical substances including properties, manufacture of the substances and uses. Other coverage includes industrial processes, unit operations and unit processes, fundamentals, analytical  methods and general subjects such as patents and regulatory agencies. The online version began with the 4th edition and will be updated regularly as changes occur.
• Reaxys.  The reaxys database replaces both Beilstein and Gmelin CrossFire as the source of experimentally validated chemistry data. Organic and inorganic chemistry handbooks.
• Springer Materials (Landolt-Börnstein). Excellent resource for physical and chemical data in materials science: substances & material systems; properties; literature citations.

• Web of Science. Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).
• Science Citation Index (1900 to present)
• Social Science Citation Index (1956 to present)
• Arts and Humanities Search (1975 to present)
• Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (1990 to present); Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Social Science & Humanities (1990 to present). CPCI: cited references and cumulative citation counts from 1999.
• Web of Science provides access to research literature through standard access points and to cited references (bibliographies, footnotes) published with a scholarly paper.  A tutorial is available.  Use the first author named in the bibliography reference or footnote.  Use the author index browse icon to locate variations.
• Web of Science Science Citation Index search example is at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/5sci.pdf  ISI Web of Science "Help" (top, upper right corner).
• "Cited Reference Search." Use "first author" name.  "Cited Author" (with and without middle initial).  If too many records, use "Current Limits" -- "Timespan" before using "Cited Year(s)" -- conferences can be held one year and published 1-3 years later. Avoid using "Cited Work" search box.  Review all screens, looking for all possible title variations.  Watch for typographical errors -- incorrect page numbers, volume numbers, years etc.  Click on "Finish Search"  then "Output Records" -- "Records _ to _" then Print, Email or Save To.
• Science Citation Index. (1900 to present)   Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Web of Science
• Cited reference searching locates articles that have cited a previously published work. Through a cited reference search, one can determine how a known idea or innovation has been confirmed, applied, improved, extended, or corrected. Steps for Cited Reference Search: (1) Enter the name of a Cited Author (FIRST AUTHOR). Then click Search. (2) If you too many hits are retrieved, return to the form "Limit to Timespan."  If necessay use Cited Year. (3) After clicking Search, note references from the citation index that contain the cited author/cited work data entered. Look for variants; papers are sometimes cited incorrectly.  (4) Select reference(s) from the citation index, and then click Finish Search.  Clicking on "Finish Search" will retrieve records of articles that cite the references selected from the citation index. Tips: Enter the name of the first author of a multi-authored article or book. Try doing the cited reference lookup without entering a Cited Year in order to retrieve variations of the same cited reference.
• The Citation Index is a useful way to find articles that cite classic references.  The "classic reference" can be of any date and from any source, such as patents, dissertations, books, conference paper, technical reports, or from journal articles.  The Citation Index is also used by scientists and engineers to determine whether their work has been applied or criticized by others.
• Author names.  Web of Science captures full author names as they are listed in original records.  This feature is not available for records prior to 2006. The full author names will not be retrospective (old records will remain author initials only). Browse using the author index icon to find name variations (initials only; full first name; with and without middle initial; one or no spaces between initials).
• Other sources:
• SciFinder Scholar's Chemical Abstracts includes "Get Related" "Citing References" -- Get references that cite the selected document(s).
• Selected ProQuest databases (Materials Research Database, etc) have limited citation searching. PsycINFO has "Times Cited in this Database."
• Full text.  Cited references searched in the "References" field in Elsevier "In Press/Corrected Proof" journal articles will appear in ScienceDirect, before they are formally published and then indexed by Web of Science's Science Citation Index. Other full text searchable databases may search bibliographic references at the end of "full text" articles --  such as IEEE Xplore ("Cited by IEEE" ; Search/Advanced "Full  Text ... All Fields" or view "AbstractPlus" --"Citing Documents"), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office "Referenced By" patent numbers, PROLA (APS; "Cited Author"), SPIN (physics "Cited Author"), OpticsInfobase, IOP, etc.
• "Google Scholar" indexes selected references in bibliographies.  "Cited by"

• Business and Management Research Guides.  All guides are compiled by Patricia Kenly, including information given below.
• TABS: Databases. Industry Profiles.     Business Rankings. Georgia/Atlanta. Company Profiles.      Company Directories.
• ABI/Inform Complete covers 1971+ and full text from 1991+ (about half full text). ABI/Inform Archive 1905-1985. Index to U.S. and international journals covering all aspect of business and management. ProQuest database (multiple databases can be searched at one time).  These two databases can be combined and searched together - "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Periodical articles (3000 full-text). Summaries link to Hoover's company profiles (click on "i" icon). Has Wall Street Journal full-text.
• Business Abstracts with Full Text (Wilson/EBSCO) (1913+). Provides abstracts to articles in 6000 major English-language business magazines.
• Business Rankings (Business & Management Research Guide tab)
• Company Profiles (Business & Management Research Guide tab)
• Industry Profiles (Business & Management Research Guide tab)
• Market Share (Business & Management Research Guide tab)
• Georgia & Atlanta Business Research Guide
• Reference USA is one of the Library's company directories.  Company directory of over 13 million U.S. businesses. Create customized lists ("Data Summary") by combining geographical, size of business and line of business variables ("Custom Search"). Geographical search options are: zip code, MSA, county, city, state and area code. Size of business search options are: sales volume and number of employees. Line of business search options are: yellow page heading and SIC code. Can also search directly by company name or ticker symbol. Each record also contains contact name(s). Company directories (Business & Management Research Guide tab)
• Thomas Register's ThomasNet.com"Supplier Finder" database http://www.thomasnet.com/. Industrial companies are listed free; about ThomasNet. Call Number: TS199 .T45A (2005) reference collection 2nd Floor East SE corner.
• MacRAE's Blue Book http://www.macraesbluebook.com/  is an industrial directory sourcing tool for North American industrial products. Search by company or product. American industrial directory since 1893.
• Gale's directories (Encyclopedia of Associations, Research Centers directory, etc.): search the Catalog.
• Government Information Research Guide, compiled by Patricia Kenly. The Georgia Tech Library is a resource center for United States federal government publications.
• Statistical Information Research Guide, compiled by Patricia Kenly
• ProQuest Statistical Insight (formerly LexisNexis Statistical Insight) Statistics produced by the U.S. government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities.
• ProQuest Statistical Datasets (formerly LexisNexis Statistical Datasets)   .
• Patent, Standards and Trademark Information
• Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory.  Directory of journals (periodicals), grouped by general subject areas.
• Georgia Tech Career Services

• Research Data Management Georgia Tech Library LibGuide (NIH, NSF, etc.).
• Georgia Tech Library's Scholarly Communication and Digital Curation department.
• Scholarly Communication, Open Access, Copyright and Author Rights.  Georgia Tech Library LibGuide, compiled by Patricia Kenly.

• ProQuest Dissertations (ProQuest; UMI),  (1861+ ; selected 1639+).
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses covers Ph.D. dissertations accepted at accredited U.S. institutions since 1861 (selected from 1639). Detailed abstracts.  It selectively covers masters theses, Canadian dissertations, and British and other European dissertations.  The full range of academic subjects is found in this index.  Abstracts for doctoral dissertations begin July 1980, and masters theses begin spring 1988. Simple bibliographic citations are available for a few selected dissertations dating from 1637. Updated monthly. Abstracts earlier than July 1980 are in Dissertation Abstracts International Call Number Z5053 .D57 (1938-2001, 1861-2001). Borrow many through interlibrary loan
• Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Search hints and search examples
• ProQuest Digital Dissertations offers subscribers access to dissertations in digital format starting with titles published from 1997 forward. Free preview copies of the first 24 pages of many dissertations 1997 to present are available to all users of the database. UMI Express. Georgia Tech authors.
• Theses & Dissertations by GT Authors      Theses and Dissertations by Other Authors
• Few new Georgia Tech dissertations are likely to be added to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I and Dissertations and Theses @ Georgia Institute of Technology databases after fall 2012.
• Full text Georgia Tech dissertations and theses are linked in SMARTech and the Catalogs (https://gil.gatech.edu/ or https://portal.library.gatech.edu/), and are indexed by WorldCat.
• NTIS. National Technical Information Service. (1964 to present).  Indexes many U.S. government sponsored masters theses and doctoraldissertations.  U.S. government sponsored research reports. Library owns NTIS reports in microfiche on the 2nd floor east, or selected reports in electronic or print format. Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Search hints and search examples
• WorldCat.  Galileo database. Indexes bibliographic records of books and other types of materials catalogued by OCLC libraries worldwide.  Includes master theses and doctoral dissertations.  Borrow many through Interlibrary Loan.
• Georgia Tech masters theses and doctoral dissertations (electronic and print copy).  The most recent Georgia Tech electronic theses and dissertationsare are in the SMARTech repository Electronic Theses and Dissertation Collection. They will be added to the Classic Catalog  http://gil.gatech.edu/ and the GT Catalog (Finder/VUFind).

• Inspec (1896 to present)
• Inspec provides access to the world's scientific and technical literature in physics, electrical engineering, computer engineering, communications, optics, photonics, electronics, computers and control, simulation and modeling, biomedical technology, radar, electrical power, robotics, telecommunications, radio, mechanical and production engineering, and information technology for business.  Includes Inspec Thesaurus online. Combine with Compendex.
• Inspec database search hints are available at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eintis.htm
• Database search examples from class presentations are available at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/3ei.pdf
• Engineering Village "Help" (upper right corner) Ei Training
• Information is derived primarily from journals and conference papers published in all countries and languages of the world, and also include some information from reports, books, and dissertations.
• Search Inspec and Compendex together ("Select Database"): about 20% overlap between Inspec and Compendex.
• "Remove Duplicates" --  using "Database Preferences" -- choose "Inspec" (fewer errors in Inspec).
• IEEE Xplore.
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).  Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) is now Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
• The IEEE Xplore full image database contains the following collections: IEEE (Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) journals, transactions, letters, and magazines from January 1988 with select content back to 1893. IET/IEE (Institution of Electrical Engineers/Institution of Engineering and Technology) journals, letters, and magazines with select content back to 1965.  IEEE conference proceedings from January 1988 with select content back to 1953. IET/IEE conference proceedings back to 1988.  IEEE technical standards and specifications, including superseded standards but excluding draft standards, dating from January 1948. Educational courses in an interactive format.  Selected IEEE-Wiley eBooks from 1974.
• IEEE Xplore includes one-hour long interactive educational online courses developed by leading experts recognized in their field.
• Some joint publications may not be in IEEE Xplore. Some full text searching is possible in IEEE Xplore.
• Use Inspec/Compendex  (1896+/1884+) for searching! IEEE Xplore (journals/proceedings) is a subset of the Inspec database.
• Inspec is the world's foremost electronics and electrical engineering index, far superior to IEEE Xplore's capabilities of searching only IEEE/IEE/IET publications. Inspec's abstracts are in IEEE Xplore records; IEEE Xplore uses Inspec Controlled and Inspec Non Controlled Indexing, in addition to IEEE Terms.
• Search Inspec/Compendex and use IEEE Xplore as document delivery for IEEE, IEE and IET papers.
• 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, MIT Press, Elsevier, MSA, Pergamon Press, Springer, Kluwer, Wiley, North Holland, Academic Press, Chapman and Hall, Taylor and Francis, VNU, and many others) not covered by IEEE Xplore.
• IEEE style manual.  Other citation style and writing guides.
• ECE Professional Communications Program Writing Resources lists three "IEEE Formatting" guides: IEEE Editorial Style Manual ; How to Prepare Papers for IEEE Journals ; Information for Authors
• Georgia Tech ECE PhD Preliminary Examination Information.  Past Exams and Solutions. Preliminary exam study guide.
• Selected ECE reference sources
• PapersFirst. (1993 to present).  Galileo database.  Index to conference papers received by the British Library.  Good for conference paper verifications.
• NTIS National Technical Information Service. (1964 to present) Technical research reports. Full-Text Availability (electronic or 2nd floor east microfiche).

• Energy Citations Database (ECD). (1948 to present)  Energy and nuclear energy.  Free DOE database. Energy Citations contains bibliographic records for energy and energy related scientific and technical information from the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies, the Energy Research and Development Administration  (ERDA) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The Database provides access to DOE publicly available citations from 1948 through the present, with continued growth through regular updates. Energy Citations includes bibliographic records of literature in disciplines of interest to DOE such as chemistry, physics, materials, environmental science, geology, engineering, mathematics, climatology, oceanography, computer science and related disciplines.  It includes citations to report literature, conference papers, journal articles, books, dissertations, and patents.  Energy Citations Database indexes selected full text reports (overlaps full text DOE Information Bridge 1996+).  Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• Although selected reports are in the GT Catalog (Finder/VUFind), most DOE reports before 1996 are in the microfiche technical reports collectionon the 2nd floor east.
• ETDE World Energy Base -- ETDE Web (1995 to present).  In addition to information from International Energy Agency countries, ETDEWEB contains worldwide information in the nuclear, coal, and global climate change areas. This broader coverage comes through cooperative alliances with the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear Information System (INIS) and IEA Coal Research - The Clean Coal Centre. This database is available free to U.S. citizens, but registration is required to obtain an account and password for remote access.  It contains much of the same information as DOE's Energy Science and Technology Database.
• Energy Science and Technology. (1974 to present)  The free Energy Citations Database and the free DOE Information Bridge are both subsets of the fee-based Energy Science and Technology database 1974- (which corresponds to the print indexes Energy Research Abstracts, INIS Atomindex, and others such as Coal Abstracts).
• For information about the comprehensive fee based database Energy Science and Technology contact bette.finn@library.gatech.edu.  Preliminary "title only" searches can often be provided for free to Georgia Tech students and faculty.  Description of this fee-based database
• DOE Information Bridge. (1996 -   ) Full text DOE research and development reports. Subset of Energy Citations Database.
• IAEA Nuclear Information database available online for free.  INIS is a leading international database on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. INIS Atomindex International Atomic Energy Agency (1970 - 1996)  Call Number: Z7144 .N8 I18; location:  storage; available through a fee-based on-line database service, 1974 to present.
• Nuclear Science Abstracts QC770 .U64 (1948-1976). Energy Research Abstracts Z5853 .P83 U5441X (1976-1995). See IAEA and free Energy Citations Database.
• Compendex 1884+, Inspec 1896+, NTIS 1964+ technical reports.  Combine Inspec and Compendex together.

• Compendex. Engineering Information (1884 to present).  Major engineering journal and proceedings papers database.  Includes Compendex Thesaurus online. Combine with Inspec.
• Compendex search hints and slide examples Engineering Village "Help" (upper right corner) Ei Training
• Search Inspec and Compendex together ("Select Database"): about 20% overlap between Inspec and Compendex.  "Remove Duplicates" --  using "Database Preferences" -- choose "Inspec" (fewer errors in Inspec).
• Inspec (1896 to present) electrical and computer engineering, controls, and physics journal and conference paper index database.
• NTIS (1964 to present). NTIS technical research reports database.  Most are owned by the Library in electronic or microfiche on the 2nd floor east.  NTIS search hints.  NTIS search example. Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• Applied Science & Technology Abstracts (Wilson/EBSCO) (1913+) Provides bibliographic references in major scientific, trade, and technology periodicals. Coverage spans many specialties.  Library owns many of the periodicals.
• Royal Society (Great Britain).  Catalogue of Scientific Papers.  19 volumes.  Z7403.R88 1800-1900. Author index.  German literature Z2221 .K23 1750-1876.

• 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. Can click on "My Subscription"
• CRCnetBASE (formerly ENGnetBASE) . Engineering handbooks
• ASM Handbooks Online. ASM International, the Materials Information Society.
• Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology.
• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
• Springer Materials (Landolt-Börnstein). Excellent resource for physical and chemical data in materials science: substances & material systems; properties; literature citations.
• Reaxys.  The reaxys database replaces both Beilstein and Gmelin CrossFire as the source of experimentally validated chemistry data. Organic and inorganic chemistry handbooks.
• Selective handbooks and encyclopedias in electrical and computer engineering (includes sample Catalog searches).
• A large number of reference sources are listed in the Library's Classic Catalog at http://gil.gatech.edu/. Examples include the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Oxford English Dictionary, Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, Encyclopedia of Computational Mechanics, Encyclopedia of Energy, Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences, Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Encyclopedia of Smart Materials, Encyclopedia of Toxicology, New Georgia Encyclopedia, Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science, Dictionary of Substances and their Effects (DOSE), and many others.
• Referex Engineering. (Elsevier) NOTE:  This database currently only covers the publications years before 2008. Referex is available through the Engineering Village platform. Do not search with Inspec/Compendex; search alone -- with "eBook Search."

• Materials Research Database.  ProQuest
• Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases" (NTIS, Aerospace, etc.). Search hints and search example.
• Materials Research Database 1966+
• Aluminium Industry Abstracts 1972+ ; Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramics Abstracts 1975+ {Print Ceramic Abstracts begins in 1922, Call Number TP785 .A621X.  Print World ceramics abstracts begins 1954, Call Numbers TP785 .C422X and  TP785 .C42X} ; Copper Data Center Database 1965+ ; Corrosion Abstracts 1980+ {Print Corrosion Abstracts begins 1954, Call numbers TA462 .C651 and TA462 .C652; TA462 .C65 special section called Corrosion Abstracts begins 1945} ; Engineered Materials Abstracts set 1986+ [set contains: Advanced Polymers Abstracts 1986+, Composites Industry Abstracts 1986+, Engineered Materials Abstracts Ceramics 1986+] ; Materials Business File 1985+ ; METADEX/metals 1966+ {Print call numbers TN1 .A58 years 1944-1963 and TN1 .I58 years 1931-1967}
• Search hints  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/csa.htm
• Search examples   http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/4camb.pdf
• Aerospace Database 1962+ (ProQuest). Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Search hints and search example.
• Chemical Abstracts 1907+ (SciFinder Scholar). See also Reaxy ; Landolt-Börnstein ; Kirk-Othmer ; Ency of Polymer Sci & Tech chemistry handbooks and encyclopedias
• ASM Handbooks Online. ASM International, the Materials Information Society. ASM Handbooks Online features the complete content of twenty ASM Handbook volumes plus two ASM Desk Editions.
• Combine Inspec and Compendex together ("Select Database"); choose Inspec when removing duplicate records .

• MathSciNet.  Mathematical Reviews' Web gateway to MathSciNet (1940 to date); updated daily.  MathSci contains evaluative reviews and abstracts of the international research literature in mathematics, computer science, statistics, simulation/modelling, econometrics, and applications in areas such as physics, engineering, biology, and information systems.  It has seven subfiles online.

• Patents and Trademarks Research Guide
• Patents Searching Tutorials
• How to Conduct a Preliminary Patent Search computer based training module (USPTO)
• Conducting a Patent Search (USPTO): A Seven Step Strategy
• Patents are a valuable source of information.  Two main reasons are: 1.  if you are developing a new machine, process, product, chemical substance, etc, it is important to be sure that you are not infringing on someone else's legal rights (even if you do not plan to get a patent yourself).--Therefore, you need to be sure that no one else has a patent on the invention.  2.  the patent document can give you valuable information about other people's inventions, which you could use in the development of your product.  The invention cannot have been publicly described or sold for more than one year before the patent application is submitted.--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.
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Home Page.
• General Information Concerning Patents USPTO.
• U.S. Patent Databases.
• USPTO Patent Database. 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. The Georgia Tech Library is a USPTO resource center.  No longer current.
• PubWEST Patent Searching.  Contact Bette Finn at bette.finn@library.gatech.edu for information about searching the USPTO 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 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.
• 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.
• Free sites for printing patents:   pat2pdf.org (U.S. patents); Patent Fetcher (U.S. Patents); espacenet many worldwide patents ; Google.
• USPTO Patent Database
• How to Access and View Full-Page Images -- USPTO full page patent images in TIFF format
• 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.
• European Patent Office search. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) PatentScope Search
• 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 to present).  Journals and conference papers in physics, optics, photonics, computing, automation, simulation and modeling, biomedical technology, electrical and computer engineering, communications, etc. Includes Inspec Thesaurus online.
• Inspec search hints and database examples are at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/eceguides.htm
• Combine Inspec and Compendex together, removing duplicate records ("Select Database"); 20% overlap. Duplicate "Database Preference" -- use Inspec ("Remove Duplicates").
• Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers.  SPIE. Optics and photonics.  Indexed in the Inspec and Compendex databases.  SPIE Digital Library SPIE Proceedings and Journals 1990+ (full coverage 1998+). Search.  Library owns print volumes in the Catalog for earlier years.
• Selected AIP, IOP, OSA electronic journals go back before 1969, such Proceedings of the Physical Society 1874+ or Physical review 1893+.
• GeoRef  (1785 to present).  ProQuest. Geoscience literature of the world, including geophysics and geochemistry. Geoscience journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses. North America from 1785 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present.
• Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases." Search hints and search example.
• Search hints.  Search example. search hints and search example. https://www.library.gatech.edu/gtonly/csa.htm.
• NTIS 1964+ technical reports

• 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.
• Standards at Georgia Tech" or "Standards Vendors" or "Society Standards." Standards Research Guide.
• The Library's print and electronic standards.   Standards and Building Codes Research Guide
• 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 Classic Catalog at http://gil.gatech.edu/
• Standards which are set by the federal government.
• A selected list of groups of standards or standard producing organizations follows:
• ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) issues test methods for all kinds of materials, products, systems, etc.  Active standards.
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards are available full image at IEEE Xplore (log-out when finished). Published standards, redline versions, and draft standards.
• Department of Defense DTIC Specifications and Standards. assistdocs.com provides access to the U.S. Department of Defense Defense Standardization Program documents obtained from the official DoD repository, the ASSIST database (https://assist.daps.dla.mil/online/start/).
• 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.  The Rules and Regulations section of the Federal Register contains final rules and regulations; most rules are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• DOE (Department of Energy) Technical Standards
• International Telecommunication Union standards produced by the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
• National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) (formerly National Bureau of Standards (NBS)) develops national standards to ensure product reliability, to promote public health and safety, to improve the environment, to maintain the national measurement system, etc.  One large set of NIST standards are the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) which deal with computer hardware, software, data representations, ADP operations, and telecommunications. The NIST site contains indexing to and/or fulltext of some Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Standards Reference Data material.
• National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is a nonprofit association, accredited ANSI to identify, develop, maintain, and publish voluntary, consensus based technical standards for managing information. Most NISO standards and technical reports are available for FREE download at NISO Press Online
• AGARDographs (Advanced Guidance for Alliance R and D) - selective coverage
• NATO TR (Technical Reports of NATO Research and Technology) - selective coverage.  RTO publications.
• Selected other society standards organizations
• Building Codes.

• NTIS. National Technical Information Service database (1964 -  ) ProQuest
• Try searching the NTIS database before requesting items through interlibrary loan (theses, dissertations, papers).  Search author last names ("or") and important title keywords.
• Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records; click on "Searching: 1 database" (blue, top row); check boxes - "Use selected databases" (Aerospace, Materials, GeoRef, ProQuest Dissertations, etc.). Search hints and search examples.
• Most technical reports are available in microfiche on the 2nd floor east, or available in electronic format.  Selected reports are listed in the Catalog; a few reports are in the locally loaded selected Government Reports Repository.  Government websites have selected full text reports. GT students and faculty/staff can request the purchase of missing reports for the Library's collection (ask the Special Formats and Maps staff to verify that the Library does not own the microfiche report).
• NTIS slide examples for class presentations http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/4camb.pdf
• NTIS search hints are at http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/csa.htm.
• NTIS's Database Guide.
• NASA Thesaurus
• Dept of Defense DTIC Thesaurus
• Library's Technical Report Collection   Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• Microfiche. The Georgia Tech Library holds over 2,500,000 microfiche technical reports, located on the 2nd floor East. The period from 1960 to 2007 is the most heavily represented, although older reports dating from 1900 are available. Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• PDF copies and print enlargements and email scans can be made from the 2nd floor east microfiche technical reports.
• NTIS indexed microfiche technical reports are shelved on the 2nd floor east by the NTIS "Accession Number."  Other reports may be shelved under the "Report Number."
• Selected NTIS database records have an extra "check digit" at the end of the ProQuest NTIS report number (ignore it).  Watch for irrelevant zeros at the beginning of selected NTIS report numbers (after agency code).
• Microfiche technical reports indexed by non-NTIS databases might be shelved on the 2nd floor east by the Report Number listed in the "Report Number" field.
• The largest areas in the Library's microfiche technical reports collection include AD, ADA,DE, N, PB , TI and Y technical research reports.
• Print and Electronic. Most technical reports are available in microfiche on the 2nd floor east, or available in electronic format.  Selected reports are listed in the Catalog; a few reports are in the locally loaded selected Government Reports Repository.  Government websites have selected full text reports.
• Purchase.  For individual technical reports that are not currently held in the Georgia Tech microfiche collection, a request (bette.finn@library.gatech.edu) may be made to add a title to the Library's collection. This service is free of charge for Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff.  Ask the Special Formats and Maps Department, 2nd floor east, to verify that the Library does not own the microfiche report.
• Government sites have selected full text: Department of Defense/DTIC, Department of Energy/DOE, World Energy Base,  Environmental Protection Agency/EPA, NASA, NACA.   Full-text Availability of Technical Reports
• Major Indexes for Technical Reports
• Unclassified Georgia Tech research project reports from GTRI and academic departments. For recent Georgia Tech project reports not listed in the Catalog, contact Records Management (http://www.library.gatech.edu/about/archives.php).  Recent Georgia Tech project reports are available electronically or else in Records Management remote storage.  Many older Georgia Tech project reports are in the General Collection and Archives (two copies).  Selected GT project reports are available in the Catalog "Electronic Version"/Internet field.
• Technical Reports Research Guide - full text availability, databases and indexes
• Government Reports Announcements and Index and various title changes.  (1946 to 1996) Call Number: Z7916 .B47, 2nd floor East.  Available through NTIS database 1964 to present. Major technical reports indexes (before 1964, such as NTIS Reference Files Z1223 .A1 N85X 1943-58--1964/67 microfilm, 2nd floor East).  Technical Reports Subject Guide.
• Defense Technical Information Center.  Contact Bette Finn (bette.finn@library.gatech.edu, phone 404-894-1790) for information about searching DTIC's bibliographic Department of Defense classified and limited distribution Technical Reports and Research Summaries databases (only for Georgia Tech researchers).
• RAND reports.  The majority of publicly available RAND research documents 1998+ have free downloads. Searchable RAND archive back to 1948.
• The NTIS database indexes many U.S. governent funded masters theses and doctoral dissertations.
• Funding Opportunities: (1) FedBizOpps is a list of U.S. Federal Government procurement invitations, contract awards, subcontracting leads, and foreign business opportunities published each business day. FedBizOpps website.  FBO Vendor Guide  "Search Field Tips" ; "Search Agents" or "Search Agent Emails" (Advanced searches can be saved as "search agents" that can be scheduled for recurring exploration, or executed on an ad hoc basis') approximately page 54, section 4.9 or 4.10. Search: "Active Documents"; "Archived Documents" (up to Last 365 Days); or "Both." FedBizOpps replaces Commerce Business Daily; also available for a fee 1982 to present. (2) Grants.gov (3) COS Pivot (Community of Science). Only active funding (no awards granted). COS Pivot unifies global COS Funding Opportunities and Profiles. Georgia Tech subscription. Register to access remotely and update alerts. Funding; Search Tips; Profiles; Support Guides. Includes academic, commercial, federal, state, province/national and local government, multinational organization, private foundation, and professional society or association funding sponsor types. (4) Government Information - Grants/Funding Research Guide for Private Sector (such as Foundation Directory) and other funding, compiled by Patricia Kenly. (5) Georgia Tech Office of Sponsored Programs Finding Funding; Funding Opportunities
• Technical reports, federal government sponsored research reports

• Add GT proxy bookmark, prefix http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=
• GT Web Localizer/LibX GT.
• Link Maker/Linking to Library Resources.
• "DOI" Citation Linker
• Off-campus 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 PASSPORT, BuzzPort, or GT email, etc.).  Enter at http://www.library.gatech.edu  "Articles (Databases)" "eJournals" "Classic Catalog" 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. Note: the GT "Active Directory" password has stricter rules than does the "GT Account" password. 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 Help.  OIT FAQ.  OIT User Accounts. How do I change my "GT Account" password?  Your password is set to expire every 90 days.  Printing.
• Remote access to campus resources via Virtual Private Network (VPN). In-depth VPN. Cisco AnyConnect

• Free automatic current awareness searches are available in most Library databases. For assistance, contact Bette Finn at bette.finn@library.gatech.edu.

• Searches multiple databases publisher provided e-journals at one time.
• Can result in large numbers of irrelevant records. The best database may not be listed first, or may not even be listed at all.
• Does not utilize advanced search capabilities of native platforms. Conduct in-depth or complex searches using the original vendor platforms (Ei Village Inspec/Compendex, ProQuest NTIS, etc.).
• Good for very simple, quick, brief, limited searches across multiple databases and e-journals. Good for short phrases, such as new terminology.  Can use to quickly identify a few papers on a topic.
• Databases with simultaneous user restrictions must be searched using the original platform.  Not all Library databases are searched.

Library Services for ECE Students
ECE Library Services and Database Search Hints and Examples
Database Commands Comparison Chart
Electrical and Computer Engineering LibGuide (Research Guide)

Library Home Page

Georgia Tech Library mobile site

Classic Catalog
GT Catalog
All Library Research Guides
All Library Databases
ILLiad  Interlibrary loan
Add GT proxy bookmark, prefix http://www.library.gatech.edu:2048/login?url=
GT Web Localizer/LibX GT

Search this guide

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Acknowledgements: The author of this Guide used significant business, copyright, and government information material from previous Georgia Tech Library Research Guides complied by Patricia Kenly.