Use the menu on the left for starting points for finding design, technical, universal design, accessibility, legal & safety and materials, and costing information.

• Handbooks (books): can answer technical close ended questions. You can find information about materials properties, how or why something works in engineering, data, tables, etc.   
• Reports/Data (consultant, government, technical, other): can be used for information about demographics of populations, sectors of industry, particular technical fields, etc. These can be used to support design choices with evidence or for identifying trends.   
• Journal Articles (review, technical or academic): these are the results of research done by researchers like your professors and are often peer-reviewed.  They can be used to find innovations and trends in engineering and supporting design choices using evidence.  
• Patents: are protection, in the form of a legal document granted to new intellectual property. These can help you find information about cutting edge advances in engineering. You can also use these to get ideas for designs.  
• Standards, Codes, Laws and other Legislation: can be used to ensure designs are safe, fit within legal requirements and are interoperable, etc.  
• Market & Industry Information: can help you understand background information and current trends in different industries or specific companies.  

• Technical Dictionaries & Encyclopedias: these provide you with industry and technical definitions and background information. These can be very helpful when you are learning about a new area of engineering. 
• Trade publications (“professional” journal articles”): these industry specific magazines keep professionals up to date with current trends in engineering. 
• Manufacturers’ Information, Brochures, Catalogues: can help you with finding costs, specific details or dimensions of a product, diagrams, specifications/requirements of a specific item, etc. These are generally used in the later part of the designs process.  

Here are some examples of resource types that could be used to answer different questions:

• material X performed better than material Y under certain conditions: journal articles, handbooks
• others have successfully used material X in a similar application: journal articles, patents
• cost-efficiency of the material X: handbooks, websites
• properties of the material X (weight, melting point, strength, durability): handbooks
• sustainability of the material: handbooks, books
• material X / design X is safe: standards
• material X / design X is accessible: standards, handbooks, websites (such as government publications)