This guide will help you for your term project and to further develop your research skills.

Please don't hesitate to email your Librarian Mindy or contact the Engineering & Computer Science Library staff if you have any questions or problems.

Check out these examples from your professor - what approaches would you try? 

(Scroll down for list of best resources for engineers)

a) "I need to know the material inputs for glass bottle manufacturing."

• Try looking at handbooks, books, and e-books because this is information is pretty general.
• Also try looking at Wikipedia, and follow the references that are cited by the article.

b) "I want to know how wine is produced."

• Handbooks, books, and e-books would likely have information because this is a general topic. 
• Codes and standards will also likely have information because safety is a concern for both the final product and the processes used during fabrication.

c) "I want to know what options exist for energy storage technologies"

• This is a pretty new topic, so there may not be many books (but you can still try).
• If you're looking for the state of current research & development, try using Compendex or Scopus and limit your search to review articles.

d) "How often does the engine on a bus need to be rebuilt?"

• Possibly look up SAE (society of automotive engineers) standards and articles
• Look for information on the website of the manufacturer of a bus engine.
• Look for information about maintenance procedures in documents on the website of a transit operator (e.g. TTC)
• Try contacting a person at the manufacturer or a transit operator to see if they can tell you (Hint: phone calls are harder to ignore than e-mails).

e) "How well does extruded polystyrene insulate buildings?"

• Look at data sheets available from the manufacturer
• Look at the building code, or use TechStreet to search ASHRAE codes
• If you can't find information, assume a temperature difference, measure the material thickness, find material properties, and calculate the rate of heat transfer using engineering equations. 
• If you can't find the material properties, consider designing and conducting an experiment to measure them. (In this specific example, the material properties should be available in literature e.g., CRC handbook of materials science in the reference area of the Engineering & Computer Science Library or use Knovel database)

f) "Are commuter students more likely to carry an e-reader or a textbook?"

• Search scholarly journals for studies done on this
• If no information is available, consider surveying a group of students and analyzing the data yourself.

g) "There is a new specific type of solar panel that shows promise. I want to know how long those devices last."

• This is detailed information about a specific and emerging technology. Search peer-reviewed journal articles.