Electronics Engineering ELEC

The research process

1. Begin by defining exactly what you are searching for
2. Get background information from handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries
3. Be specific when determining search terms: synonyms/antonyms
4. Use Boolean Operators to connect search terms by understanding how search engines operate
5. Once your topic is narrowly defined, select databases to find specific articles that have been published in journals
6. Use the advanced interface of electronic databases and Internet search engines to help narrow your search. Limit to: specific field (article, book, conference proceeding, newspapers, video); full-text or peer reviewed journals only
7. Find books on your topic to gain greater depth and understanding
8. Films and Videos and Images are non-literary forms of representation
9. Take notes during your research to keep track of where you have been, keywords searched, what worked and what didn't, etc. You may consider using Microsoft OneNote or free software for note-taking such as Evernote
10. Write down or store all the references you have consulted to include them in the bibliography of your research paper

Sources​ of information

Publication Cycle: to find primary and secondary sources of information, use tertiary sources of information: dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks. When a researcher publishes material, they follow the cycle clockwise. To find primary and secondary sources, follow the cycle anti clockwise.

FAQ

1. Brainstorm for the Essay (UNC at Chapel Hill)
2. Conducting a Literature Review (CUL) see rubric (internet)
3. Google search secrets / Christa Burns and Michael P. Sauers (CUL electronic resource)
4. Library research (CUL)
5. Office of Student Affairs (Carleton University)
6. Paul Menton Centre (Carleton University)
7. Thesaurus (internet)
8. Wellness - Current Students (Carleton University)
9. Writing an Annotated Bibliography (CUL) see rubric (internet)
10. Writing an Outline for your essay (CUL) see rubric (internet)

Online journals

• by 'Subject'

Databases

• tagged 'Electrical Engineering'
• by 'Type'
• OMNI: the Carleton University Library search interface

Other suggested databases

1. ​Academic OneFile: A multidisciplinary database providing access to journals on a wide range of topics.
2. ACM Digital Library: All articles and other documents published by the Association for Computing Machinery.
3. Dissertations and Theses Global: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present. PQDT Global includes theses from Great Britain and Ireland.
4. IEEE Xplore Digital Library: Provides access to the technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics.
5. IOPscience: A collection of Institute of Physics (IOP) journals covering both applied and pure physics.
6. SAGE Knowledge Encyclopedias: Carleton subscribes to the 2011 Encyclopedia Collection which provides perpetual access to 27 encyclopedias in the social sciences published between 2005-2011, as well as some other encyclopedias which have been ordered individually. Browse by Content Type: "Encyclopedias" and/or "Handbooks".
7. SAGE Research Methods: With information on the full range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods for the social and behavioral sciences, as well as methods commonly used in the hard sciences, the book, reference, and journal content in SAGE Research Methods helps researchers of all levels conduct their research.
8. Scholars Portal Journals: Provides access to a large number of articles from major academic publishers covering all fields.
9. Scopus: A multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources.
10. SpringerLink: A large collection of scientific ebooks and journals published by Springer on a broad range of subjects.
11. Synthesis Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science: Synthesis Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science consists of over 30 subject series in many areas of engineering, biotechnology, and computer science. Each series consists of 50-250 page introductory reviews (called "lectures") on advanced topics in their fields. Lectures are written at an advanced undergraduate level. Indexed in Engineering Village.
12. Taylor & Francis Journals Online: Gives full-text access from 1997 where available to over 900 high-quality academic journals in a wide variety of disciplines.
13. Techstreet Enterprise: industry standards and technical books from many organizations.
14. Web of Science Core Collection: A multidisciplinary index of citations to articles in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

PrePrints

1. arXiv: arXiv is a free distribution service and an open-access archive for 1,769,134 scholarly articles in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical engineering and systems science, and economics. Materials on this site are not peer-reviewed by arXiv.
2. Earth ArXiv: EarthArXiv.org is moving from the OSF Preprints platform to the Janeway preprint platform at the California Digital Library (CDL). In preparation for this move, EarthArXiv will stop accepting submissions on Friday August 21, 2020. EarthArXiv.org will redirect to the new service when it becomes public on October 1, 2020.
3. TechRxiv: TechRxiv (pronounced "tech archive") is an open, moderated preprint server for unpublished research in electrical engineering, computer science, and related technology. By using TechRxiv, authors can quickly disseminate their work to a wide audience and gain community feedback on a draft version of their research. A preprint is a draft version of an article; final versions of published articles should not be submitted to TechRxiv.

Subject headings

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) use controlled vocabulary to access and express the subject content of documents. Electrical/Electronics Engineering has largely been divided into the following collections. ​This is a searchable index. Click on a link below to discover the Library's holdings in this area:

1. Algorithms
2. Analysis
3. Circuits and systems
4. Computer engineering
5. Computer science
6. Descriptive and experimental mechanics
7. Electrical computer engineering
8. Electrical engineering
9. Electrical engineering--Electronic engineering--Information engineering
10. Electrical engineering--Electronics--Nuclear engineering
11. Electronics
12. Elektroteknik och elektronik
13. Engineering
14. Engineering and technology
15. Engineering--Applied sciences
16. Engineering--Electrical and electronic
17. Engineering--Civil engineering
18. Materials science
19. Materials science--Multidisciplinary
20. Mechanical engineering
21. Microscopy
22. Physical sciences
23. Physics
24. Science and technology
25. Semiconductors
26. Systems engineering
27. Technology
28. Telecommunication
29. Video/film

• Add keywords
• Use the filters on the left of the resulting screen.Typical filters are Available Online and Peer Reviewed Journals

Supplementary readings

1. Google vs. the Library: Student Preferences and Perceptions When Doing Research Using Google and a Federated Search Tool
2. Google vs. the Library (Part II): Student Search Patterns and Behaviors when Using Google and a Federated Search Tool
3. Google vs. the Library (Part III): Assessing the Quality of Sources Found by Undergraduates
4. How to Read a Book, v5.0 School of Information University of Michigan
5. How to Read a Paragraph: The Art of Close Reading
6. How to Read (and Understand) a Social Science Journal Article: Tips and tricks to make reading and understanding social science journal articles easier
7. How to Read for Grad School Miriam E. Sweeney
8. Read Like A Graduate Student, Not A Mystery Fan William Doane

Minecraft (Education Edition) is free for Carleton students

1. Just download the installer: Download | Minecraft Education Edition
2. After install, launch the game and log in using your Carleton email address (cmail) and password then you're good to go.