This guide is a starting point for research in Mechanical Engineering & Design
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Mechanical Engineering News
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For research assistance, contact your librarian.
Find articles
Some databases, like IEEE/IEE Library, contain full-text articles. However, many of the databases you can use to find journal articles are called Abstracting and Indexing databases because they contain citation information, such as author, journal, publication date, the abstract of the article, etc.
This citation information can be used to help locate the full-text in the following ways:
- Link to the full-text of the article in another database by clicking on a button that says find it @ SU.
- If you don't see the find it @ SU button, search Socrates, the Stanford Libraries Catalog, by Periodical Title to determine if the journal is available to you through the Stanford Libraries.
- If the journal is not in the Socrates, you can request it from another library via Interlibrary Borrowing.
Databases and Online Resources:
Aerospace & high technology database (1962-present) Provides bibliographic coverage of basic and applied research in aeronautics, astronautics, and space sciences. The database also covers technology development and applications in complementary and supporting fields such as chemistry, geosciences, physics, communications, and electronics. In addition to periodic literature, the database also includes coverage of reports issued by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, international institutions, universities, and private firms.
Compendex (Engineering Village)(1884+) Available through Engineering Village. Compendex contains over seven million references and abstracts taken from over 5,000 engineering journals, conferences and technical reports. Online coverage is from 1969 to the present and includes nuclear technology, bioengineering, transportation, chemical and process engineering, light and optical technology, agricultural engineering and food technology, computers and data processing, applied physics, electronics and communications, control, civil, mechanical, materials, petroleum, aerospace and automotive engineering as well as narrower subtopics within all these and other major engineering fields.
- Efunda Efunda is an information resource for engineering professionals that provides a variety of information to aid in the solution of complex design problems. Topics include materials, processes, formulas, vendors and products, units, mathematics, and designs
- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Digital Library Complete collection or journals and proceedings from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
IEEE Xplore IEEE Xplore is a digital library providing full text access to the world's highest quality technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. IEEE Xplore contains full text documents from IEEE journals, transactions, magazines, letters, conference proceedings, standards, and IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) publications.
INSPEC Contains citations and abstracts to the literature in physics, electrical engineering, electronics, telecommunications, computers, control technology, and information technology. Covers journal articles, conference papers, significant books, technical reports, dissertations, and patents. INSPEC is the premier database for physics & related disciplines but also covers areas like systems management and operations research.
Scitopia.org A free federated vertical search portal for more than 20 professional scholarly societies in the sciences and engineering. Content includes over 3.5 million articles and conference proceedings, 50 million patents from the world's major patent offices, and documents from the US Dept of Energy Information Bridge. Full-text of most documents is available through Stanford's subscriptions.
Web of Science (Science Citation Index, 1945-present) Provides for forward or backward cited searching. With a recent article, you typically use the bibliography to go back in time. In a way, the citation index lets you do the reverse. You can take an older article and see who has cited that article since it was published.
Handbooks & Encyclopedias
- Machinery's Handbook - TJ151 .M3 28TH 2008
Also available online from Knovel - Encyclopedia of Smart Materials
Available online from Wiley Interscience - Mechanical Engineers' Handbook - Materials and Mechanical Design (3rd Edition).
Available online from Knovel - Mechanical Engineers' Handbook - Energy and Power (3rd Edition)
Available online from Knovel

