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Engineering 190W - Spring 2024 - Foresta Section


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Using Databases

You can enter the title of the journal in UC Library Search, and you may find specific articles, however, this is not a replacement or substitute for using a database. To link to the full text of articles or eBook chapters from library databases or Google Scholar, use the "UC eLinks" or "Get it at UC" icon.

A far more comprehensive and annotated list of all databases is compiled in Databases A-Z

A variety of resources exist and basically every book is a reference work in some fashion - the standard reference tool includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, maps & atlases, directories, etc and some examples include:

  • Wikipedia- no peer review content in this encyclopedic resource; all contributed voluntarily.
  • Dictionary of computer science, engineering and, technology/editor-in-chief, Phillip A. Laplante, Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press, 2001, Science Library – Reference, QA 76.15 D5258 2001
  • Images of technology: a pictorial dictionary of Modern engineering research / Edited by Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Science Library – Bar, TA9 I43 1999

Additional resources include:

  1. Government Information - major source - consult Library Search or visit the Reference Desk on the main floor of the Langson Library. For Federal US sources, check the websites of specific agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy Web page or specific state agencies at http://www.ca.gov/state/portal/myca_homepage.jsp
  2. Professional Societies publications – very prolific and common in Engineering and now increasingly specialized - investigate IEEE, ACM, SPIE, ASEE, ACS, ASME, ASCE, AIAA, CNI, IFIP etc. Consult Associations Unlimited for additional information; most of these associations also have a Code of Ethics.

Additional Specialized Engineering & Related Databases 

Noted on the Engineering Subject Guides and on Medicine and the GML Subject Page or on Business.

Finding Articles, Papers, Proceedings, and News by Using Databases

Depending on what you are researching or seeking, what the purpose of your query is and from what time period will determine where you go. There are many databases that cover different subjects, content, and dates and are organized in multiple ways. Basically, you seek, find, discover, and refine your search strategy to increase the relevancy of the output. Licensed databases tend to contain scholarly, scientific resources that are not freely available to everyone because they require a license. Access to this information is available to current UCI students and you must configure your computer to recognize and authenticate you if you are connecting from off-campus.

* denotes resources restricted to UCI affiliates.  The following databases support different aspects of engineering, science, and business information: