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Other Information Sources

Other Information Sources


Particularly for comprehensive MSE library research, it may be important to consult information contained in materials other than books and articles in serials.


Other useful sources of information include papers, Ph.D. dissertations, patent and standards literature, and government information.


It is not necessary to consult these specialized resources for every MSE Capstone Project, but these resources can be very beneficial for some projects.


Research

Papers From Conferences, Proceedings, Symposia, and Other Sources

In addition to selected articles databases (such as EI Compendex, IEEE Computer Society Digital Library, and the SAE Database), the following are useful for locating papers.


ProceedingsFirst Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 24 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The ProceedingsFirst Database features citations of articles in international published congresses, symposia, conferences, expositions, workshops and meetings that are received by The British Library Document Centre.
  • ProceedingsFirst features more than 169,000 citations of reviews published from 1993 to the present..
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

    Search Tip

    All articles cited in this database can be obtained by MSOE from The British Library Document Supply Centre.

OCLC PapersFirst Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 24 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The OCLC PapersFirst Database features citations of articles in international meetings that are received by The British Library Document Centre.
  • OCLC PapersFirst features more than 5,700,000 citations of reviews published from 1993 to the present.
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

    Search Tip

    All articles cited in this database can be obtained by MSOE from The British Library Document Supply Centre.


Dissertations and Theses

MSOE MSE Capstone Projects Holdings List

  • The MSE Capstone Projects Holdings List is a list of MSE Capstone work held by the MSOE Library. The list is arranged alphabetically by author's last name.
  • Whenever available, an abstract is also included in the list of thesis work.
  • To search for thesis work in a specific subject area, use your browser's "Find" function.
  • To search for thesis work in a specific subject area, you may also use the MSOE Library Catalog. In the catalog, carry out a general keyword search that combines a subject term with the phrase MSE project. For example: six sigma and mse project
  • All MSE Capstone work is located on the first floor of the library in the AC 805 section. To determine the specific call number for an MSE Capstone Project, look up the project in the Library Catalog.

Dissertation Abstracts Online Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 24 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The Dissertation Abstracts Online Database features citations and abstracts of some Masters' theses and a large number of Ph.D. dissertations from Canada, Great Britain, Europe, and the United States.
  • Dissertation Abstracts Online features more than 2,000,000 citations and abstracts. Records are for Ph.D. work published as early as 1861. Abstracts for dissertations are available starting in 1980.
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

    Search Tip

    This should be a mandatory database to search for all MSE Capstone Project students. Ph.D. dissertations can provide lengthy, "state-of-the-art" bibliographies and literature reviews. In addition, dissertations often feature unique information on research not available elsewhere.

    An example of a record from the Dissertation Abstracts database appears below:

    Title: THE PROBLEMATICS OF PLAGIARISM (CHEATING)
    Author: WIKOFF, KATHERINE HENNESSEY
    Degree: Ph.D.
    Year: 1992
    Institution: The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    Abstract: This dissertation traces the historical development of the plagiarism as a concept and analyzes the way it is presently defined by universities. One of the more serious problems discussed is that plagiarism is defined as an intentional act of dishonesty but is described in terms of unintentional errors in proper citation procedures. Because teachers and administrators realize that not all acts of appropriation are necessarily intentional acts of dishonesty, there is a reluctance to punish any such behavior at all--a reluctance which undermines the integrity of the academic community. Examining appropriation activity more carefully in order to understand its rhetorical contexts can clarify what is and is not plagiarism, thus enabling teachers and administrators to feel comfortable accepting certain behaviors while punishing others.


Digital Library of MIT Theses

An online collection of selected Master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

  • See "Harvesting the Low-Hanging Fruit: World Wide Web Access to a Collection of MIT Theses". pdf  This article by Larry Stone, Bill Comstock, and Keith Glavash describes the collection.
  • Theses and dissertations are searchable by author, title, and words in abstracts.
  • The full text of documents is available.
  • This collection is freely available on the Web.

    Search Tip

    An excellent resource for technical Master's Thesis and Ph.D. Dissertation work.


Technical Literature


United States Patent Literature

  • The specification of a United States patent features such useful information as the title, full name(s) of inventor(s), place(s) of residence, assignee, date filed, references cited (including other patents that have cited the patent), abstract and a drawing.
  • Patents constitute an extremely important body of technical information. They offer unique information. They can also help you to identify trends, experts, and companies who are doing work in specific areas.
  • Check out the MSOE Library's Patent Searching Tutorial for details on patent searching.
  • Another tutorial on patents and patent searching is also available at the University of Texas at Austin: the Richard McKinney Engineering Library Patent Searching: A Guide to Online Resources and Information
  • The full text of U.S. patents is available.
  • Freely available on the Web.

    Search Tip

    Primarily consisting of valuable and unique technical literature, all MSE Capstone Project students should carry out a patent search.

    Be sure to consult the MSOE Patent Searching Tutorial.

    Comprehensive patent searching is difficult. The librarians in the MSOE Library are not patent search experts. If you think that you require expert searching and comprehensive results, you would need to consult (and pay) an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in patents.

    However, other patent searching options are available. They include the following:

    The UW-Madison Wendt Engineering Library is a patent depository. It has patent librarians on staff who can help you with your own patent searching.

    Fee-based patent search services also exist. Wisconsin Tech Search -- which is a fee-based search service operating out of the Wendt Engineering Library -- carries out patent searches starting at a minimum of $25, and averaging about $100.

    The Milwaukee Public Library is a patent depository library. Librarians in their Business Resources section can help you with a patent search.

    If you are not interested in a comprehensive patent search, a good patent searching strategy is to use keywords to search for potentially relevant patents in the Google Patent Search Database. Carefully note the U.S. Classification numbers that have been assigned to any relevant patents. Then, use the Advanced Search features in the U.S. Patent Database to search for relevant patents by both keywords and classification numbers.

    For example, a search on restaurant grease traps in the Google Patent Search Database retrieves patents that indicate that grease traps are classified under Class 210 ("Liquid purification or separation"). The following advanced searches can then be deployed in the U.S. Patent Database to retrieve potentially useful patents:

    • CCL/210/$ and grease and restaurant
    • CCL/210/$ and ABST/grease and .heat exchanger.
    • CCL/210/$ and .grease trap.


Standards


U.S. Government Information (Not Including Patents and Library of Congress)

The following United States government resources may be helpful for some MSE projects.


GPO Monthly Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 24 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The GPO Monthly Database features citations of records for United States government documents, including Congressional Reports, hearings, debates, records, judiciary materials, and other documents.
  • GPO Monthly Database features more than 507,000 citations from 1976 to the present.
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

    Search Tip

    A good resource for retrospective research in government documents. Start with the government's own websites first, however (see below).

U.S. Government Websites


Company and Product Information

Worldscope Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 27 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The Worldscope Database features basic financial information on public companies worldwide.
  • Worldscope Database features more than 50,000 records of current companies.
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

Disclosure Database

  • Available via FirstSearch.
  • FirstSearch is a gateway service providing access to 27 databases covering several subject-areas.
  • The Disclosure Database features information about all public company filings including annual reports, company summary information, and shareholder reports.

    Includes information from public documents maintained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Types of information include: business and financial information, financial statements, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports, annual reports, company profiles, publicly available reports, pricing and dividends data.

  • Disclosure Database features more than 9,100 records from 1986 to the present.
  • This database is remotely accessible. Access requires a user authorization number and a password. Call the MSOE Library for this information. The password is changed on a quarterly basis.

CorpTech Explore Database

  • Available via the library website.
  • Produced by ReferenceUSA, this database contains information on over 50,000 high-tech companies in the United States.
  • Company information in this database includes: name, address, contact information, homepage, web-based information about the company, annual sales figures, number of employees and employee growth rate, names and titles of executives, ownership information and date of formation, descriptions, SIC and NAICS codes.
  • Search by name, location, and industry.
  • This database is remotely accessible. You may use either the MSOE Proxy Server or the MSOE dial-up service if you are calling from the local area.

    Search Tip

    An outstanding business directory!


ReferenceUSA Business and Residential Databases

  • Available via the library website.
  • The ReferenceUSA Service provides access to a suite of helpful databases. Databases that you can search via the ReferenceUSA Service include the U.S. Businesses Directory Database, the Canadian Businesses Directory Database, the HealthCare Physicians and Dentists Directory Database, the U.S. Residential Directory Database, and the Canadian Residential Directory Database.
  • The U.S. Businesses Directory Database features directory information on more than 14 million companies. In addition to directory information, information gathered from business literature and SEC filings (for public companies) is also available. Searchable via a large range of options, including geographic location, name, ZIP code, SIC codes, number of employees, and estimated sales.
  • The HealthCare Physicians and Dentists Directory Database provides directory information on 855,000 healthcare professionals.
  • The Canadian Businesses Directory Database provides directory information on 1.5 million Canadian companies.
  • The U.S. Residential Directory Database provides directory information on 210 million U.S. residents. Information is compiled from over 4,300 phone directories, in addition to income data compiled from Census Bureau information. Records are available for 120 million households and 65 million homeowners.
  • The Canadian Residential Directory Database provides directory information on 12 million Canadian residents.

Thomas Register of Manufacturers Database

  • Available freely via the Web.
  • The most comprehensive online resource for finding companies and products manufactured in North America.
  • Search by product or service, company name, or brand name.
  • You must register to use this service. Registration is free.

    Search Tip

    An outstanding directory of company and product information!


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