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Introduction

Welcome to the Milwaukee School of Engineering's Library Research Tutorial in support of EV-800: Writing and Research on Emerging Trends in Environmental Engineering and Management.

The MSEV Program

MSOE's Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MSEV) program is an interdisciplinary course of study designed to equip students who have a solid foundation in engineering principles with the skills and the training necessary for them to practice as environmental engineers. The design, manufacture, and use of engineered products in today's industrial world often generates waste materials that have the potential to adversely affect the air, water, and soil of the environment we live in. It is the responsibility of environmental engineers to deal with these waste materials in such a way as to minimize their adverse effects on human health and the environment. Effective environmental engineers must have training in, and experience with, environmental systems design, environmental laws and regulations, and environmental management that will enable them to develop integrated solutions that are environmentally sustainable, technically sound, meet regulatory requirements, and are cost-effective.

 

MSEV Program Coursework

At MSOE, course offerings in the MSEV program cover a wide variety of topics, including chemistry, biology, microbiology, environmental statistics and modeling, wastewater treatment, hydrogeology, storm water management, hazardous and solid waste treatment, air pollution control, environmental risk assessment and auditing, soil science and remediation, and environmental law.

Library research in support of the MSEV Capstone Design Project tends to focus on the effort to generate a relevant and comprehensive literature review. The MSOE Library has assembled a number of resources that can be employed quickly and efficiently to locate useful resources.

 

The MSEV Design Project

The MSEV program culminates in a required two-quarter capstone design project in which the student identifies an environmental problem that needs to be addressed, and then provides a comprehensive solution. The solution must satisfy the requirements associated with all relevant technical standards and regulatory guidelines. During the project, the student clearly defines the problem to be addressed, carries out a literature review, identifies solution strategies together with any associated benefits and risks, and details the costs of the solution that is selected. Projects often entail the building and testing of a prototype solution, or the carrying out of a primary investigation that supports the selection of a particular solution. A final written project report is required, and consists of

 

• a thorough background discussion of the environmental problem addressed in the project,
• a literature review of previous, related, or relevant work in the area, together with any literature that discusses relevant technologies,
• a description of a solution methodology for the problem, and all alternative solution strategies considered,
• a presentation of the final design, including costs, technical specifications, and regulatory requirements.

Purposes of the Tutorial

EV-800 features the following course objectives:

• Provide MSEV students with an overview of the MSOE Library,
• Introduce MSEV students to research strategies;
• Introduce MSEV students to how engineers extract information from a document;
• Introduce MSEV students to international best practice in engineering writing;
• Introduce MSEV students to appropriate organization of a document;
• Introduce MSEV students to requirements for sections and elements of a document and the MSOE Graduate Student Documentation and Style Guide For Technical Documents;
• Review conventions of editorial style, revising, proofreading and reviewing a document;
• Introduce MSEV students to guidelines for oral presentations.

This tutorial is specifically intended to support the course objectives of (i) providing students with an overview of the MSOE Library, and of (ii) introducing students to important library research concepts and strategies. Relevant library resources are described and their usage is explained. This tutorial further (iii) introduces the user to the MSOE Graduate Student Documentation and Style Guide For Technical Documents, as well as other issues associated with the capstone design project report.

This tutorial is updated annually.

It is especially hoped that this tutorial can assist all MSEV students in meeting some of the expectations of the MSEV faculty in the preparation and presentation of the MSEV Capstone Project Report.

Audience
The intended audience of this tutorial includes the following people:

• MSEV students, including:
  • MSEV students enrolled in EV-800;
  • MSEV students who are not familiar with, or who desire a review of, MSOE library resources;
  • MSEV students who need to complete library research for the MSEV Capstone Project.
• MSEV faculty who are not familiar with, or who desire a review of, MSOE Library resources, including:
  • MSEV faculty who serve on an MSEV Capstone Project Committee.

The MSEV Capstone Project

EV-800 is a required course in the MSEV curriculum. The faculty's desire to make the course a requirement is rooted in the hope that -- among other objectives -- the course will provide the student with the necessary tools, skills, and resources useful in the writing of a professional literature review.

The Literature Review

A literature review is a common requirement of graduate-level courses requiring written deliverables. In the MSEV program, the literature review is additionally a mandatory element in the Capstone Design Project report.

The MSEV Capstone Project is intended to serve as an applied design project. It focuses on efforts to resolve an actual environmental problem, often based on a student's current or previous industrial experience. Generating a solution to the problem entails a multidisciplinary approach and presentation, including a requirement to address all economic and regulatory details associated with the project.

Although a literature review is a required component of the Capstone Design Project report, given the applied nature of the project, a literature review is sometimes viewed on the part of students as something that is of secondary importance.

However, significant advantages are associated with a comprehensive literature review. They include the following:

• Although the MSEV Capstone Project is an applied project, it is nonetheless a project that must also satisfy academic standards. A thorough literature review is universally considered an excellent method for a student to demonstrate both knowledge of, and a mastery of, all relevent literature associated with a topic.
• Literature obtained from library research -- or from other sources -- can suggest solutions and answers to problems.
• Literature obtained from library research -- or from other sources -- can help you to avoid "reinventing the wheel" when determining solutions to problems.
• Literature obtained from library research -- or from other sources -- can help you to document that your work or your project answers a need, or addresses something not addressed in the literature.
• Literature obtained from library research -- or from other sources -- can provide a context for your project. Where does you project fit in the "big picture"?
• Literature obtained from library research -- or from other sources -- is a significant means of demonstrating that the project is a graduate-level piece of work.

  Current MSEV Capstone Project reports feature references. A few project reports have a substantial number of references. MSEV students may rely on advisors and committees to suggest appropriate literature. It is also possible to carry out your own research by working with the resources highlighted in this tutorial. Using your list of resources and references, you will be able to produce a satisfactory literature review.

Completed MSEV Capstone Project Reports in the MSOE Library

A list of completed MSEV Capstone Project Reports that are available in the MSOE Library can be accessed on the MSOE Library website. The list is arranged alphabetically by author and features abstracts.

It is also possible to search the MSOE library catalog. The most efficient strategy here is to perfom a subject search on MSEV. The catalog record provides the call number of each project.

 

Intellectual Property Issues

MSOE maintains a Patent Policy (campus Intranet access only). The policy explicitly states that graduate thesis and capstone work may be addressed by provisions in the policy.

A Thesis / Capstone Report "Noncirculation Status" Request Form must be filled out and submitted to the library in order to restrict access to Capstone Projects that students wish to keep confidential.

In the Spring of 2005, the MSOE Graduate Programs Council approved an Intellectual Property Policy for all MSOE graduate capstone and thesis work. The policy addresses copyright issues, patent issues, and trade secret issues associated with thesis and capstone work. Although the policy has been approved, details of its implementation have not yet been determined.