Indexes & Databases - EGR 440/840 - Engineering Resources - LibGuides at Michigan State University Libraries

Indexes and Databases

Indexes and databases are the primary tools for finding which publications have information on a particular topic. Some indexes only search the content of journals while others search the content of a wide range of sources such as journals, conference proceedings, books, reports and patents. No one index searches all engineering publications. Each index searches a selected set of publications. Some such as Compendex search publications from all areas of engineering while others such as Materials Science Index searches only publications in selected areas of engineering. Some databases such as the ACM Digital Library only search the publications of one publisher and often provide online access to the full text of all of the publications from that publisher. From the electronic resource index search page it is possible to search for indexes by title or by a subject such as Computers or Engineering. In addition, indexes and databases that search publications from other subject areas such as Business and Chemistry can provide information useful to engineering faculty, staff and students.

Below is a list of some of the major indexes and databases useful to engineering faculty, staff and students.

Compendex
Compendex is one of the most comprehensive engineering literature databases available with content across 190 engineering disciplines. Compendex indexes journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, standards, books, and recent preprints. Compendex covers subjects in every engineering discipline including Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Mining Engineering.
ACM Digital Library
The ACM Digital Library provides searchable access to the full-text of all of the publication from ACM dating back to the 1950s; almost 4 million total publications and almost 800,000 full-text items.
ASCE Library
ASCE Library is the premier clearinghouse for both researchers and practitioners in the field of civil engineering. With more than 200,000 technical and professional articles across 34 journals and 780+ proceedings titles, and a robust book program, ASCE Library delivers the most respected and richest collection of civil engineering content in the world.
IEEE Xplore
Provides full-text access to all of the publications of the IEEE, IET, and several other publishing partners. Content includes books, conference proceedings, journals, magazines, standards, and courses. There are over 6 million documents related to electrical engineering, computer science, and related sciences.
Materials Science & Engineering Collection
Coverage from 1965-present on metallurgy, ceramics, polymers, and composites used in engineering applications. In-depth coverage from raw materials and refining through processing, welding and fabrication to end uses, corrosion, performance and recycling. Includes all metals, alloys, polymers, ceramics, and composites. Includes METADEX, Copper and Polymer Library, and Materials Business Data File.
Web of Science
One of the largest indexing databases, Web of Science indexes over 22,000 journals, books, and conference proceedings in science, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Environmental Science Index
In-depth abstracting and indexing coverage of environmental science literature and related disciplines. Searches thousands of peer-reviewed journals, trade titles, conference proceedings, dissertations, and other content. Coverage from 1960-present.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global
Comprehensive collection of fulltext dissertations and theses since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for earlier periods. Includes MSU dissertations and theses.
SciFinder-n
SciFinder is a research tool that allows you to access the world's largest collection of biochemical, chemical, chemical engineering, medical, and other related information. SciFinder provides access to the CAplus database of chemical literature and U.S. and foreign chemical-related patents, to CASREACT, to the Registry database from Chemical Abstracts Service, and to Medline. It includes journal articles, book chapters, patents, conference proceedings, technical reports, substance database.
SpringerLink
SpringerLink is the platform for European based publisher Springer. It provides online access to reference works and other e-books, in addition to their journals in the scientific, technical, and medical fields.
Scopus
One of the largest indexing databases, Scopus, covers content from over 300 disciplines and searches over 28,000 journals, plus books and preprints. Scopus has better coverage of business disciplines than Web of Science.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides users with a single access point to a broad range of topics across many disciplines and many types of information resources including journal and conference articles, books, reports, theses, and government publications. While Google Scholar searches can identify information sources in many formats and covering a wide range of topics it is not the only or best tool for finding information all topics.

If you are accessing resources through Google Scholar and want to ensure your access to MSU Library resources is seamless, do the following:

Go to Google Scholar
Click on the menu option in the upper left corner
Click on Settings
Click on "Library Links"
Search for Michigan State University
Select "Michigan State University – MSU Libraries Access" by checking the box
Click "Save"
Do your search in Google Scholar
Click on the link for "MSU Libraries Access" that will appear to the right of the title of the resource and you'll be prompted for your NetID and password to access that resource.

Journal Articles and Conference Papers

Journal articles and conference papers usually provide the most up-to-date information on a given subject and are much more likely to have information on narrower topics not easily located in books. The Libraries' online catalog does not provide in-depth indexing of all the topics treated in individual books nor can it be used to find journal articles on a particular subject. Journals and conferences are normally published more rapidly than books and should provide the latest information on a given topic. MSU users have access to a number of databases and indexes that are useful for finding engineering information.

E-journals

E-journals can be accessed in a number of different ways, through our online catalog, and our A to Z Title List of Electronic Journals. Some can also be accessed from online indexes. Most of the e-journals that the MSU Libraries subscribe to can be accessed from anywhere on-campus. An example of an e-journal would be the Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology The number of years available online varies by journal title.