EGR 440/840 - Engineering Resources

Since anyone can put whatever information they want on the Internet, not all web sites are created equal.

Some points to consider when evaluating the information provided by a web site:

Who is the audience for the information and what is their goal?

Is the information accurate and complete?

Is the information current?

When was the web site last revised?

Who is the author(s) or sponsor of the web site?

What are the credentials of the author(s) or creator of the web site?

Are there other online or print sources for the information?

Evaluating Web Pages

Techniques to apply and questions to ask from the University of California at Berkeley's Teaching Library Internet Workshops.

Engineering Case Studies Online

• Engineering Case Studies Online is the first comprehensive resource to provide in-depth, impartial analysis of key engineering failures. Engineering Case Studies in Video offers over 300 videos and 70,000 pages of text resources to meet this growing need. It provides in-depth coverage for 80 of the most frequently taught and seminal case studies around the world together with supplementary materials from more than 1,000 additional failures. All materials in Engineering Case Studies Online are cultivated by expert editors, with the assistance of an advisory board of engineering librarians and faculty. Materials come from a wide range of content partners, including the National Transportation Safety Board, BBC, Future Media, ABC, National Geographic, and engineering associations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

The MSU Libraries also provides access to online video resources in a number of subject areas including engineering through the Alexander Street, Academic Video Online, database.

MSU students, staff, and faculty have access to a wide range of licensed information resources that are paid for by the MSU Libraries and only available to current enrolled  students and affiliated staff, and faculty.  When students graduate and leave the MSU, they are no longer able to access them.  Students that go into non-academic jobs will probably not have access to these resources through their employers.  Public libraries users usually do not have access to the information resources that MSU engineering students have.   Some of the types of information may be freely available to the general public but academic databases, journal articles, standards, and most e-books are not freely available.  This link connects to the MSU Libraries Research Guide Free Engineering Resources which lists selected free engineering information resources.