Introduction to Research Skills in Engineering Before you start Find books Find articles Internet starting points Using and citing Useful Links Engineering Library Engineering Faculty MyUni WebCT Ask A Librarian

Good Internet starting points

1. Why you should NOT start with yahoo or google      2. Good starting points: gateways for engineering      3. Don't neglect other sources of information

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Why you should NOT start with yahoo or google

Information published on the Internet is not necessarily subject to any quality control. General search engines will retrieve information of varying types and from diverse sources: academic, commercial, political or personal. It is your responsibility to judge the quality and suitability for your assignment. There are gateways or portals that screen and evaluate what they publish, so the information you find there is more reliable and usually more appropriate for academic work.

• For more information about how to evaluate the information you find, please refer to Using and citing, which is the next part of this tutorial .

Good starting points: search engines and gateways for engineering

If the library catalogue or databases don't have the information you need, try the following Internet search engines or gateways for finding quality resources. Browse by category or search by keyword.

Scirus for science
Google Scholar for scholarly information
EEVL Internet Guide for Engineering, Mathematics and Computing.
TechXtra searches a combination of digital repositories, journal databases, technical reports servers, web information, news sources and more, all with a focus on technology information.

• See Engineering Internet Guide for more gateways and subject-specific links.
• If you would like to learn more about searching the internet, please look at Information about using Internet search services or
  one of the tutorials of the RDN Virtual Training Suite, under Internet for Engineering and Mathematics.

Don't neglect other sources of information

Your main sources for information on essay or presentation topics are therefore:

1. the library catalogue
2. electronic databases
3. Internet gateways for engineering

But don't forget there are people with expert knowledge who may be able to help you, in the community, school, university and libraries.
If you have questions or would like some help, contact us at the Engineering Library.

      The next part of the tutorial is about evaluation & bibliographies           Your feedback?
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