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CBE 3317 - Introduction to Plant Design and Safety

This page contains information and links to resources relevant to the CBE 3317 library instruction session.

  1. Managing Citations
  2. Effective Search Strategies
  3. Finding Background Information
  4. Databases for Finding Literature
  5. Finding Industry Information 
  6. Finding Toxicology and OHS information
  7. Finding Patents
  8. Interlibrary Loans

Managing Citations:

RefWorks

- For managing citations & formatting bibliographies
- Online help and online tutorial includes all the basics
- See the instructions for importing references into RefWorks from several databases
- Suggest creating one account for the group so you can share your readings

Write-N-Cite

- A software for users to cite references in writting papers from RefWorks
- See the online tutorial (#11 Inserting Citations and Creating Bibliographies with Write-N-Cite) to learn how Write-N-Cite works

Effective search Strategies

Basic Searching Skills tutorial

Advanced Searching Skills tutorial material

Search Strategies:

  • Select keywords from your research topic
  • Find synonyms or related terms for each of the keywords you identified above
    An online dictionary (like Merriam-Webster Dictionary or The Free Dictionary ) can help; the database of EI Compendex has its own thesaurus. 
    Also consider:
            variant spellings (eg.  British versus American);
            singular and plural forms; 
            truncation of terms (e.g. structur* will find structure, structural, structuring, etc.);
            quotation marks for exact phrases (e.g. “green building”)
  • Use Boolean operators to connect your keywords (AND, OR, NOT)
    AND - narow a search by combining terms; retrieve documents that include both the search terms; combine different concepts   
    OR - broaden a search to include documents that contain either of the terms; combine synonyms and related terms of a concept
    NOT - narrow a search by excluding certain search terms
    e.g. A search topic includes concept A, B, and C. For each concept, you find 3 keywords (synonyms or related terms).
    Concept A:  A1, A2, A3
    Concept B: B1, B2, B3
    Concept C: C1, C2, C3
    So your search plan will be:
    (A1 OR A2 OR A3) AND (B1 OR B2 OR B3) AND (C1 OR C2 OR C3)
  • Select search tools (library catalogue, databases, etc.)
  • Conduct your search
  • Review your search results and revise your search
    too many answers - narrow your search by using more specific search terms or combining more relevant concepts
    not enough answers - broaden your search by using more general terms or removing one or more concepts

Search Strategy Worksheet (click for the document) 

Finding Background Information

Library Catalogue: conduct keyword or subject search to find relevant titles for your project

Reference Titles: 
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (online, searchable)
Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry (online, searchable)
Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 8th edition  (Print) 

ENGnetBASE: full-text online handbooks across almost all engineering disciplines, including the subject areas: bioprocessing, chemical processing & design, process control, etc. 

Databases for finding Literature

EI Compendex: one of the most comprehensive engineering literature databases

SciFinder Web: access to scholarly articles, conference papers, patents and chemical properties

Proquest ABI/Inform Trade & Industry: covers major trade and industry news

Others listed on the Database page for CBE

Finding Industry Information

Sources for Industry Information

Finding Toxicological and ohs Information:

Environmental, Toxicological & Occupational Health and Safety

Finding Patents:

Finding Patents

Books to help you understand patents:

Interlibrary Loans:

RACER: Request journal articles, conference proceedings, or books that aren't in the library catalogue from other institutions. This service is free of charge. 

 

Need Library Research Help?

 Please contact Shiyi Xie or Taylor Library Researh Help Desk for further help.