Locating Information: Strategies and Sources

Elizabeth Cheney Science & Engineering Library

echeneyl@library.ucla.edu

Art of Engineering Endeavors/ Engr. 185 January 20th, 2012

Introduction

Developing an efficient search strategyLocating booksLocating journal articlesLocating patentsLocating pricing information in vendor

catalogs

Side note: Economics of Information Databases cost an arm and a leg STEM journals and databases cost

fingers and toes Library pays now, you or your employer

will have to pay later

What do you get?

Databases Powerful search

functionality Quality controls on content Indexing to improve

searching Abstracting to improve

efficiency Links to full-text

Journal Credibility of author Reputation of journal Links to articles cited in

bibliographies The articles you cite

improve the credibility of your article

Brainstorming with group

Possible products– Wild ideas– Similar existing products you can research

and build upon, develop new applications for?

– Terminology and vocabulary of the industry– Corporate players in the industry– Sense of the market for the product

Examples

Quick and dirty searching Internet - Google search

– Gather vocabulary / lingo– Identify companies & key people– Design ideas– Materials ideas– Explore the market / consumers

Remember ¾ of the internet is comprised of commercial or entertainment sites

Other places to begin

For some products, an overview article from a newspaper, an encyclopedia, or a trade journal may be useful– Wikipedia– Reference Universe (online encyclopedias)– Business Source Complete (for trade jnls)– Lexis-Nexis (for newspaper articles)

Searching the Internet

Google searches a billion webpages

The Invisible Web is 500 times bigger

Searching the Internet

Google

Proprietary databases; e.g.,

Travelocity; LA Times; Weather.com; Eddie Bauer

Books, journals and databases that cost $$$$$

$$

Content you will only haveaccess to if you pay or the library pays

Government websites; e.g.,Patent office; NASA; Bureau of the Census

What does the library pay for?

Books – Most new books are electronic right now

UCLA Library Catalog Melvyl

Eng 185 Lib Guide

http://www.library.ucla.edu/sel

To request materials from other libraries In Worldcat (and article databases), look for

In Melvyl (and databases), look for When not in either of these databases go to

the Interlibrary Loan form– Request an item using a UC blank form:

– Book Request Form: this form can also be used to request videos, dissertations, scores, etc.

– Article Request Form – Book Chapter Request Form

It takes 3-10 days, so order items early!

Controlled Vocabulary

Library of Congress

Subject Headings

(LCSH)Each database has its own

controlled vocabulary.

What is the subject heading for…http://authorities.loc.gov

Authorized Refs and Notes

The Library also pays for journals

Elsevier Springer Wiley SIAM ACM ASME

Taylor and Francis IEEE IET ASCE Sage

Looking for journal articles Compendex (All engineering disciplines) Inspec (Electrical engineering, computer

science, physics, applied physics) IEEE Xplore (mostly EE) Web of Knowledge (Interdisciplinary) PubMed (some bioengineering/biotechnology) Aerospace and High Technology Academic Search Complete (Interdisciplinary)

What else do you get?

Reliable information – articles have been reviewed by the authors’ peers

Unbiased information – typically academic journals aren’t trying to sell you anything

Detailed, subject-specific information Links to additional information in

bibliographies or through database tools

Using Databases: Basic Search Strategy Start with keyword (natural language)

searches Find a relevant article Find the subject terms assigned to that

article Search using the controlled vocabulary Use the search refinement features of

each database

Patents Patents - No Cost Searching Web Sites

European Patent OfficeSimple searches on bibliographic data in patent documents.You can download full text images as PDF files - page by page only - but they are free.

Patents, U.S. (Google) About Google Patent search (U.S. Patents)

Provides simple and advanced searches of U.S. Patents; PDF files USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) Database Good site to search for most recent US patents.

Searches front page information in US patent starting from 1790.Searches full-text information in US patents issued starting 1976 to the Tuesday prior to today's date(US patents are issued every Tuesday). You can download the full text images as TIFF files - page by page only - but they are free. How to access and view U.S. Patent Full-Page Images Search Note: Patent images are only accessible from the full-text display of each patent. Patent images must be retrieved one page at a time. This is necessary since patents can be as long as 5,000 pages, and the resources required to download such "jumbo" patents are not available.

FreepatentsOnlineMillions of US patents searchable. One PDF per patent Future plans to add US applications.

DEPATISnet informationDatabase contains US (1790+), EP(1978+) and WO (1978+). Database also contains the following country patents:DE-1877+, DD-1946+, AT-1920+, CH-1888+, FR-1920+, GB-1920+, JP-1976+Patents and Applications are in one site. Link to full text of patent.Website is available in English and GermanYou can download the full text images as PDF files - page by page - but they are free

SurfIPUS-1790+, WO-97+, EP-97+, CH, CA, Taiwan and Singapore Patents and JP patent abstracts.Registration is requiredYou may also combine the search with Internet Search Engines such as Google or Northern Light and Business Databases like Hoovers.You can download full text images as PDF files - page by page only - but they are free.

International Patent Offices Patent Information Users Group (PIUG) US Patent and Trademark Office http://www.scitopia.org

Vendor catalogs – to price out costs of manufacturing Aldrich Catalog Search Allied Electronics Ben Meadows Company DesignInfo - Searchable Engineering Catalogs on the Net Digi-Key Electronic Components Edmund Scientific Global Spec Grainger catalog McMaster-Carr Supply Company Mouser Electronics Newark Electronics, Catalog Distributor of Electronic Components Rutland Tool & Supply Co., Inc. Sigma Catalog Search Building Materials by McGraw-Hill Sweets Thomas Register of American Manufacturers tile.net/vendors     

Eng 185 Lib Guide

Need help – Ask a Librarian

echeneyl@library.ucla.edu

acolby@library.ucla.edu

SEL Reference Desk

8270 Boelter Hall

10-12, 1-5, Mon - Fri