MTU Library Resources for HU 2600: Introduction to Scientific

and Technical Communication

 

Class Instructor: Ann Brady

Librarian: Joan Goodbody: email; goodbody@mtu.edu: phone; 487-2698

 

MTU Library Catalog:

Use the catalog to find items that the library owns: Searchable by author, title, subject or keywords. Also after using an index to find a paper/article that you want, youll need to use this catalog to determine whether we have the journal that the article appeared in. Articles from journals we do not have or books we do not have can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Many of the databases now have a direct ILL link.

 

Reference Collection First Floor

The Reference Collection is a good place to collection background information on an issue or start your research. The collection is arranged by subject, using the Library of Congress classification system (call numbers.)

 

International Directory of Company Histories. HD 2721 .I57 REF

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. Q 121 .M3 REF

Encyclopedia of associations. HS17 .G1e REF DESK

 

Resources on the Librarys Web Page - www.lib.mtu.edu

E-Resources access to electronic indexes/abstracts, online books, e-journals and selected websites. From the E-Resource menu select listings by alphabet, topic or collection (e.g. FirstSearch or InfoTrac.) E-Resources are also searchable by name or keyword(s.) Use the index databases to locate journal articles, newspaper articles, or reviews on your topic. Some indexes or collections of indexes especially useful for research in this course include:

E-book websites have a variety of good sources for online, full-text books. NetLibrary has many books to help when putting together job applications, including resumes and cover letters.

Databases:

LexisNexis:

Academic provides full-text documents from over 5,600 news, business, legal, medical, and reference publications with a variety of flexible search options.  Has more detailed references on corporations in business, legal and reference sections as well as the general section. Quick search has a place to look for companies.

Congressional provides a comprehensive online resource from Congressional hearings, public issues, legislation, history, and legal research.

FirstSearch: This database provides access to over 60 databases. They include:

Worldcat, a comprehensive database for all types of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. This does NOT index periodicals at the article level;

Wilson Select Plus, A full text database comprised of articles represented by selected citations from Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, General Science Abstracts, Education Abstracts, and Wilson Business Abstracts.

Education abstracts, a comprehensive database that indexes TCQ [Technical communication quarterly, produced by Association of Teachers of Technical Writing] Note: be sure to use the long version of the journal name if searching for that source only.

Infotrac: A comprehensive multi-index database including:

InfoTrac Custom 150 Full Text Newspapers :A collection of newspapers from around the Country and the World;

Expanded Academic ASAP: Gives access to arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!;

InfoTrac OneFile, A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily;

LegalTrac,Use this database to find articles in all major law reviews, law journals, specialty law and bar association journals and legal newspapers.

 

General Reference Center Gold (issues and philosophers): A general interest database that integrates a variety of sources in one easy-to-use interface. Use General Reference Center Gold to find articles from newspapers, reference books, and periodicals, many with full-text and images.

 

Websites:

Firstgov.gov: www.firstgov.gov This is the official government site that searches over 87 million sites. Can search for just federal, federal and a specific state, federal and all states, all states, or a specific state. Advanced search gives the most flexibility. Includes manuals on how to communicate, how to write contracts, etc. and much more on communications.

 

Interlibrary Loan access to items from other libraries.

Request items using an ILL form available at the Circulation desk or online (Under Library Services menu, select Interlibrary Loans.) Many index databases also allow ILL requests through their sites.

Note The ILL process can take time (longer than 10 days in some cases.) Plan your research time accordingly.

 

Citation styles websites:

 

APA (AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION)

 

APAs Electronic Reference Formats

http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

 

Online!: Using APA Style to Cite and Document Sources

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

 

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

 

APA (American Psychological Association) Citation Style Guidehttp://www.isr.bucknell.edu/research/apa.pdf

 

 

MLA (MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION):

 

MLA (Modern Language Association) Citation Style Guide

http://www.isr.bucknell.edu/research/mla.pdf

 

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html