Connie Wu Engineering Information Specialist/Information Services Librarian conniewu@rci.rutgers.edu January 2008

Research Resources: Subject Research Guides: Engineering:
Indexes and Databases

Rutgers University Library System has made available a substantial and growing collection of computer searchable databases covering a broad spectrum of subject areas including science and technology. This entire listing is accessible from the Rutgers Library web page under the heading Indexes and Databases.

Of these databases, the following are most useful for obtaining information on engineering:

Academic Search Premier (1996 - present)
Academic Search Premier is a web-based search interface to a collection of periodical databases, including summaries of articles from over 3,200 publications. It contains a wide range of popular magazines and scholarly journals covering general reference, business, health, social sciences, humanities, education, and general science. In addition, some articles contain images, including photographs, diagrams and charts, and other illustrations. Years of coverage vary by source but generally span from 1996 on.

ACM Digital Library
The ACM Digital Library contains the full-text for articles published in ACM and affiliated organizations' periodicals and proceedings since 1985, as well as bibliographic information, abstracts, and reviews for those articles. These publications cover various fields related to computing, including software, hardware, computational theory, artificial intelligence, information science, human-computer interaction, instructional technology, and the research and development communities involved in computing.

Agricola (1979 - present)
AGRICOLA indexes more than 2,000 serial titles as well as books, pamphlets, conference proceedings, research reports, government documents, monographs, theses, patents, software, audiovisual content, and microforms pertaining to all aspects of agriculture. The topics covered in this database include: agriculture, agronomy, animal science, biology, biotechnology, botany, breeding, chemistry, conservation, crop management, dairy science, ecology, entomology, farm management, feed science, fertilizers, food and nutrition, forestry, horticulture, hydrology, hydroponics, microbiology, nutrition, pesticides, physiology, plant science, pollution, soil science, water quality, and zoology.

Applied Science and Technology Full Text (1983 - present
Wilson Applied Science & Technology Abstracts indexes articles, product evaluations, and book reviews in over 390 leading English-language periodicals published in the U.S. and elsewhere. The database includes trade and industrial publications, journals of professional and learned societies, and specialized subject periodicals. Subjects covered include all fields of engineering, aeronautics, chemistry, computer technology and applications, earth sciences, energy and environment, mathematics, metallurgy, and physics. WAST also covers industries such as construction, materials, robotics, telecommunications, and transportation.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (1977 - present)
The Avery Index is the foremost periodicals index for architecture and related disciplines. It indexes over 1,000 periodicals published worldwide covering the subject areas of architecture, architectural design, city planning, historic preservation, history of architecture, interior design and landscape architecture.

Beilstein CrossFire
The Beilstein Crossfire database covers the organic chemistry literature (primarily journal articles plus patents) back to the late 1700's. It indexes over seven million organic and organo-metallic compounds, 10 million chemical reaction references, and 20 million associated chemical, physical, and biological property records. The system also includes some 600,000 abstracts and titles excerpted from the organic chemical literature since 1980.

BIOSIS Previews (1998 - present)
BIOSIS Previews database is a comprehensive index to life science and biomedical research. Each year BIOSIS adds more than 560,000 references from more than 5,500 sources including more than 5,000 international journals, published meetings, symposia and workshops, patents, book and software reviews. It is multidisciplinary covering, among other, Applied Zoology, Behavior and Ecology, Biotechnology, Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Physiology, and Plant Sciences.

CAB Abstracts (1973- present)
CAB ABSTRACTS is a bibliographic database compiled by CAB International. It covers the significant research and development literature in the fields of agriculture, forestry, aspects of human health, human nutrition, animal health, and the management and conservation of natural resources.

Computing Reviews
Computing Reviews provides critical reviews by computing experts of books and papers in the computing field. Users should not confuse Computing Reviews with ACM Guide to Computing Literature (The Guide). Items reviewed in Computing Reviews are a subset of the ACM Guide to Computing Literature.

Conference Papers Index
Conference Papers provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Subject emphasis since 1995 has been in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, while older material also covers physics, engineering and materials science. Information is derived from final programs, abstracts booklets and published proceedings, as well as from questionnaire responses. Records include complete ordering information to obtain preprints, abstracts, proceedings and other publications derived from the conference, together with title and author information needed to track the specific papers.

Dissertations and Theses (1861 - present)
The database includes citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester; those published from 1980 forward also include 350-word abstracts, written by the author. Citations for master's theses from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. Of the 1.5 million titles listed, UMI offers over a million in full text. For these titles, the database citation includes UMI's order number. The database represents the work of authors from over 1,000 North American graduate schools and European universities.

Engineering Index (EI Compendex) (1987- present)
EI Compendex Plus provides abstracts and full bibliographic citations for worldwide engineering and technical literature and encompasses all engineering disciplines, as well as related fields in science and management. The records in the database are drawn from over 2,600 published journals, conference proceedings and individual conference papers, technical reports, monographs, and other materials.

EIS: Digests of Environmental Impact Statements
The federal government issues hundreds of environmental impact statements each year - and this one resource provides detailed abstracts of all of those statements, also indexing them for easy reference. EIS extracts the key issues from complex government-released environmental impact statements, converting massive documents into concise, readable abstracts. Each entry includes a clear description of the project, sections on positive impact and negative consequences, and legal mandates.

Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management index (1984 - present)
The Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management index (ENV) provides interdisciplinary coverage of the medical and biological sciences. The database contains records describing journal articles, monographs, and conference proceedings, covering such topics such as bacteriology, biotechnology, environmental engineering, environmental impact statements, health and safety, industrial microbiology, pollution, public health, social poisons, toxicology, waste management, and water treatment.

Food Science and Technology Abstracts
Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA) is the premier resource for all aspects of food science including biotechnology, food safety, functional and novel foods, food additives, nutrition, and packaging. The database is international in scope and covers over 1800 resources on food science such as journals, books, and conference proceedings.

GeoRef
GeoRef provides references and selected abstracts to the world's literature in the geosciences, covering North America since 1785 and other areas since 1933. Covers journal articles (more than 3500 journals are indexed), books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses, as well as references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey.

History of Science and Technology (1976 - present)
History of Science and Technology (HST) offers the definitive international bibliography for the history of science and technology and its influence on culture, from pre-history to the present. It contains records to journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book reviews, and dissertations in all scientific disciplines and related fields. Citations reflect the contents of over 1,000 journals and partial contents of several hundred more. This database incorporates the following three bibliographies: ISIS Current Bibliography of the History of Science, the Current Bibliography in the History of Technology, and the Bibliografia Italiana di Storia della Scienza.

IEEE Xplore
It covers more than 30% of the world's literature in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science, information science, materials science, physical sciences and biomedical engineering. The database allows for full text access to over 140 journals, over 450 conference proceedings and 800 standards from more than 36 not-for-profit IEEE societies and IEE. There are currently over one million documents in IEL with content back to 1988(plus select content back to 1950).

The International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) (1970 - present)
The International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) database provides worldwide coverage of pharmaceutical science and health related literature from 1970 to the present, and is updated monthly. Produced by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, IPA citations come from over 750 journals providing comprehensive information for drug therapy, toxicity, and pharmacy practice as well as legislation, regulation, technology, utilization, biopharmaceutics, information processing, education, economics, and ethics as related to pharmaceutical science and practice.

INSPEC (1969 - present)
The INSPEC database offers physicists, engineers, computer scientists and information specialists access to international journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, dissertations and books covering physics, electronics, information technology, computers and electrical engineering. Producer-assigned classification codes, descriptors and identifiers enhance subject access. Newly added fields include chemical and numerical information. Retrieval may also be restricted to any of the print counterparts.

JSTOR
JSTOR provides electronic access to back runs of over 100 journal titles, many dating back to the 1800's. This archive is searchable by subject keyword, author and title. Due to agreements with the publishers, JSTOR does not include current issues of journals; the most recently published issue of any current journal will not appear in JSTOR until 2-5 years after the publishing date.

LexisNexis Statistical
Statistical Universe is the world's most comprehensive access to over 100,000 statistical publications. statistical information from Congressional Information Service, Inc. The service allows users to search summaries of statistical publications, then link to the full-text of selected publications on LexisNexis Statistical and government Web sites.

MathSciNet (1940 - present)
MathSciNet is the searchable Web database providing access Mathematical Reviews and Current Mathematical Publications. Mathematical Reviews provides timely reviews or summaries of articles and books that contain new contributions to mathematical research. See the MR Editorial Statement for a fuller description. The approximately 1600 current serials and journals reviewed in who le or in part are listed in the Abbreviations of Names of Serials which may be viewed in PDF format or as a brow sable listing.

Medline (1966 - present)
MEDLINE covers the international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care. Information is indexed from approximately 3,600 journals published world-wide.

National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) database from the U.S. Department of Commerce is the premier source for accessing unclassified reports from influential U.S. and international government agencies. The database contains access to over two million critical citations from government departments such as NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Science Citation Index (Web of Science) (1994 - present)
The Web of Science is an enhanced web version of the Institute for Scientific Information's citation indexes, including the Science Citation Index:, the Social Sciences Citation Index:, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index. The Web of Science measures the impact of particular journals and is one of the sources used by the National Research Council to rank graduate programs.

ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect, the electronic science journal package from Elsevier Science provides access to more than 1000 periodicals (over 1,100,000 articles) from 1995 to present. Included in ScienceDirect's holdings are the following fields: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Materials Science, Engineering and Technology, Environmental Science, Economics, Business and Management Science, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Clinical Medicine. The full-text/full-image articles (PDF version) are available.

SciFinder Scholar
SciFinder Scholar is the electronic version of the print publication Chemical Abstracts. Like Chemical Abstracts, SciFinder Scholar comprehensively covers the world-wide literature of chemistry including print journal articles, online publications, patents, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, technical reports, government documents, etc.

SPIE Digital Library
The SPIE Digital Library is the most extensive resource available on optics and photonics, providing unprecedented access to more than 200,000 technical papers from SPIE Journals and Conference Proceedings from 1990 to the present. More than 17,000 new technical papers are added annually. All sources are searchable and there are also several browse options for proceedings (by year, symposium, volume number, volume title, technology).