MECH 201 Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

Best bets

• Compendex (Engineering Village)
  Covers all aspects of engineering. Check out the short video below on the basics of searching Compendex.
• ProQuest SciTech Premium Collection
  Covers literature in the natural sciences, engineering, and technology

Additional databases

• Advanced Technologies and Aerospace Collection
  Covers aeronautics, astronautics and space sciences
• Scopus
  Multidisciplinary database. Useful to see who has cited an article of interest on your topic
• Web of Science
  Multidisciplinary database. Useful to see who has cited an article of interest on your topic

Most of the Library's licensed electronic resources, such as databases, full-text online journals and ebooks, are restricted to McGill students and staff. Find out about accessing the Library's online resources from on and off campus.

Interlibrary Loan

• Interlibrary Loan
  All McGill students and staff may order materials not available at McGill using Interlibrary Loan.

How to find articles and conference papers

Use research databases to find journal articles and conference papers on your topic. For example:

• Access Compendex.
• Search for: mobility systems AND lunar
• Find the article by Schlutz, Juergen; and Messerschmid, Ernst:
  • "Integrating advanced mobility into lunar surface exploration" Acta Astronautica. v. 75, June-July 2012, pp. 15-24
• Click on its title; read the abstract. [Clicking on the Main heading, Controlled terms, and Uncontrolled terms links will give you more articles about those subjects.]
• Click on the red McGill "Find Full Text" or the blue "Full text" link to search for the article online.
• If you are not offered the article full-text, then search the library catalogue using the article title and if not successful, using the journal title. If the library does not subscribe to the journal, then get it on Interlibrary Loan (ILL). There are no charges for ILL; McGill subsidizes this service.        

Search tips

Ways to decrease results

• Search words as a phrase

  e.g. "mobility systems" AND lunar

• Add additional terms and combine with AND

  e.g. mobility systems AND lunar AND exploration

• Select one or more of the database's limit types

  e.g. publication type, language, publication date

• Search for words only in a particular field

  e.g. mobility in title only

Ways to increase results

• Search using fewer terms

  e.g. mobility AND lunar

• Remove quotations around search terms

  e.g. mobility systems AND lunar

• Use truncation to allow the terms to end in various ways

  e.g. mobil* AND lunar

• Use synonyms or similar concepts, combining them with OR to generate more results

  e.g. mobility AND (lunar OR moon)

Get new ideas for search terms

• Use descriptors in the database (also called subjects, controlled vocabulary or controlled terms). In Compendex, you can find these terms by searching your keywords in the Thesaurus under the Search tab or by applying the limit type: "Controlled vocabulary" on the left-hand side of your search results list.

• McGill users only
• Open access resource
• Free resource
• In-library use
• Catalogue record

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