Finding resources
Articles
Full text articles that can be viewed, saved and printed:
IEEExplore - journals, magazines, conference proceedings and standards from the IEEE and IEE and IET
Self paced training modules to help you make the most of IEEExplore http://www.ieee.org/training
Make the most of IEEE articles and papers - IEEExplore Tip Sheet
ScienceDirect - Collection of full text articles in engineering, technology and science
Mobile apps help you gain access to the latest abstracts and articles through your iPhone ScienceDirect iPhone app user guide
Indexes to articles with limited full text:
Ei Compendex - comprehensive bibliographic database of scientific and technical engineering research available, covering all engineering disciplines availabe through Engineering Village
Google Scholar - Internet literature search. You can use Advanced Scholar Search and Scholar Preferences to make your search more focussed
Electronic journals by title
Use the University eJournal Portal to search for electronic journals by title or ISSN; browse ejournals by title; browse ejournals by subject
Print journals
You can use the library catalogue to search for the titles of print journals held by the University
The journal titles listed below are a selection from the collection displayed on the ground floor of Nelson Library:
- Electronics World
- Elektor
- Engineering and Technology
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Printed books
You can use the library catalogue to search for specific titles or books by an author. You can also search by author, title or general keywords. There is a link to the library catalogue and more information about borrowing books and using other library services at Library
You can look for books on the shelves in your subject area. Some useful shelf numbers for electrical and electronics engineering are listed below.
| Electronics industry | 338.476213 |
| Engineering maths | 510.2462 |
| MATLAB | 519.402462 |
| Engineering design | 620.0042 |
| Computer aided design (CAD) | 620.00420285 |
| Electrical engineering | 621.3 |
| Circuits | 621.3192 |
| Electronics | 621.381 |
| Communications engineering | 621.382 |
| Telecommunications | 621.3822 |
| Robotics | 629.892 |
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Video tutorials
Lynda.com
lynda.com is a library of video-based training courses focused on software topics and business skills training. These cover everything from commonly used software such as Microsoft Office to specialised applications in areas such as photography, web applications, audio and video, as well as more general topics such as collaboration, presentations and project management.
The tutorials cover both Windows PCs and Apple software and are available for both beginners and more advanced users.
Information about lynda.com at www.staffs.ac.uk/lynda and a link to lynda.com
Useful websites
Standards
IEEE Standards - full text IEEE standards
British Standards Online - full text access to PDFs of current British Standards. You can access the Staffordshire University subscription with your University login
British Standards Online demos
BSOL general overview
BSOL browse function
BSOL Item details page
BSOL results pages
BSOL search function
British Standards Institution (BSI)
Dictionaries and biographies
Oxford Reference Online - a series of online subject dictionaries and reference books. In this series you will find biographies of engineers and inventors and the history and impact some of their inventions
Box of Broadcasts (BoB)
Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is an off-air recording and media archive service available to staff and students. The service allows you to record TV and radio programmes scheduled to be broadcast over the next seven days and retrieve programmes from the previous seven days from a selected list of recorded channels.
BoB stores recorded TV and Radio programmes in an archive indefinitely for all users to enjoy. The archive currently offers thousands of TV and radio programmes covering all genres and that number is set to rise as more further and higher education institutions join BoB.
Get started with BoB tutorials http://bobnational.net/content.php?view=video and the BoB user guide
External web sites
You may find the following external websites useful
IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission with free access to some IEC standards in database format, the IEC glossary of electrotechnical terms and Electropedia: the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV)
Institution of Engineering and Technology
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
TechXtra- engineering, mathematics and computing resources
Intute - web resources for education and research. After July 2011 the website will be available, but it will not be maintained or updated
Open access resources
LearningSpace - free access to Open University course material
YouTube EDU - online video repository of higher education content
iTunesU - educational audio and video content
Jorum - free learning and teaching resources
LearnHigher - free teaching and learning resources for staff and students in further and higher education, including group work, writing, critical thinking, communication, time management, research and more
Creative Commons - advice and information on finding and reusing creative works legally
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Referencing and bibliographies
RefZone - Helping you to Reference
RefZone will help you with all your referencing needs throughout your studies at Staffordshire University. You should also consult your study skills handbook or assignment details to ensure that you are using the referencing style required by your subject area.
RefWorks
RefWorks is an online bibliographic management tool that helps you save references and create bibliographies.
RefWorks 2.0
RefWorks has introduced a new version of its program called RefWorks 2.0. RefWorks 2.0 is still in a beta or testing phase so you can switch back and forth between RefWorks "Classic" (the current version) and RefWorks 2.0 (the new version). You will have this option until the end of 2011 when RefWorks Classic will be converted to RefWorks 2.0.
RefWorks guides
There are other tutorials to RefWorks 2.0 and RefWorks Classic under the Help menu within the RefWorks program.
Download the RefWorks Workbook to help you get started, taking you from the Staffordshire University Library web pages to resources subscribed to by Staffordshire University such as ACM Digital Library, IEEExplore, ScienceDirect
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Usernames and passwords
Most online resources use your University Username and Password to authorise access. On campus you will be recognised automatically when you logon to a PC. You should only be asked to login when you are off campus. To do this you will need the details of your student Username and Password:
*Username = First part of your University email address i.e. 2 letters & 6 numbers
*Password = your date of birth as 6 digits i.e. ddmmyy (unless you have changed this)
Note: When using some online resources, you may be asked to enter the details of your University ATHENS account - this is the same username and password as your University logon details above.
Please visit Accessing e-resources for further help
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Off-campus students and distance learners
The library provides a range of services for off-campus users including:
A Postal Loan service to students based in the UK, make requests through the library catalogue
A Document Delivery Service processing requests for materials not available through Staffordshire University
Access to other university libraries in the UK through the SCONUL Access scheme
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Subject help and advice
For subject resource support, finding information, advice on using the online resources, reference styles and queries regarding the Library and IT services, please contact your Subject Librarian or the Library Help Desk:
There are links to resources, information about using the library and an A-Z of Library services and facilities to help you make the most of the University libraries and IT services
Library Home Page
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