These tools provide the best starting points for research in Mechanical Engineering. To dig deeper, explore the other categories in this guide.
Melvyl
Library catalog for the UC System. Find call numbers, locations, and online access for books, journals, conference proceedings, and more.
A Brief Guide to Melvyl
Compendex
Primary article index for engineering (including mechanical engineering). Find journal articles and conference papers.
INSPEC
Most comprehensive article index for physics, control engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and related fields. Find journal articles and conference papers.
Web of Science
Article index covering the core journals in all scholarly fields. Provides cited reference searching.
Use encyclopedias and handbooks to find background information and overviews for your research. They also often contain specialized information such as formulas, methods, practices, tables, and data. The list below is not comprehensive, but is meant to give a sampling of the types of reference books available.
AccessScience
Online version of the the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms.
Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology. 3rd ed. 18 vols. Academic Press, 2002.
Q123.E497 2002 Reference
Encyclopedia of Vibration. 3 vols. Academic Press, 2002.
TA355.E497 2002 Reference
Handbook of Mechanical Engineering Calculations. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
TJ151.H327 1998 Reference
Handbook of Industrial Robotics. 2nd ed. Wiley, 1999.
TS191.8.H36 1999 Reference
Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers. 10th Ed. McGraw-Hill, 1996.
TJ151. M37 1996 Reference
Standard Handbook of Machine Design. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, 1996.
TJ230 S8235 1996 Reference
Tool and Manufacturing Engineers Handbook. 4th ed. 9 vols. SME, 1983-1998.
TS176.A431 1983 Reference
The Reference Collection in the Engineering Library has a wide range of handbooks and encyclopedias. Browsing the reference shelves by subject will usually be productive. To access other online reference tools, consult our complete list of Electronic Books.
Journal articles and conference papers are the primary means of disseminating research in engineering. As such, they are essential references within quality research. Use article databases to find journal articles and conference papers relevant to your research.
| Core Databases: | Years Covered | Default Search | Truncation Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compendex
All areas of engineering (Guide: HTML, PDF) |
1884–present | All | * |
| INSPEC
Physics, control engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and related fields (Guide: HTML, PDF) |
1969–present | Adjacent | * or $ |
| Web of Science
all science and engineering fields, with cited reference searching (Tutorial: HTML and Guide: HTML, PDF) |
1900–present | All | * |
| Related Databases: | Years Covered | Default Search | Truncation Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIAA Electronic Library
Indexes all American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics publications. Includes the full text of meeting papers since 1963 and journal articles since 1996. |
1963–present | Exact Phrase | N/A |
| SAE Digital Library
Indexes all Society of Automotive Engineers publications. Provides the full text of technical papers published after 1998. Currently unavailable, more information |
1906–present | OR; enclose phrase in quotes | N/A |
To access other article databases, consult our complete list of Article Databases.
Locating Full Text Online or in the Library: Many article databases offer the UC-eLinks service, providing links to full-text articles online and automated library catalog searches. If these links fail, you can search for the journal title or conference name yourself in Melvyl.
Related Guides:
Getting Started with UC-eLinks
How to Find Journal Articles
How to Find Conference Proceedings
Search the Electronic Journals database for other ejournals at UCB. If you don't find the title there, search Melvyl.
Selected Research Journals
Browse key journals in your field to keep abreast of new developments and identify interesting research directions. This list is not at all comprehensive, so ask your professors about other key journals directly related to your research.
Much engineering research gets disseminated in technical reports before appearing in conference papers and journal articles. Technical reports describe the progress or results of scientific or technical research and development. They serve as a report of accountability to the organization funding the research. In particular they are a good source of information regarding government-funded research. Some useful indexes to technical reports include:
Technical reports may be available online or in our uncataloged technical report collection. Consult our Technical Reports page for other online sources, or ask a librarian for assistance in locating specific reports.
Related Guides:
How to Find Technical Reports
For the most part, only UCB dissertations are available in the UCB Libraries. To find specific UCB dissertations, search Melvyl by Author. To locate sample UCB dissertations from your department, search Melvyl for the Subject berkeley dissertations mechanical engineering.
Bibliographic management packages allow you to import citations from online article databases, organize these citations in a personal database, automatically format them within papers, and create instant bibliographies in a variety of styles.
Related Guides:
Bibliographic Management Software
RefWorks Tips for Engineering Databases
EndNote Tips for Engineering Databases
Many article databases offer services that allow you to create searches that run automatically whenever new records are added. New results are sent directly to your email address, providing a quick and easy way to keep current with research.
Alerting services are offered by the following article databases that cover mechanical engineering topics:
Web of Science
Guide: HTML | PDF
Additionally, many publishers and individual journals offer their own alerting services. Please ask a librarian for more information.