Information Services

Engineering

The following resources are available for finding peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, theses and technical reports in engineering.

Compendex is a comprehensive index covering all fields of engineering. Inspec, produced by the IET, includes coverage of physics and IT. The Web of Science is an interdisciplinary resource covering science and engineering and provides a useful citation searching facility.

AccessEngineering

Access information:

 Access on and off campus.

Description:

AccessEngineering provides access to authoritative, regularly-updated engineering reference information and includes dynamic online features such as interactive tables and charts, calculators and instructional videos, as well as personalization tools which allow users to easily organise project information. Content includes:

  • key sources such as Perry's Handbook for Chemical EngineersMarks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers and Roark’s formulas for stress and Strain.
  • Excel spreadsheet calculator tools for commonly used calculations
  • Personalization tools for organising, highlighting and annotating critical information
  • over 3900 interactive graphs as well as thousands of downloadable tables to make it easier to use and analyze key data.
  • Over 600 instructional videos, demonstrating step-by-step solutions to real-world engineering problems
  • Engineering news feed delivers global news for all major engineering disciplines
  • Business suite of references and videos for developing management, presentation and process skills.
Note: If you receive an 'Error 400' message, please try clearing cookies or browser. The issue seems to occur in Chrome.

 

Arm Education Media

Access information:

Access on and off campus.

  You may wish to create a VitalSource Bookshelf account. To do this, follow the instructions on the initial login screen. If you do not want to create an account click the "No thanks, I'll skip this step" button and follow the on-screen instructions.
Description:

Arm Education Media Online Courses provide an understanding of fundamental engineering concepts using Arm-based hardware and software technologies as tools and demonstrators. Each course contains around ten modules each, and each module may include lecture slides and notes, interactive quizzes (to test learning outcomes) and lab videos (to reinforce competency through practical application of concepts on Arm-based hardware platforms and associated software). The courses on offer are as follows:

  • Efficient Embedded Systems Design and Programming
  • Rapid Embedded Systems Design and Programing
  • Internet of Things
  • Graphics and Mobile Gaming
  • Real-Time Operating Systems Design and Programming
  • Introduction to System-on-Chip Design
  • Advanced System-on-Chip Design
  • Embedded Linux
  • Mechatronics and Robotics

 

ASTM Compass

Access information: Access on and off campus. For off campus access please use the University VPN - Access to the University network via the VPN.
Description: Full-text of 13,000+ active standards, 39,000+ historical standards, 1,000+ withdrawn standards from the ASTM.  It also includes 11 full-text journals, 1,500+ books, manuals, data series and 29,00+ technical papers from the ASTM, 12,300+ Redlines as well as videos of test method procedures, apparatus setup, materials and preparation of specimens. ASTM was formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials.

 

Compendex is a key resource

Compendex

Access information: Access on and off-campus.
Description: The database of Engineering Index, providing coverage of the world's significant engineering and technological literature including journals, books, technical reports and conference proceedings. With over 20 million records from 77 countries across 190 engineering disciplines.
Coverage: 1884 - present

 

Construction Information Service

Note: Use the British Standards Online database for full-text access to British Standards and Eurocodes
Access information:

An access problem with some VPN IP addresses has been reported to the publisher 8/12/22

Access on and off campus.

Description: The Construction Information Service provides instant full-text access to current regulations, standards, technical advice and a vast array of related news and briefings. Key institutes and organisations that contribute to the service include: IStructE, CIRIA, CIOB, SCI, The Concrete Society, TRL, AJ, BSRIA, RIAI.
Additional information: British Standards Online for full text access to British Standards and Eurocodes

 

DataVis

Access information:

Access on and off campus.

Description:

DataVis is a materials properties database, currently covering approximately 200 materials and 65 properties, including cost. DataVis can be used to find a property value for a single material, or can be used to compare properties across multiple materials. Interactive visualization features allow display of property data in interactive dot-plots and scatterplots across a wide range of materials. Up to 5 properties can be explored together on a single page and interactive tools enable exploration of the data, such as comparing the range of each property both within and across material classifications. Visualizations can be saved as projects and shared with others. Sample DataVis student projects are available as active learning projects; these can be used as-is, or saved and customized. Other content can be included in projects by adding text content to the top of any page in a project or by adding related content links from the AccessEngineering database (see separate database entry). DataVis returns values in SI units but units can be changed; the source for the value is also provided. 

Note: If you receive an 'Error 400' message, please try clearing cookies or browser. The issue seems to occur in Chrome.

 

Engineering Case Studies Online

Access information: Access on and off campus. The Library's subscription to this resource expires 31 July 2024.
Description:

The analysis of engineering failures enables engineers to learn how to create designs with a greater chance of success, by establishing the nature of each failure—structural, corrosive, electrical, etc. The database includes:

  • feature-length video documentaries of major failures;
  • monographs explaining cases in detail and describing key engineering concepts and issues;
  • simulations depicting what went wrong; primary footage of accidents (including related news segments);
  • audio footage and transcripts;
  • testimonies from participants, victims, and witnesses;
  • images, accident reports, blueprints, etc.

Over 50 seminal case studies from around the world are covered in depth.

 

Environmental Issues Online

Access information: Access on and off campus. The Library's subscription to this resource expires 31 July 2024.
Description:

Multimedia materials (text, archival primary sources, video and audio) around key environmental challenges, including climate change, water/air pollution, etc. Specific environmental case studies enable study of particular problems and how solutions have been created (or not created) in globally scale-able ways. Each case study includes published text, films, documentaries, government reports, NGO publications, monographs, regulations debates, contextualizing resources, and archival primary sources, putting each case in its historical context.

 

Inspec

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description: The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Inspec database has over 16 million indexed records with abstracts of articles published more than 6,500 physics, computer science, electronics, electrical engineering, control engineering journals and conference proceedings. Published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Indexes arXiv content.
Coverage: 1896-present

 

OnePetro

Access information: Access on or off campus.
Description: SPEOnePetro is a library of technical documents, conference proceedings and journal articles serving the oil and gas exploration and production industry.
Note: It is not necessary for users to register to use the service. However, registration provides additional features, eg saving search strategies and setting up email alerts of relevant new content.

 

Overton

Access information:

Access on and off campus - see registration guidance in Notes below.

Notes:

Use your University of Edinburgh email address to create a personal account via The Library's institutional subscription:

https://app.overton.io/ui/auth/register?group_code=unie61b0

Future access can then be direct from app.overton.io

Description:

A large searchable index of policy documents, guidelines, think tank publications and working papers from sources that are typically difficult to find in one place. Documents are parsed to find references, people and key concepts in relevant news stories, academic research, think tank output and other policy literature.  Full-text indexing can lead to discovery of additional citations.

Coverage:

Over 11 million full-text policy documents and grey literature from 32,000 organisations in 188 countries

 

Access Information:

Access on and off campus.

Description:

Difficult to find publications in one place, built around a directory of over 21,000 policy organisations. Provides access to 2.4 million books, articles, working papers, reports, policy briefs, data sets, tables, charts, media, case studies, and statistical publications from organisations including inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, think-tanks and other research centres.

The search interface also enables searching for tables within reports.

Registered users can receive alerts of material added to the database.

 

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description: Millions of searchable citations to worldwide dissertation and theses. Around 70,000 new dissertations and theses added annually.
Coverage: Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637.  Each dissertation published since July, 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.
Full-text: 1997 to date, with selected coverage from earlier years.  Full-text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution.

 

Access Information: Access on and off campus
Description: Full-text of technical papers, material specifications, standards, books and journals available for download, covering all fields related to mobility engineering – e.g.  aerospace, automotive industries, design engineering, energy sources, fluids, fuels, propulsion, safety engineering, tests and testing, transportation, etc. Includes the SAE Cybersecurity Knowledge Hub for information related to the cyber-physical security of end to end product design, risk mitigation, training and standards.  

 

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description: Abstract and citation database containing both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources.  Contains over 16 million author profiles, 70,000 institutional profiles, 5000 publishers, 70 million records, 1.4 billion cited references, covers over 20,000 journals from health, life, physical and social sciences and the humanities.
Coverage: For some subject areas, from 1788 onwards.  
User guide: https://elsevier.libguides.com/Scopus/home
Note: The University of Edinburgh's Affiliation ID is 60027272 (used for configuring Papers 3 for Mac to work with Scopus).
Note: If you would like to register to receive personalised searches, alerts etc then select "Other Institution login", then add "Edinburgh" to the search box to find the University of Edinburgh log in link, select the Shibboleth option if requested.

 

SciFindern - (both University and personal login required)

Not letting you in?

  • Have you registered for your personal SciFinder username/password?
    • An existing SciFinder personal registration will work for SciFindern
  • CAS retired SciFinder classic platform on 1st July 2022. Use the new SciFindern platform linked to above.
  • Going direct, rather than using the link above, requires IP authentication as well as personal registration and therefore connection to the VPN may be necessary.

How to register for a personal SciFinder account (required)

Access information:

Requires personal registration.

Direct access possible with your personal login details plus a University registered IP address

VPN service

  After 20 minutes of inactivity sessions will be closed automatically.
Description: Bibliographic information and abstracts of articles published from more than 50,000 journals. Covers chemistry (all aspects), chemical structures and patents, chemical engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, genetics. Information on more than 268 million chemical substances.
  Search by chemical structure or text. Full reaction searching allows you to specify reaction sites and map atoms in the reactants. Also, information on patents, chemical suppliers and regulations. Cited reference searching is possible.
Coverage: From 1800s onwards
Additional information:

Further support from the supplier for SciFindern

 

Access information: Access on campus, or off campus via the VPN.
Description: The most extensive resource available on optics and photonics literature, providing access to most SPIE Journals, Conference Proceedings and e-books.
Coverage: 1962 onwards.

 

Web of Science Core Collection is a key resource

Web of Science Core Collection

 
Access information:

Access on and off campus.

  Russian Science Citation Index is not presently included in the Web of Science.
Description:

Citations and abstracts to millions of journal articles and conference proceedings from all subjects. Cited reference searching, Impact Factors, h-indexes and email alerts available.

Coverage:

Arts & Humanities (1975 onwards), Science and Social Sciences Citation Indexes (both 1900 onwards), Conference Proceedings in Science and Social Science & Humanities (both 1990 onwards).

Also: Book Citation Indexes in Science and Social Sciences & Humanities (both 2005 onwards), Current Chemical Reactions (1986 onwards), Emerging Sources Citation Index (2015 onwards), Current Chemical Reactions (1985 onwards), Index Chemicus (1993 onwards).

Change "Search in:" to use: BIOSIS Citation Index (1926 onwards), Current Contents Connect (1998 onwards), Data Citation Index (1990 onwards), Derwent Innovations Index (1966 onwards), KCI-Korean Journal Database (1980 onwards), Medline (1950 onwards), PrePrint Citation Index (1991 onwards), ProQuest Dissertatoins & Theses Citation Index (1637 onwards), SciELO Citation Index (2002 onwards), Zoological Record (1864 onwards).

Help:

Publisher userguide

Finding articles which have in their reference lists a work you found useful ('cited reference searching'):

Cited Reference Searching (pdf)

 

Journal Citation Reports (JCR): 

Journal Impact Factors and other measures on JCR (pdf)