Computing, Engineering and Creative Design

The library catalogue will show details of all the library's books and other resources. It will also give locations of the paper copy items and links to the electronic books.

Electronic book collections:

• GCU's Electronic books collections . A list of all the GCU's collections
• Knovel ebooks - The collection covers a diverse range of engineering subjects and contains a lot of numeric and tabular data along with data conversion tools.
• Safari ebooks. A major source of ebooks on computing, technology and business. (Login through the Athens user sign in)
• Cambridge books online - The collections covers a wide range of academic subjects including science and engineering
• IEEE-Wiley. A large ebook collection from Wiley, subjects include power, energy and communications.
• AMS books online - ebook collection of the American Mathematical Society .

Inter library loan - Get books and journals the GCU does not subscribe to.

You can search serials solutions to check if we have a journal in stock and which years we have. Search by the journal title. Don't use Internet Explorer, use Firefox or Google Chrome - Explorer does not work well with serials solutions when displaying the full text of journal articles.

Use our single search system to search our books, eBooks, journal content and selected other resources. Don't use Internet Explorer with Discover, it does not display full text journal articles properly. Use Firefox or Google Chrome.

• British standards online   
• British standards online - single search beta interface
• Free Patents Online
• GP Esp@cenet - UK Patents office online
• Open SIGLE - System for grey literature in Europe
• UK Patents Office 
• US Patents and tademarks office

To find journal articles for your essay or dissertation you need to use databases. Databases index large numbers of journals so that you can find the articles you need. You will need your Athens password (it is on My Caledonian). Here are the top databases:

• Compendex. This is a major engineering and computing database covering a wide range of subjects. Compendex training videos
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Publications of the Association and a wide range of other computing information
• Audio Engineering Society (AES) World-wide society for audio engineering and technology
• Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. CSA collection of databases covering a diverse range of subject areas including science and technology
  CSA Quick search training video 
• IEEE Xplore. Access to (almost) all materials published by the IEEE and IET. IEEE Xplore training video
• Science Direct. Wide range of material on diverse subjects including science and technology.
• Scitopia. Scholarly works produced by major scientific and technological associations and societies
• Web of Knowledge. Includes the "Web of Science" and access to the Science Citation Index and Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index Web of Knowledge tutorial

Other good databases

• Wolfram Alpha An alternative computational database.
• Proquest (New)  A new interface with new functions and greater cross-searcing capacity.
• Proquest (Old).  The Proquest Legacy. Includes materials on science, telecommunications and business.
• Emerald. Articles and associated materials in topics that include engineering, computational mathematics, electronics and business.
• National Technical Information Service. The database of U.S. Government sponsored research.
• Institute of Physics. Links to the publicaiotns list of the IOP

• CITESEER X
• SCIRUS - A science-specific search engine. Useful for identifying for finding recent reports, articles and patents
• SCITATION - details of more than one million documents from scholarly journals
• SCITOPIA - Integrate science and technology research
• TECHEXTRA - Database cross-search for jobs; industry news and more.

• AES AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY - links to the AES library and access to convention and conference papers and articles published in the Society’s journal
• DFG SCIENCE TV - DFG is the largest central research funding organisation in Germany and is financed by the German federal and state governments
• ENGINEERING COUNCIL - Standards of professional competence and ethics for engineers, technologists and technicians,
• HMSO BOOKSHOP - Can be searched by subject.
• IET DIGITAL LIBRARY - Institute of Engineering and Technology Digital Library
• INSTITUTE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - The hub for chemical, biochemical and process engineering professionals worldwide
• INSTITUTE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - the UK's qualifying body for Chartered and Incorporated mechanical engineers.
• INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS, MINERALS AND MINING - Promotes materials, minerals and mining to governments, industry and academia
• LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SCIENCE REFERENCE SERVICES - Good quality Internet and reference sources in engineering, science and computing along with a diverse range of materials
• NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND: SCIENCE - Lists the science and technology resources and services
• NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC DIGITAL LIBRARY - Exemplary resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research.
• NTIS - Resource for accessing the latest research sponsored by the United States and select foreign governments.
• ONLINE ETHICS CENTER - "...provides readily accessible literature..(ETC).. on ethics in engineering and science
• SCIENCE.GOV - Authoritative U.S. Government science information
• SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT - Scottish government publications. Limit by topic
• WORLD WIDE SCIENCE.ORG - "...global science gateway.. to databases and portals (to accelerate) scientific discovery and progress

WHAT ARE JOURNALS? - not sure what a journal is? Check out this page.

Top databases for finding journal articles:

DAA1 and ABM BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES - The DAAI and ABM databases provide references to academic-level material on art and design

• HOW TO SEARCH DAAI AND ABM - Screen movie on using Design and Applied Arts index and Art Bibliographic Modern
• ART BIBLIOGRAPHIES MODERN [ABM] - abstracts of journal articles, books, etc on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
• DESIGN AND APPLIED ARTS INDEX [DAAI] - "...the most comprehensive site for design information." Provides references and abstracts.

Other databses:

• EMERALD (on campus) EMERALD (off campus) - Management information, includes material on graphic design, product design and multimedia
• PROQUEST - Includes the ABI Inform database, an excellent source for business information on design

• 3D TOTAL - The CG artist’s home page”. Includes free images.
• AIGA DESIGN ARCHIVES - The American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA)was founded in 1914. The archives have thousands of images, including images from competitions. (Permission required before images can be copied) (Scout Report Apr. 29 2011)
• COMPUTER ARTS - Contains a diversity of computer art resources.
• CORE 77 - An online magazine dedicated to industrial design.
• CREATIVE REVIEW - Designed to “inspire, inform and stimulate debate ... in graphic design, advertising, digital media, ....(and) all other fields of visual communication.” Paper copy in Saltire Centre at Journal 371.3305 C70
• DESIGN LIFE NOW - Derived from the National Design Triennial exhibition 2006 in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York
• DESIGN WEEK - Key resource on the business of design. Paper copy at 745.205 D22
• EDGE - Global Games Industry network magazine Subscription magazine with free content.
• INCPEN - Industrial Council for Packaging and the Environment carries out research into the environmental and social effects of packaging
• DESIGN COUNCIL - Its purpose is to inspire and enable the best use of design by the UK to promote prosperity and well-being.
• COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD - “...explores...leading-edge graphics techniques, including the 3D modeling, animation and visualization”
• UNIVERSAL EVERYTHING - "...sits at the crossover between design and art."

While many images and graphics on the Internet are copyright free, many are not. Before using a graphic or an image the user should know its copyright status. Check the INTERNET FOR IMAGE SEARCHING link for guidance and for suggestions on good sources of free images.

Sources of images:

• SCRAN - A source of still and moving images, also sounds, for educational use.
• VADS - Design Council slides gallery. Different aspects of design, including historical.
• WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - Images relating to diverse topics, many of which are free to use. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU CHECK THE LICENCE DETAILS (DESCRIBED ON THE RECORD) BEFORE USING AN IMAGE

• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESOURCE 
• BRITISH COMPUTER SOCIETY
• COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL REFERENCE DESK 
• COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
• COMPUTER SCIENCE BIBLIOGRAPHIES
• IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY
• IEEE UK AND IRELAND SECTION
• INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• NTIS - National Technical Information Service database of US Govt. sponsored research
• VIRTUAL TECHNICAL REPORTS CENTER 
• WOLFRAM ALPHA - Finds information and answers questions by doing by making computations based on a collection of data, algorithms, and methodologies

We have a step by step checklist for you.

If you need an item for your coursework, teaching or research, and we don't have it in stock, you can request it through our new inter-library loan (ILL) service, Clio.
For requests for UK theses, please search the Ethos database at http://ethos.bl.uk/ (more information is on their frequently asked questions, FAQs page)

Requesting an inter-library loan

Please remember :

• Before you make a request, check our catalogue (for books) or our serials system (for journals), the Mitchell Library and other local university catalogues. You might be able to consult the item in a library nearby.
• Students need authorisation from their lecturer. (Some Schools need staff requests to be authorised too - check with your library representative.)
• You can normally borrow an item for 3 weeks with an automatic extension for a further 3 weeks. However if the British Library asks us to return it immediately we must do so or risk losing our right to borrow.
• If you are a Midwifery student on a distance learning course, enter Midwifery Department Office, GCU as your address.

Inter-Library Loans has now moved to a new online requesting system, Clio. Here's how to use it.

Getting your citations right is an important part of academic research. It helps you to avoid plagiarism and a good bibliography will help boost your final marks. Your librarians can help you use RefWorks to store your references and create a bibliography. 
Your academic development tutors will help you with manual referencing. The referencing guideleines are on Blackboard. You will also find Turnitin there.

• Harvard referencing - this is part of SMILE, so you will need to log in to GCULearn
• NLM journal title translator - enter abbreviations to find the full journal titles
• What is plagiarism? - this is part of SMILE, so you will need to log in to GCULearn
• RefWorks - store and organise your references and produce bibliographies.
• RefWorks FAQ - for all those tricky RefWorks questions!
• RefWorks handy hints - how to add data from all the main databases into RefWorks
• Short videos from RefWorks. They use sound, so use your headphones!
• Workthrough guides to RefWorks  - these are part of SMILE, so you will need to log in to GCULearn.

 Law

GCU uses the most recent edition (2010) of OSCLOA - the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities.  This is a very comprehensive guide which takes you through the format for citing many types of information sources that you may use in your legal writing - including case reports, journal articles, books, updating services, government reports, web sites and more. 

• OSCOLA guide  (quick version)
• Full OSCOLA guide
• American Psychological Association Referencing Tutorial created by Cardiff University Information Services.

• A journal, sometimes called a periodical or serial, is published regularly – for example, weekly, monthly or twice a year. So it's a good way of getting up-to-date news and research on a subject. Each new issue has a number of articles written by different people.
• So far, this could also apply to magazines. However, journals are aimed at readers with a more serious interest in the subject.
• Trade journals are written for professionals in that area, for example, Management today or Industrial engineer.
• Scholarly journal articles are written by academics for an audience that is mainly academic. These journals are not usually glossy magazines, and there is usually a list of references at the end of each article. The editors will usually include staff at universities, other academic institutions, hospitals, or learned societies.
• Peer-reviewed journals (also called refereed journals) give all articles sent to them to a panel of academic reviewers. The members of this panel will be peers of the author, that is, recognised experts in the same field. The panel usually review the papers blind, which means that they do not know who the authors are. Panel members may recommend changes to the articles to make them fit for publication. For example, they might say that the author should provide more evidence of an argument or read other material.
• So, peer-reviewed or refereed journals provide quality control for academic publishing. You can look inside the front or back cover of a journal, or its home page on the web, to check whether it is peer-reviewed.
• Some library databases, for example ProQuest, make it easy to select scholarly journals only.
• An electronic journal (or e-journal) is one which is available on the web. Sometimes there is both a printed (paper or a hard copy) and an electronic version of a journal.