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Transportation Engineering

Best library and internet resources for engineering topics related to the design, construction and operation of transportation structures and systems.

Articles (Journal)

Indexing and Abstracting databases allow you to cover thousands of journal articles with just one search.  Some of these databases will also cover newspaper articles, conference papers, book chapters and/or technical reports.   So don't waste time guessing what journals will have articles on your topic or searching just one journal at a time. 

For general multidisciplinary searches use:

For engineering specific searches use:

Books

To Find Books in the ASU Library:

  • Use the ASU Library's One Search
    As the name implies, "Library One Search" locates items from across the ASU Library's collections, including not just books but also articles from scholarly journals, trade magazines and newspapers, chapters from reference books, dissertations/theses, maps, data sets, photographs, government documents, and more. New material is being added almost every day. 

    Search titles, keywords, or authors in the single search box; an advanced search feature is also available. When the results list is displayed, use the Content Type option in the left column to limit the results to books/e-books.  
    • If the book is available in print, clicking on the title will take you to the ASU Library Catalog, where you'll find which library the book is located in, its call number, and whether it is checked out. Use the Request on the catalog record to recall a book that is checked out or to have a book shipped to the ASU Library of your choice. 
    • If the book is available online, clicking on the title or on the "Full Text" link will take you directly to the book. 

To Find Books In Other Libraries:   

If the ASU Library doesn't have the book that you need, request the book via our Interlibrary Loan Service.

Electronic Books (E-Books):

Many e-books can be found through the ASU Library Catalog.

To limit your search to e-books:

  • After entering your keywords and viewing the results screen
  • Select Full Text Online from the availability subheading on the right-hand side and then select Books from the Resource Type heading.

Results will include a link to access the book.

*Many of our electronic books are listed in the catalog; however, we also have several e-book collections in which you can use the native search engine for these collections:​

  • ebrary - Books from major publishers in all subject areas.
  • e-books on EBSCOhost - ​Books from major publishers in all subject areas.
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library - A collection of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.​
  • Knovel - Over 2,000 science and engineering handbooks in which you can find facts, formulas, and property data.
  • MyiLibrary - Books from major publishers, organizations, and government agencies in all subject areas.
  • SpringerLink - Full-text of selected journals, books, book series, and reference works, and the Online Archives Collection from science publisher Springer.
  • Synthesis Digital Library - Innovative online information service for the research, development, and educational communities in engineering and computer science.

Case Studies

Some links to resources where you can find engineering and business case studies:

General engineering search engines:

Business indexing engines:

  • ABI/INFORM 
    • Then from the advanced search if you click on the “Document type” menu you can select case study
    • Or enter “case study” “case studies” in the keywords.
  • Business Insights 
    • Use the link in the upper bar or in the lower righthand corner for case studies or you can alternatively search via keywords.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Finding out about a topic, i.e., the "background" information, before doing literature research will help you increase your vocabulary so that you can search the best, most efficient words and also allow you to recognize appropriate books and journal articles even if the authors do not describe the topic the same way you do. The more you know about a topic, the better you'll be able to focus on a specific aspect that would be appropriate for your paper. Background information may be found in the following types of resources which generally provide a summary.

General Dictionaries:

Mathematics Dictionaries:

Sci/Tech Dictionaries:

Business Dictionaries:

Encyclopedias:

Subject Encyclopedias:

Engineering-related Encyclopedias in the ASU Library include:

Handbooks

Handbooks provide a summary of a specific subject and frequently include data compilations and formulas. Handbooks are also a great place to look for  "quick facts" about a topic.

Knovel
A full text, online collection of over 2,000 handbooks, data collections, and encyclopedias for science and engineering. 

Handbooks in the Libraries

Search the library catalog using keywords such as

  • transportation and engineering and handbooks
  • traffic and engineering and handbooks

Examples:

Patents

A patent is a government grant bestowing certain property rights on the inventor; these rights usually permit the inventor to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention.

For more information about patents and finding/research patents please see the ASU Library's

Patents Research Guide

For more detailed assistance you may consider consulting the Arizona State Library's 

Patent and Trademark Resource Center

Research in Progress

The Transportation Research Board has a "Research in Progress" database containing over 8400 current or recently completed transporation projects.   Most of the projects are funded by U.S. federal and state Departments of Transportation and also include research/projects from universities, and information from the International Transport Research Dcoumentation Database and the Canadian Surface Transportation Research Database. 

Note: this is an informational database and does not include, nor link to, any documentation for these projects.  To determine if documentation exists, please search the organization's website and contact the individual/organization listed as in charge of the project.

Standards and Codes

For more detailed information about standards at the ASU Library, please see the Standards Guide

  • IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Full text of IEEE standards available in IEEEXplore
  • ANSI (American National Standards Institute) 
  • SEMI (semi.org; "global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chain for the micro- and nano-electronics industries")
  • ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 

 

Search Engines for Standards

Codes

  • US Local Codes (MAD CAD) - Links to online codes for all 50 states plus US Territories; within each state links are provided to websites of county, city, town and jurisdiction agencies and to their respective codes when available online.

Statistical Information

ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States
Comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. This online version contains 1400+ individually indexed tables (with attached spreadsheets), both searchable and browsable.  Off-campus access limited to ASU faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students. 

ProQuest Statistical Insight 
Covers statistical information from professional associations, business organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state governments, university research centers, international non-governmental organizations and international intergovernmental organizations.  Some entries include the full text; the remainder require finding the book or database in which the information is contained.  Off-campus access limited to ASU faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students. 

U.S. Census Bureau
Covers the areas of Business, Economy, Education, Emergency Preparedness, Employment, Families and Living Arrangements, Health, Housing, Income and Poverty, International Trade, Population, and the Public Sector. 

Includes:

  • Quick Facts
    Provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.
  • ZipWho
    Not associated with U.S. Census Bureau but database contains Census data that is searchable by zip code or demographic variables.

 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is THE source of employment data for the United States.

  • Use the Geographic Guide to determine what statistics are available for regions, states, metropolitan areas, cities and towns. 
  • Data Sources: 
    • Consumer Expenditure Survey
      Information on the buying habits of America's consumers.
       
    • ​Consumer Price Index
      Monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
       
    • Current Employment Statistics (CES)
      Each month the CES program surveys approximately 146,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 623,000 individual worksites, in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls.
       
    • Employee Benefits Survey
      Comprehensive data on the incidence (the percentage of workers with access to and participation in employer provided benefit plans) and provisions of selected employee benefit plans.
       
    • Employment Cost Trends
      Quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs, Employment Cost Index (ECI), and quarterly data measuring level of average costs per hour worked, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC).
       
    • International Labor Comparisons
      Coverage stopped in the 2011-2013 timeframe.  For more recent data see The Conference Board
       
    • Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
      Monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.
       
    • Labor Productivity and Costs/Multifactor Productivity
      • Measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the number of hours worked to produce those goods and services. 
      • Multifactor productivity (MFP), also known as total factor productivity (TFP), is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) to the amount of combined inputs used to produce those goods and services. Inputs can include labor, capital, energy, materials, and purchased services.
         
    • National Compensation Survey
      The Employment Cost Index (ECI) component of the National Compensation Survey (NCS) is a Principal Federal Economic Indicator that measures changes in labor costs. Average hourly costs for employee compensation are presented in the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation.  The NCS also provides benefits incidence data on the percentage of workers with access to and participating in employer provided benefit plans. The survey covers a broad range of benefits including holidays and vacations, sick leave, health and life insurance, and retirement plans. Details of employer-provided health and retirement plan provisions are also provided. 
       
    • Occupational Employment Statistics
      Produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual States, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; national occupational estimates for specific industries are also available.
       
    • Producers Price Index
      Measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
       
    • Quarterly Assessment of Employment and Wages
      Publishes a quarterly count of employment and wages reported by employers covering 98 percent of U.S. jobs, available at the county, MSA, state and national levels by industry.
       
    • Work Stoppages
      Monthly and annual data and analysis of major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers lasting one full shift or longer.

General

Aerospace

Construction and Infrastructure

Energy

Environment

Transportation

Many professional associations collect data on their membership and/or their area of expertise. Although some make this data freely available on their website, others restrict the data to members only or may provide data only to news sites or journalists for a fee. The ASU Library cannot obtain the data if the association restricts it.  

To find websites for professional associations: 

  • Use Google (or other search engine) to look for an association or society along with the name of the topic, subject area or the title of professionals within that area.  
    Examples: 
    • association construction
    • society construction
    • association medical devices
    • society mechanical engineers
      ​
  • Use the Gale Directory Library: 
    • Once in the database, click on "Advanced" on the light blue navigation bar near the top of the screen
    • On the Advanced Search Screen, hold down the CTRL (Control) key and click on the following four databases: 
      • Encyclopedia of Associations: International Organizations 
      • Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S. 
      • Encyclopedia of Associations: Regional, State, and Local Organizations of the U.S.
      • National Directory of Non-Profit Organizations
    • Use the search boxes to search by keyword for your topic, subject, or professional title
    • In the results list, for each entry of interest, click on the website address to bring up the website in a different browser window. 

Once in the website, look for a category or section labeled statistics or data.  If no such section exists, use the site's search box to look for "statistics".   If the site has a publications section, see if that has a separate search engine in which you can search for "statistics".  

Technical Reports

To identify what technical reports exist on a particular topic, use:

To find the full text of a specific report:

  • Some technical reports are freely available on the Web at the sponsoring agency's website, try:
    • Using Google or another Internet search engine to find the report either by title, author, or report number
    • Go to the sponsoring agency's website and browse/search the site
  • TRAIL (Technical Report Archive and Image Library) 
    An ongoing project to digitize technical reports issued prior to 1975. As of September 2008, mostly NBS (National Bureau of Standards) and some AEC (Atomic Energy Commission) reports were available. U.S. Bureau of Mines may appear soon. 
  • The ASU Library has some technical reports in the collections of Noble Library (Tempe Campus) and in our Government Documents Department (3rd floor, Hayden Library, Tempe Campus) in either print, microfiche, and/or CD. If the document(s) you need is not on the Web, check for availability by calling either Gov Docs (480-965-3390) or Noble Library (480-965-2600) or using our Ask a Librarian service. 
  • If the document(s) you need is not available in the ASU Library, ASU faculty/students may submit an Interlibrary Loan request