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Materials Science and Engineering

Library and Internet resources for materials science and engineering

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:

DICTIONARIES

General Dictionaries:

Dictionary.com

Oxford English Dictionary

Mathematics Dictionaries:

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Mathematics

Sci/Tech Dictionaries:

ASTM Dictionary of Science and Technology 

Dictionary of Science

 

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

To find other subject encyclopedias, use the ASU Library Catalog and KEYWORD search for your topic and encyclopedia*, for example, "human factors and encyclopedia*".

 

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.

Databases with Handbooks:

Knovel
A full text, online collection of over 2,000 handbooks, data collections, and encyclopedias for science and engineering. This database includes over 100 items in the Civil Engineering and Construction category.

ASM Handbooks
A comprehensive guide to the structure, properties, processing, performance, and evaluation of metals and nonmetallic engineering material.

Everyspec
EverySpec provides free access to over 55,000 Military, DoD, Federal, NASA, DOE, and Government specifications, standards, handbooks, and publications.

Other Online Handbooks:

Handbook of Glass Properties

Handbooks in the ASU Library:

CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook

To find other subject handbooks, use the ASU Library Catalog and KEYWORD search for your topic and handbook, for example, "materials science" AND handbook.