Library Research Skills for Engineering and IT is designed to support students in the Melbourne School of Engineering who want to improve their ability to carry out library research.  The resource is suitable for students in a variety of courses and with a range of skills in library research. The information covers both basic and advanced topics, and students can dip-in and dip-out depending on their skill level and their current need.  It will prove useful to students the Master (Coursework or Research), undergraduate, and beginning PhD students.

Modules for various topics include textual explanations with pictures, videos, links to relevant TED talks and to the University of Melbourne Library website, advanced tips and tricks, and suggestions and worksheets that can help you apply the lessons learned in each module to your own research.  You can skip modules or parts of modules, depending on your current need.

Topics covered include:

• Library research as an interative process explained as the Library Research Cycle
• Elements of a good literature review
• Generating and using Keywords, Boolean search, use of wildcards and proximity operators
• Using and evaluating different sources of information, both general and specific
• Using databases to find sources, setting alerts, and other tools
• Specific databases for engineering, computing and information systems
• Citation, bibliography and plagiarism

The resource has no assessment and no time limits – students can use it as best suits their needs.

Student input has been an important part of this resource, which is still evolving. Student input is welcomed.  The mechanism for giving us your feedback is detailed in the Overview module.