Skip to Main Content

Engineering & Applied Science Research Guide

A research guide to introduce you to engineering resources at the library, including databases, journals, tools, technical documents, and other materials.

Engineering In Context(s)

As an engineer (whether civil, computing, electrical, mechanical, etc), you will need to work outside of your discipline in order to produce the best results. That means you need to become comfortable doing cross-disciplinary research starting now! On this page we have put together some resources that will help you get started with your work for this class, which includes conducting cross-disciplinary research.

Databases for Interdisciplinary Research

Getting Started with RefWorks

1. Go to refworks.proquest.com (or click the RefWorks link on the Foley homepage and choose the new, blue version of RefWorks if you are asked).

2. Click Create Account. (Note: even if you already have an account with the old version of RefWorks, you will still need to create a new account in the new version. Once you have done so you can import all your citations from the old version to the new. Click here for instructions.)

Picture of Create Account Button

3. Enter your Gonzaga email address. RefWorks will see that you are part of the Gonzaga community and grant you access.

Picture of entering a Gonzaga email address

4. Choose a password to use along with your email for logging in, and click Sign Up.

Picture of RefWorks asking for a password to be created

5. Congratulations, you have a new RefWorks account!

Now that you have a RefWorks account, you need to add some citations to it! 

1. Make sure you are logged in to your RefWorks account.

2. Find an article in one of Foley's databases. I'm using Academic Search Complete, an EBSCO database. (Other databases will look a little different but operate much the same way.)

3. When you have found an article in the database that you would like to keep track of in RefWorks, click on the Export link on the right side of the Detailed Record. (In other databases it might be called Save or something else). That link takes you to the Export Manager where RefWorks is the default for Foley Center Library databases.

Picture of the Export button in an EBSCO database

4. Click Save to send the citation to RefWorks, where it appears in Last Imported and in All Documents.

Picture of a document in the Last Imported folder in RefWorks

Now RefWorks has all the information you need to cite that article!

(Note: the majority of our databases can directly export citation information to your RefWorks account. For some of the trickier databases to use with RefWorks, see the separate sections for them below.)


Not working? Try these steps:

1. Make sure your browser isn't blocking popups from the database. Check the upper right corner of the browser screen for an icon or text indicating that popups are being blocked. Below is how it looks in Chrome (as of this writing, anyway); it might look a little different in your browser. Tell the browser to allow popups for the database.

2. Use the "Save to RefWorks" bookmarklet. Instead of the database sending the info to RefWorks, using this bookmarklet means that RefWorks reaches into the database and tries to grab the info instead. It works really well! Instructions for using it are in the first tab in the "Advanced Refworks Tecniques" section below.

3. If all else fails, look for an option in the database to export in RIS format. This will download a tiny little file to your computer. Upload that file to RefWorks (see the screenshot below) and your citation will magically appear!

If you want to cite something you did not find in a database (like a book, or a PDF found elsewhere), you can manually enter the citation information into RefWorks. 

1. Click the + botton and choose Create New Reference. 

Picture of the Create New Reference option

A panel will appear on the right side of the screen. 

2. Select the source type (book, journal article, etc) from the drop down menu. 

3. Enter the title into the Title field.

4a. As a shortcut, once you have entered the title, click the lightning-looking button on the right (see the screenshot below). This will look through Summon, Proquest's metadata database (try saying that three times fast) to try to find a match. If it finds one, just click it in the list that appears at bottom, and it will fill in all the rest of the citation information.

Picture explaining the steps: 1. Select type of source, 2. type the title, 3. Click the lightning bolt button to search for the info, and 4. Select the matching title from the list

4b. Or just finish filling the fields out manually.

5. Click Save at the top to save the citation.

Once you have several citations in your RefWorks account, it can be useful to organize them into folders.

1. RefWorks folders are listed in the left sidebar. Click + Add a Folder to add and name a new folder.

Picture of the Add a Folder button and the field for naming your folder

2. To add citations to your new folder, just go to All Documents, Last Imported, or Not in Folder, click on the citation you want to add, and drag it to the folder.

Picture of dragging a document from the Last Imported list to a folder in the sidebar

That's it!

Once you have organized your citations into a folder, you can use that folder to generate a formatted bibliography.

1. Click on the RefWorks folder you want to use to generate your bibliography

2. If you want to use every reference in this folder for your bibliography, go on to the next step. If you want to use specific references, click the checkbox next to each reference you want to use.

3. Click on and choose Create Bibliography.

Picture of selecting the Create Bibliography option

4. Choose your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc) from the dropdown menu at the top, and watch as your bibliography is automatically changed to match. When you are happy, click Copy to Clipboard.

Picture of choosing a citation style and copying the citations to the clipboard

Then just go to Microsoft Word (or wherever you are writing your paper) and paste the bibliography in! This is what a bibliography looks like when it has been generated as a Word document in APA. That sure saved a lot of work! For more cool things you can do with RefWorks and Word, check out the Write-N-Cite page in this guide. 

Picture of the citations pasted into a Word document

(Sharp eyes might notice a mistake or two in this bibliography. See Always Proofread RefWorks for the reason for this.)

Common Errors in RefWorks’ Bibliographies

or. . . why proofreading is essential!

RefWorks can save you a ton of time because it's much faster than a human at creating bibliographies. Unfortunately, though, it's not nearly as smart as a human. So it's up to you to check its work!


Bibliography Example

Kim, D., Fisher, D, & McCalman, D. (2009). Modernism, christianity, and business ethics: A worldview perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(1), 115-121. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0031-2
Here’s a cool Bob Marley quote.  "Although the road has been long and bumpy, it sure feels good to me". 

What's Wrong?

RefWorks does not recognize proper nouns. This is such a common error that you will probably find at least one when you proofread your own bibliography. Luckily, it’s an easy fix.


Bibliography Example

Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 452-471. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/259136
In this article we introduce the concept of workplace incivility and explain how incivility can potentially spiral into increasingly intense aggressive behaviors. To gain an understanding of the mechanisms that underlie an "incivility spiral," we examine what happens at key points: the starting and tipping points. Furthermore, we describe several factors that can facilitate the occurrence and escalation of an incivility spiral and the secondary spirals that can result.

What's Wrong?

This is the abstract from the database. If you are required to annotate your bibliography, you will need to replace this with your own annotation.


Bibliography Example

CHRISTIAN, K., ENGEL, A. M., & SMITH, J. M. (2011). Predictors and outcomes of prolonged ventilation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. American Surgeon, 77(7), 942-947. 
I like watching Gonzaga basketball, but I prefer reruns of nerdy TV shows

What's Wrong?

Author's names are in ALL CAPS. Some databases put authors or titles in all caps. You can fix this as you proofread your bibliography. To permanently correct it, edit the record in RefWorks.


Bibliography Example

Haldeman, J. (2011). The learning organization: From dysfunction to grace. Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 9, 1-9. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=74559446&site=bsi-live
Dysfunctional school administration or bosses who are bullies are interesting topics; not pleasant to think about, but interesting.

What's Wrong?

This is an APA-style citation, and “retrieved from” and the accompanying URL aren’t required in APA citations. As stated on the Purdue OWL website: “...data-base information in citations is not necessary because databases change over time.” It's important to know the rules for your particular citation style.


Bibliography Example

Johnson, C. E. (2007). Ethics in the workplace: Tools and tactics for organizational transformation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Retrieved from http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0612/2006011640.html; Materials specified: Table of contents http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0612/2006011640.html; Materials specified: Table of contents http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=015602009&line_number=0001?&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA; Materials specified: Table of contents http://digitool.hbz-nrw.de:1801/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1928130&custom%5Fatt%5F2=simple%5Fviewer; Materials specified: Contributor biographical information http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0734/2006011640-b.html; Materials specified: Publisher description http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0657/2006011640-d.html
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  Sally sells sea shells by a pack of pickled peppers.  Eleven benevolent elephants were telling tales of tongue twisters

What's Wrong?

Do NOT include the table of contents!  This is a book citation exported from WorldCat. Something in the WorldCat export file often causes extra information to show up in your RefWorks bibliography. This is very useful information in WorldCat, but it does not belong in an APA bibliography! If something like this shows up in your bibliography, delete it!

 

These video tutorials will walk you through the main features and capabilities of RefWorks.

1. Creating a RefWorks Account

 

2. Adding References to RefWorks

 

3. Using RefWorks to Organize and Cite Your Research

 

4. Using RefWorks with Microsoft Word

Citation Examples

APA Basics

APA uses in-text citations and a reference list at the end.


In-text Citations

In-text citations include the author’s last name and the year of publication in parentheses, i.e.: (Tolkien, 1981).

You can also use the author’s name in your own text, in which case you only need to use the date in the parentheses, i.e.:

According to Tolkien (1981), certain aspects of truth are best received through myth, or story.

If you use a direct quotation, you must include a page number:

 “I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode” (Tolkien, 1981, p. 147).

Multiple authors in a parenthetical citation are connected by an ampersand (and for multiple authors with the same last name, include a first initial):

“Tolkien experienced words as a maddening liquor, a phonic ambrosia, tastes of an exquisite, rapturous, higher world” (P. Zaleski & C. Zaleski, 2015, p. 24).


Reference List

Capitalization rules:

Capitalize all major words in newspaper, magazine, and journal titles.

For books, chapters, articles, or web pages, only capitalize the first letter and the first letter after a colon or a dash (i.e. the first letter of a subtitle), and any proper noun.

Reference List Examples

Printed Book:

Author, F. M. (Publication year). Title of book: Subtitle. City, State: Publisher.

Tolkien, J. R. (1955). The return of the king. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Book with editor or translator:

Author, F. M. (Publication year). Title of book: Subtitle. F. M. Editor (Ed.). City, State: Publisher.

Tolkien, J. R. (2013). The letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. H. Carpenter (Ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Note: if the books has a translator, place the translator’s name in the same spot and the same format as the editor, with (trans.) after it. If the book has no author other than the editor, use the editor’s name like an author’s name (at the start of the citation), with (Ed.) after it.

E‐Book:

Author, F. M.
(Publication year). Title
 of book.doi:xx.xxxxx OR Retrieved from URL.

Duriez, C. (2015). Bedeviled : Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Book Chapter/Section from Anthology:

Author,
 A.A. (Publication year). Chapter title. In Editor, A.A. (Ed.), Title of book
 (pp.-pp.). City, State: Publisher.

MacDonald, G. (2003). The golden key. In Anderson, D. A. (Ed.), Tales before Tolkien: The roots of modern fantasy (pp. 44-49). New York, NY: Dey Rey Publishing.

Print Journal

Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Title of JournalVolume(Issue), pp.-pp.

Hirsch, B. (2014). After the “end of all things”: The long return home to the Shire. Tolkien Studies, 11(11), 77-107.

Online Journal (i.e. from a database):

Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Title of JournalVolume(Issue), pp.-pp. doi:xx.xxxxx OR Retrieved from journal URL

Munro, R. (2014). The art of the Lord of the Rings: A defense of the aesthetic. Religion & the Arts, 18(5), 636-652. doi:10.1163/15685292-01805002

Website:

Author, F. M. (Year, Month day of publication). Specific page or article title. In Title of website. Retrieved from URL

Doughan, D. (n.d.). Biography. In The Tolkien society. Retrieved from 

http://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/

Note: if no date information is available, use (n.d.).

Website with no evident author:

Page or article title. (Year, Month day of publication). In Title of website. Retrieved from URL

Bridge of Khazad-dûm. (n.d.). In Tolkien gateway. Retrieved from http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Bridge_of_Khazad-d%C3%BBm

Note: if no date information is available, use (n.d.).

Online Newspaper Article:

Author, F. M. (Year, Month Day of publication). Article title. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from URL

Downs, L. (2012, December 8). An Unexpected Journey: Hobbits in the Heartland. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/hobbits-in-the-heartland.html

Image:

Creator, F. M. (Relation to Work). (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of Image [format]. Retrieved from URL.

Luebbert, D. W. (Artist). (2012, April 15). Tolkien Daydreams [digital image]. Retrieved from http://lueb-art.deviantart.com/art/Tolkien-Daydreams-296027561

Tweet:

Author, F. M. (Year, Month Day of publication). Entire tweet [tweet]. Retrieved from URL

Olsen, C. (2015, August 8). I've come to the part of @JohnGarthWriter's book where Tolkien's friends are just about to die. V moving and painful. #whatimreading [tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/tolkienprof/status/630126084139393024

YouTube Video:

Author, F. M. [YouTube handle]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://xxxxx

Grey, C. G. [CGP Grey]. (2014, December 17). The Lord of the Rings mythology explained (part 1) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxgsxaFWWHQ

Note: if the poster's real name is not available, use their YouTube handle instead, without brackets.

Personal Interview:

An interview is not considered a recoverable source, so it is not included in your APA reference list. You can cite it in your text, however, as follows:

(C. Tolkien, personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Cochrane Review:

A Cochrane Review is cited similarly to an electronic journal article, including DOI. The year is repeated in place of the volume number.

Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Year(Issue), pp.-pp. doi:xx.xxxxx

Arrowsmith, V.A., & Taylor  R. (2014). Removal of nail polish and finger rings to prevent surgical infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014(8), 1-15. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003325.pub3

Accessibility | Proxy Logout