MECH 393, 463, 494 – Design

Design process, project management, team dynamics and creative problem solving are four areas that are important to design.

To find information on your topic, you can: check reference books, e.g. subject specific encyclopedias; search the Library Catalogue for books; and do a targeted search for articles using research databases. These are discussed below in more detail.

Doing research

1. Start your research with the following handbooks and encyclopedias listed below:

   Title	Call number
   Design engineer's handbook	Online
   Mechanical engineer's handbook	Online
   Springer handbook of mechanical engineering	Online
   Advanced engineering design	Online
   Tool and manufacturing engineers handbook: a reference book for manufacturing engineers, managers, and technicians	Ref TS176 S63x
   Human factors design handbook: information and guidelines for the design of systems, facilities, equipment, and products for human use	TA166 W67 1992
   How products are made : an illustrated guide to product manufacturing	Ref TS170 H68 1994
   Engineering design methods: strategies for product design	Online
   Machinery’s handbook	Online

2. Use the Library catalogue to find books. For example:
   • Do a keyword search: design process
   • Find a good book, e.g. Engineering design process, TA174 H223 2003, and click on the title. You will see one subject heading listed in the LC subject field: Engineering design.
   • Click on the subject heading link to retrieve more books about that subject.
3. Search any of these research databases to find articles:
   • Compendex - Covers all aspects of engineering
   • Applied Science Full Text - Recommended for undergraduates, contains a lot of full text content in science and engineering
   • Scopus - Multidisciplinary. Useful to see who has cited an article of interest to your topic
   • Web of Science - Multidisciplinary. Useful to see who has cited an article of interest to your topic
   • Aerospace Database - Covers aeronautics, astronautics, and space sciences
   • CSA Materials Research Database with METADEX - Specialist content on materials science, metallurgy, ceramics, polymers, and composites used in engineering application
   • MEDLINE - Premier source for biomedical literature
   • ABI/Inform Global - Covers management science, and includes full-text for over 500 journals
   Most of the Library's licensed electronic resources, such as databases, full-text online journals and e-books, are restricted to McGill students, faculty, staff and other authorized users of the McGill Library. Find out about accessing the Library's online resources from on and off campus.

• For example: Search Compendex.
• Search for: QFD optimizer
• Find the article by Moscowitz, Herbert and Kim, Kwang-Jae:
  - "QFD optimizer: a novice friendly quality function deployment decision making support system for optimizing product designs" Computers and Industrial Engineering. v. 32 no 3, July 1997, p.641-655
• Click on "Detailed"; read the abstract. [Clicking on the Main heading, Controlled terms, and Uncontrolled terms links will give you more articles about those subjects.]
• Click on the "Find It McGill" link or the "Full-text" link to search for the article online.
• If you are not offered an article full-text through a research database, then search the catalogue. If we do not subscribe to the journal, then get it on Interlibrary Loan (ILL). There are no charges for ILL; McGill subsidizes this service.

            Do not wait until it is too late for us to help you with ILL.

Specialized sources of information

• Standards
• Technical reports
• Theses
• Patents

Writing and referencing your research paper

Consult these resources for tips on how to write a research paper. Click on the call number to find out the McGill Library where the book is located.

McGill Library's Research log is a good way to keep track of what research databases you searched, the search strategy you used and the results you found.

For other tools to help with writing, click here.

EndNote

• You can download EndNote citation management software for free. With this software you can get references directly from many databases, such as Web of Science.
• EndNote can automate the formatting of your references in ASME style using the ASME output style modified from http://journaltool.asme.org/content/authorresources.cfm.  For Windows: Open and save the .ens file in C:\Program files\EndNote\Styles.
  
  For Macs: Open and save the .ens file in Applications:EndNote:Styles.
• Please note, use Firefox as your browser for best results when using EndNote on a Mac.
• EndNote Web is now available at McGill University. To access EndNote Web you need to create a personal account. You may sign up for an account with your McGill email address at www.myendnoteweb.com.
• There are library workshops given on how to use this software effectively.
• Detailed step-by-step Guide to Using EndNote (.pdf)
• Using EndNote Cite While You Write with OpenOffice.org Writer (handout)

Schulich Library
Compiled by Marika Asimakopulos and updated by tara [dot] mawhinney [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Tara Mawhinney.)