MECH 547 Mechanics of Biological Materials

• Useful library resources
• Finding books
• Finding journal articles
• Obtaining materials that are not available at McGill
• Writing and referencing your paper
• EndNote citation software

Useful library resources

Finding Books on Reserve

Ask for MECH 547 course reserves by call number at the Schulich Library Loans Desk (Reserves).

Reference sources

Finding books

Suggested subjects to search in the library catalogue:

You can replicate these results by going to the Advanced Search and typing words into the Subject field.

To refine any of these searches, type additional words into your search.

Finding journal articles

Useful databases for finding journal articles:

• Web of Science – multidisciplinary
• Scopus – multidisciplinary
• Materials Research Database – for materials science
• Compendex – for all aspects of engineering
• Medline – Premier source for biomedical literature
• Applied Science Full Text – intended for undergraduate students

How to find articles using keyword searching in databases:

Sample search: osteoporosis AND bone strength in Web of Science

Ways to decrease results

• Search words as a phrase

  e.g. osteoporosis AND "bone strength"

• Combine additional terms with AND to generate fewer results

  e.g. osteoporosis AND bone strength AND fracture mechanics

• Select one of the database's limit types

  e.g. publication type, language, publication date

• Search for words only in a particular field

  e.g. osteoporosis in Title

Ways to increase results

• Search using fewer terms

  e.g. bone strength

• Use truncation to allow the terms to end in various ways

  e.g. osteo* AND bone strength

• Use synonyms or similar concepts, combining them with OR to generate more results

  e.g. (osteoporosis OR (bone density loss)) AND bone strength

Get new ideas for search terms

• Use descriptors in the database (also called subjects, controlled vocabulary or controlled terms)

Obtaining materials that are not available at McGill

McGill students and staff may order articles and books not available at McGill using COLOMBO (interlibrary loan).

There are no charges for ordering through COLOMBO; McGill subsidizes these services.

Writing and referencing your paper

Writing Tools

• Check out McGill Library's Five steps to a better paper for tips on researching and writing your paper.

IEEE Citation Style

• The IEEE Citation Reference gives information on how to cite your references using the IEEE Citation Style commonly used in engineering. A detailed guide About IEEE Style was produced by Murdoch University and provides further information on using this style.

EndNote citation software

• 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 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.