A Research Guide for Electrical Engineering Students At Penn State University

Table of Contents

I.

PREFACE
A. B. C. D. E. Contents of the Guide Users of the Guide Expectations of Audience Organization of the Guide Tips for Using the Guide 2 2 2 3 3

II.

Penn State Department Sites

A. B. Department of Electrical Engineering Engineering Career Resources 4 5

III.

Databases
A. Accessible through Penn State University
1. 2. Engineering Village IEEE Xplore Digital Library1 a) Proceedings of the IEEE 6 7

B.

Open Access Sites

1. 2. HSI GlobalSpec The WWW Virtual Library 8 9

IV.

Government Publications
A. B. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications Statistical Abstract of the United States 10 11

IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

1|Page

I.

PREFACE
A. Contents of the Guide
This research guide contains useful information to undergraduate students in the technical field of Electrical Engineering (EE). Within the guide, you will find a multitude of information regarding electrical engineering concepts and research topics, specialization areas, electrical components, as well as employment outlook and opportunities. All of this information comes from resources such as journal articles, government publications, statistical data, professional organization databases, and university program and career sites. The content covers valuable material that will allow users to effectively navigate to resources to meet their particular needs.

B.

Users of the Guide

This guide is intended for undergraduate students at Penn State University majoring in or considering the field of Electrical Engineering. There is a widevariety of resources that will benefit all levels of undergraduate students. First and second-year students considering the major will use this guide to learn about the undergrad curriculum and to find opportunities to get involved in technical clubs and research. Upperclassmen may use this guide in effort to helping them find internship/co-op openings. It will give them a valuable resource to learn about specific concepts and components used in the field. This can also aid undergraduate students in their projects such as capstone projects for seniors or design projects. All interested undergrads will benefit from learning about old established theories and new innovative discoveries presented in the resources found in this research guide.

C.

Expectations of Audience
Although this is a very useful tool for electrical engineering students, there are some basic assumptions that are made about the user of this guide. First, the user should have a general interest in the field of Electrical Engineering. Since this is an internet research guide, the user must have access to a computer with internet connection. Also, a number of the resourced require a subscription, so users need to be connected through Penn State servers to access them. Some more advanced material requires the user to know general concepts and theory of electrical engineering, such as DC/AC circuit analysis and Maxwells Equations. Finally, the user must be self-motivated to learn more about this very technical, yet interesting subject.

2|Page

D.

Organization of the Guide

This guide is organized effectively to make the information assessable. The Table of Contents will direct you to certain pages numbers for different resources used throughout the guide. This guide is comprised of three sections, Penn State Department Sites, Databases, and Government Publications. Under the Databases section, there are subsections for sources accessible through Penn State and open access sites. It is formatted this way so that the most relevant information for EE undergraduate students is presented first and then more specific information is presented in the later sections. This will allow the user to find what he/she is interested in quite quickly.

E.

Tips for Using the Guide

The most effective way to use this guide is to first decide what you are interested in learning. Some EE students will be interested in finding a job or they may be more focused in finding out about a sensor they need to use. Each section of this guide will help you navigate through the information at an efficient rate. The abstracts for each source will explain what you can use it for. Briefly reading these descriptions will help you decide if this is the right source youre looking for. If the resource sounds like it would be helpful, follow some of the tips to help you easily navigate each site. These tips will make your research more efficient since it will direct you to important features of the site.

3|Page

II.

Penn State Department Sites

A. Department of Electrical Engineering website
http://www.ee.psu.edu/ Open Access The Department of Electrical Engineering website is the home to wealth of information for undergraduate and grad students in EE or considering EE. This page has insight about the undergraduate program and its areas of specialization, course descriptions, research opportunities, graduate school requirements, safety, and even a faculty directory. It is important that an EE undergrad get familiar with this resource because it can answer many questions they may have like, how students can get involved in undergraduate research. The page will also direct you to someone that can help answer those questions through the faculty directory. These may include how to get involved in a study abroad program or which classes should be taken if youre interested in a specialized area. You may find out something you never knew about before, such as the Mentoring Program offered through the EE department, where you can partner with a PSU EE graduate and start building a network. Make use of all the green taps on top of the sites page. Each tap will have sub tabs on the left to access more specific information. You can find all the EE Faculty by going under Department Directory and then clicking the Faculty sub tab. The most important tab for undergraduate students is the Undergraduate Program tab where you can find information about minors, degree requirements, undergraduate research, and more. For general information about EE at Penn State use the About EE and News & Events pages located on the left side of the home screen.

Location / Accessibility:

Abstract:

Tips for Use:

4|Page

B.

Engineering Career Resources (eCareer)

https://eng-psu-csm.symplicity.com/students/ PSU student access This is the Engineering career website which provides a number of work-related postings including internships, co-ops, and full-time employment positions. This site is for Penn State students and alumni only. To create an account, you must have your PSU id number available. This site allows you to create a profile and upload a resume under the Documents tab located at the top of the site. This is a very helpful site because when you upload a resume it will be reviewed and approved by an engineering faculty member. These people will provide great feedback of how to improve your resume to make it more appealing to employers. The Jobs tab is the most important tab on eCareer. There is a search engine with options to filter your search by major, jobs and interviews that you qualify for, and position type. There are even deeper options like searching by industry and class level. The site will also recommend jobs by using the information you provided to match you with certain opportunities. Most companies will post their openings through eCareer; however, most require you to apply on their career website as well. Each position that requires you to apply through their career site will have a link available to those applications. Interviews can be set up after applying for positions if the company is holding on-campus interviews. Lastly, the site includes an Events tab which provides information abo ut career events and information sessions held by organizations. This resource helps connect students to career opportunities that interest them.

Location / Accessibility:

Abstract:

Tips for Use: Make sure to submit your resume for approval before you begin applying to jobs because it takes time, possibly a couple days, for someone to review and approve your resume on eCareer. While searching for job postings, general information about each post can be viewed by moving your cursor over the binoculars below each job title. Create a Favorites list by clicking on the stars next to job titles. While most employers require online applications, make sure to attend career fair events to form more personal relationships with employers and start networking. 5|Page

III.

Databases
A. Accessible to Penn State University 1. Engineering Village

Location / Accessibility: //www.engineeringvillage.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/search/quick.url# Access through Penn State library Abstract: This extensive index contains important information about many different subjects in engineering dating back to 1884. The elaborate search tool links you to credible sources, such as scholarly journals, trade publications, patents, and reference books. The quick search option allows you to limit your search by document type, treatment type, and also language. The search can be sorted by relevance or publication year. Results of a search will include links to view an abstract, detailed view, preview, and sometimes a Full Text version. There is also a link called Get It! Penn State which will provide you with the bibliographic information and electronic version of the source. The site offers an Ask an expert tool where you can get in contact with an expert in Electrical Engineering with questions like, how do you calibrate a linear positioning sensor. While the amount information on this site is quite large, the results of a search can be refined. The site offers a list of Controlled Vocabulary on the left side of the screen, which are more specific terms within the results of a general search. For example, say you wish to learn more about power systems. The controlled vocabulary produced from that search will include electric power systems, optimization, voltage control, etc. This refines the search to much more specific topics among the big category of power systems. Tips for Use:

There is an Expert Search option where you can specify the time period in which you want the results to be from. In addition to the Controlled Vocabulary, there are other refining parameters such as Author, Author affiliation, and Source title. You can save searches along the way, so you can go back any time and find your results quickly.

6|Page

2.

IEEE Xplore Digital Library

Location / Accessibility: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/Xplore/home.jsp Access through Penn State library Abstract: This digital library is a vast collection of scientific and technical research contained in over three million articles. The content is provided through four distinct categories: Journals & Conference Proceedings, Standards, eBooks, and Educational Courses. IEEE publishes over 160 leading journals, transactions, and magazines in technology today. Simple searches can be filtered based on content type, publication year, and by accessibility. Since some articles are open access, students without Penn State access can view these sources. Each result will have a link to a quick abstract, a PDF file of the article, and an HTML address for the article. Author, publication, and content all appear under each title as well. There is information about a variety of topics within electrical and electronics engineering, such as aerospace, processing, nuclear engineering, and transportation. This site is an extremely useful tool for EE students because it contains relevant information for research areas and applications within the field. a) Proceeding of the IEEE One journal that may be of interest to an EE student is the Proceedings of the IEEE. This is the most highly-cited interest journal in electrical engineering and computer science. Created in 1913, the Proceedings of the IEEE covers in-depth information of different topics in the EE profession like wireless sensing and speech recognition for example. You can use the tabs on the top of the screen to view recent issues, past issues, and the most popular articles. One downside to this journal is that there is no search bar to search topics of interest within the entire journal. You can however search within specific issues of the journal, but this will only search the issue specified in advance. This journal is one of many that will provide undergraduate students with the latest in research and technical developments. Tips for Use: You can sort you searches by relevance, newest to oldest, most citied by patents or papers, and publication title. You can export the results of a search to an excel spreadsheet to reference in the future. Each IEEE journal on this site will show similar journals to check out at the bottom of the page. 7|Page

B.

Open Access Sites 1. The WWW Virtual Library: Electrical and Electronics Engineering
http://www.vlib-ee.org/ Open access This virtual library (VL) was created in 1991 and was the first index on the web. This resource is run by a confederation of volunteers. These people compile important links for particular areas in which they are expert in. This is not the largest index you will find, but it is effective since you can search by categories, like Blogs, Journals and Magazines, and Products and Services. There is also a specification for particular country locations which may be helpful for international students. Each result from your search will have a short description and link to its particular website. This is a tool that can direct you to helpful resources and databases so that you can find what youre looking for in a much faster manner. I would use this site especially when you are looking for general information on a topic.

Location / Accessibility:

Abstract:

Tips for Use:

If you are looking for a particular type of document, then search the VL by the six categories. This will help narrow your search. Be advised that if you search by country, there will only be site from that country in their native language most likely. Some links included may require you to be a member of the organization of that particular site. Some company sites will include their email to contact them with questions about their products or services.

8|Page

2.
Location / Accessibility:

IHS GlobalSpec
http://www.globalspec.com/ Open access GlobalSpec is a leading provider of online media solutions to connect industrial marketers with their particular target market such as engineering, scientific, and industrial professionals. At Global Spec, there are products available in a wide-variety of engineering areas such as signal conditioning, fluid power, motion and controls, and semiconductors. Services and consultants are also advertised in areas of technical services, industrial maintenance, and electronic contracting. This resource appeals to EE students involved with hands-on projects in research labs or in internship positions because it connects them with suppliers of components they may need. For example, a student can search for a rotary encoder needed for his control system design project. Under the Motion and Controls slot, there is a link to Encoders and Resolvers. This link will provide the student with several different encoder types. The student can learn more about the device by accessing the Learn more about link under each device or he/she can find a list of suppliers by clicking on the device name. This site also contains several newsletters, information about trade shows, and a discussion forum. All of these will provide excellent updates and advice on new devices and concepts within electrical engineering.

Abstract:

Tips for Use: There is an option to search for products or services in the upper right hand corner of the site. Most of the parts on the site have a YouTube video explaining how the device works and its use. This is very helpful to learn about components used in the field. When looking to purchase components, the site offers datasheets as well as contact information and locations. You can search Forum Threads to learn about topics being investigated currently.

9|Page

IV.

Government Publications
A. Catalog of U.S. Government Publication (CGP)
http://catalog.gpo.gov/F Open Access The CGP is comprised of 500,000 records dating back to July 1976 and is growing to cover publications as late as the 1800s. The information contained in this catalog includes electronic and print publications with direct links to online versions. Users can use this index to look up technical publications. For example, you may be working at an internship where you will be designing and constructing a piece of testing equipment. You may wish to look at Electrical Safety: Safety and Health for Electrical Trades (student manual) produced by the Department of Health and Human Services. This resource will help you identity potential hazards and how you can avoid them when designing your project. In order to find articles like the one stated above there are several search options available that include basic search, advanced search, and expert options. Narrower searches can be done to find specific formats of publications and the results can be emailed directly.

Location / Accessibility:

Abstract:

Tips for Use: Take note of the different ways to organize the information after a search is conducted. You can sort the results by title, year of publication, and author. One tool that may be helpful if you are searching for multiple publications is the Bookshelf option. If an article is found and wants to be remembered for later, just click the Add to My Bookshelf and it will be added to your bookshelf. The bookshelf can be accessed under My Options then Bookshelf.

10 | P a g e

B.

Statistical Abstract of the United States

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ Open access This source is an all-inclusive summary of statistics on social, political, and economic organization of the United States. In addition to all the statistical data, you can use this as a guide to sources of more information. This abstract covers a wide variety of information from finance and business to retail and education. You can use the Search option in the upper right -hand side of the page or you can use the list of topics on the left-hand side. For the audience of this guide, you will focus on the Science & Technology section. There is information about employment, research development, space and degrees conferred. For example, table 820, located at this URL: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0820.pdf refers to research and development (R&D) employment information by industries like chemical, machinery, and electrical equipment. It also shows how much companies are paying for R&D in those industries. This could help you decide if you would like to consider EE since it will provide information on trends in the workforce and where companies are focusing their time with research developments. These sources are present in both Excel and PDF formats.

Location / Accessibility:

Abstract:

Tips for Use:

The numbers next to each abstract refers to the table numbers in which the data is located. Use the tabs on top of the homepage to access statistical data on a variety of topics in the categories of People, Business, Geography, Data, and Research.

11 | P a g e