1

Internet Resource Guide

for

Civil Engineering Undergraduates

Prepared by: Matthew Brahler Prepared for: Jason Charnesky, English 202c July 11, 2011

Table of Contents
1. Introduction to this guide --------------------------------------------------------3
a. b. c. d. Contents/Purpose ------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Audience -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Assumptions About the User --------------------------------------------------------3 Tips for Using This Guide -----------------------------------------------------------4

2. Administrative and Networking Sources-----------------------------5

a. The Penn State University College of Engineering Homepage-----------5 b. The Penn State University Libraries Homepage-------------------------------6 c. ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Homepage-----------------7

3. Sources of Technical Information------------------------------------------8

a. ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Online Library-----------8 b. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications---------------------------------------9 c. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering--------------------------------------11

4. Generally Useful Tools-------------------------------------------------------------12

a. Lexus/Nexus-----------------------------------------------------------------------------12 b. The Internet Archive (The Wayback Machine)------------------------------13

1. Introduction to this guide:

a. Contents/Purpose
This guide was made to help Civil Engineering undergrads find useful resources and links. It is designed to point you the right way as you struggle to find the tools and literature you might need. When it comes time for you to have to start referencing research articles, online journals, and E-books this guide can show you where to find them. When it comes time for you to look for jobs and internships, this guide can show you where to start networking. When you begin to ask yourself questions regarding; where to find help; what classes to schedule; and how you connect to the Penn State wireless network; this guide will probably come in handy. It will also show where you can find general tools that every college student should know about, and it is designed to make your life, as a Civil Engineering undergraduate, easier.

b. Audience
This resource guide is designed to make a Penn State Civil Engineering students life easier. Technical information can be very hard to find if you do not know where to look, and you always will have to look. This guides purpose is to show you where to look, and to offer you tips on how to sift through useless information. The guide contains sources that are accessible to all Penn State students. This is because many of these resources are paid for, for the students benefit, by the university. This is something most students do not learn until after they need it. This guide will also help you answer administrative questions you might have. How many times do you think you will ask yourself what class you need to schedule? What computer labs are open? What are the pre-requisites to this class? Where is my professors office? This guide is designed to provide a list of resources that any undergraduate Civil Engineer might find useful.

c. Assumptions About the User

This guide assumes that you want to be a Civil Engineer. It assumes, at least on a basic level, that the user knows what Civil Engineering is and what a Civil Engineer does. You do realize that we build roads, bridges, and structures; we clean waste water; and we oversee construction projects right? This guide also assumes that the user will not be reading it cover-tocover, and therefore contains many redundancies. At the same time we understand you want to read as few words as possible, so we tried to keep it short and to the point. We also assume the user knows how to navigate through the internet. We assume that the user has a basic knowledge of reading and mathematics. We assume that they will eventually need to know how to read a technical manual or journal. Finally we assume that the user understands that this guide is a resource designed to point you in the right direction, it will not answer your questions; it will only show you where to look.

d. Tips for Using This Guide

It will probably help to start with the Table of Contents to find a page number. Read the description to make sure the website can help before you go there. Use the tips section for some helpful hints on navigating these webpages.

2. Administrative and Networking Sources

a. The Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering Homepage
http://www.engr.psu.edu Reasons to use this site: This website can answer any questions relating to Penn States expectations of you as an engineer. Important days and events, such as breaks, holidays, and drop-add periods are listed. It tells you what we do here at Penn State as engineers. o If you want to become an engineer, should you know what they do? It contains the student hand book for each specific engineering discipline. o This is very useful when figuring out what classes to schedule or where to find an advisor. Description: This is The Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering homepage. You should know what it is and how to use it. It is a valuable tool to solve many problems you will probably encounter. It contains many valuable resources such as the student handbook, policies, advising information, important dates, directory information, and information on many other topics. From this main engineering homepage you can be directed to the homepage of all of the different Engineering Colleges. The website is very user friendly and easily navigable. Tips: If you are not a current student and using this guide, you can click the button that most corresponds to you for a website layout that will more easily answer your questions. Check the Civil Engineering handbook to answer any administrative questions about the major. o You can find the handbook by clicking on: Civil and Environmental Engineering right hand side of webpage Undergraduate Degree programs left hand side of webpage Student Handbook left hand side of webpage You can click on the Courses button above where you found the student handbook to find information regarding specific courses that you will have to take as a Civil Engineering major. The search function at the top of the page is an invaluable tool if you have specific questions. The staff is very helpful when you are trying to locate a specific person.

b. The Pennsylvania State University Libraries Homepage

http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/home.html Reasons to use this site: This website has the ability to search the CAT, which is a giant index of all the books available to students through the PSU libraries. o This is an amazing resource when you need to cite hard-copy sources. You can find technical information related to any major as well as administrative information related to Penn State here. You can find available computer labs and workspaces. o It is horrible when you walk into a computer lab on a busy day to print something out and find no open computers. You can find information on borrowing books, and even request a loan from another library. It contains a very good bibliographic tool. You can find information on Penn State equipment and services, including managing Penn State wireless internet. Description: This is The Pennsylvania State University Libraries homepage. You can access almost any information you wish to know about Penn State here. The website contains the CAT, which is an online index of every book in the Penn State library system. It is an online way to find which library has the hard copy resource you need. There are also a number of documents that are viewable online through the CAT; most of these resources are journals and E-books. The webpage not only is index to all of the library texts, it is a good resource for finding administrative information about the university. This is the perfect website for researching a topic for a project, and then compiling the works-cited page after you complete it. Tips: If you are looking for a physical resource at University Park, an online article, or a piece of administrative information it might be best to first click Undergraduate Students under the Community heading. o If you are trying to configure wireless on your laptop hit the Wireless2.0 button on the left in the Undergraduate Students section. If you are trying to find a hardcopy of a specific text Penn State probably has it. o Enter the title, or any information you know about the text in the search bar. If you know specific information about the text you seek it is probably better to do the Advanced Search option. o If you are looking for hardcopy resources on a topic you can just enter keywords into the search and you will be able to find out where they are available.

c. ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Homepage

http://www.asce.org/ Reasons to use this site: To be a good Civil Engineer you should know what is currently happening in the field. o This homepage offers a list of upcoming events and conference that a Civil Engineer may want to attend, especially if you are networking for job possibilities. o There is a Smart Brief section which offers clickable links pertaining to current large projects across the country, offering updates on them. Dont you want to know where the jobs are at? o There is a Headlines section which offers updates on what is currently happening within the organization. Wont you want to know who to talk to when you are looking for employment? The ASCE organization is a very good tool for networking. This website is also very easy to use. Description: This website is homepage to the ASCE, or American Society of Civil Engineers, the Civil Engineering professional society. The ASCE is open to anyone who is a Civil Engineer or majoring in Civil engineer. It offers a connection to many people and resources in the field. It also provides an invaluable tool to keep up on the Civil Engineering happenings across the country. Tips: Overall, this website has a very efficient design. It is very easy to access and navigate. This homepage keeps engineers connected to their world; it is not a place to research technical specifications or online journals. o Refer to the ASCE Online Library, http://www.ascelibrary.org , to access technical documents. Use this website to research engineering firms if you are looking for a job or internship. o You will never get a job at a firm you know nothing about. Use this website to find Civil Engineering meetings. o Go to them, they will keep you connected to the people in your industry.

3. Sources of Technical Information

a. ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Online Library
http://www.ascelibrary.org Reasons to use this site: It is a good source of periodic technical journals, proceedings and contract documents. o You will need these someday when you are asked to cite sources. It is easy to use. Its free to PSU students. It is the most complete online civil engineering journal resource. o Meaning, it will probably have the technical information and specifications you are going to need to write papers and do projects. Description: This online resource is designed especially for Civil Engineers, meaning you dont have to sift through everyone elses stuff that you dont care about to find what you need. There is a mass amount of journals, proceedings, and contracts related to the field. This means you can always find what you need. The material is easily filtered by field, date, and volume number. It is also possible to just do a generalized keyword search. Once you select your article, an abstract and outline of the selection show up for you to make sure you are looking at the correct document. The access to this material usually is limited to members who pay dues, but Penn State students can access the information for free because the university pays for the every students right to use it. These journals can be extremely important for someone looking for technical specifications related to Civil Engineering. Tips: To be sure that the website recognizes you as a Penn State student, log into your Penn State access account in a different browser window or tab before accessing this site. When looking for a specific piece of information you should first filter the information so only the right articles show up. Each journal has an abstract and outline for you to look at so that you know you are getting what you want. If you want to find another journal entry or resource similar to one that you already have there are a list of keywords and headings associated with each article to the left of the abstract. You can access the Journals via HTML or PDF depending on whether you just want to access the information or you want a more printer-friendly version.

b. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

http://catalog.gpo.gov Reasons to use this site: Even though this search engine can be a pain to use, it can be a very important tool if you are ever writing a paper or doing a project and need to know federal regulations or specifications. Federal documents of all types can be found here, so it might help you in other classes Its free. Description: This resource is made by the U.S. Federal Government, and it provides access to a huge amount of Federal documents of all types and topics. Although it can provide very helpful information, it can be tricky to operate. Tips: The website can be hard to use, so a step-by-step example might be helpful. Suppose you wanted to find Federal specifications and standards related to highway construction: o From the homepage click on the button marked advanced on the top left of your screen. o Where it says Keyword(s) hit the drop arrow and select Title Keywords o Type highway specifications in the box just to the right. o Several search results will come up. o This is the best way to perform a generalized search. You will be immediately able to tell if you can access these resources online by looking at the column on the left marked Internet Access. There will be a clickable link adjacent to the document title if the document is available online. To access the document, click the link and you will be taken to PDF copy of the document. o To find a document explaining federal highway and bridge specifications: Click on Standard specifications for construction of roads and bridges on federal highway projects [microform]. You will be directed to a page containing all the information about the article. o You can click on the link to find the report, or scroll down to find the bibliographical data.

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Tips (contd): The document we searched for was Standard specifications for construction of roads and bridges on federal highway projects [microform]. And was produced by Washington, D.C. U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration: For sale by the Supt. Of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [2001]. You can also refine your search in a variety of different ways, including by: o Year o Format o Language Refining your search might be helpful if you have a specific document in mind that you are searching for.

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c. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

http://ascelibrary.org/mto/resource/1/jmcee7 Reasons to use this journal: It is a very good source of technical information. o Every engineer will eventually need to know about the materials he or she is working with. These articles are highly scrutinized by peer review before they are published in the journal. o This means that the information will be accurate. There is nothing worse than researching and finding false data. Every Civil Engineer must possess a good reference for materials. o Every Civil Engineer will someday work with some type of material; you will need to know about it. Description: This is an online journal that defines the specifics of the Materials used by Civil Engineers. It contains useful information and specifications that every Civil Engineer must use in the completion of a project, you do want to complete a project, right? No matter what specialization you are, there will be materials that you need to know about. New combinations of materials with physical property changes are being discovered all the time, and it is important for an engineer to keep up on these changes. Tips: You can browse it by volume or by year. To access a journal article: o Click on the name of the article, which should be a hyperlink. Now you can see an abstract, outline, and some keywords to help ensure that you are accessing the correct document. o If you are viewing the right document, you can access it via HTML online, or you can download a PDF version if you wish to have a more printable copy. You cannot browse, so it is important that you know the title or author to narrow down the search. You can find the title and author to articles using the libraries homepage: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/home.html

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4. Generally Useful Tools

a. Lexus/Nexus
http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/ Reasons to use this site: This search engine accesses one of the largest collections of stuff in existence. o This means you can find anything you want, engineering-related or not. It would normally cost money, but its free to PSU students. You can access any newspaper you want. o Ever want to read your hometown newspaper while at school? The website is also very easy to use. Description: Lexus/Nexus is a search engine that has the ability to sift through millions of documents, searching for any keyword of your choosing. You can search for anything you want. You can access almost any type of document ranging from scientific materials to court decisions to public records to newspaper articles. This means that you can write your bibliography, find out who didnt pay their mortgage and see if your baseball team all from one website. You can perform general searches or search by source. Your searches can be very specific or very broad. It is not just a very useful tool for an undergraduate Civil Engineering major; it is a useful tool for anyone. It can help you research a potential employer; I am sure you will want an internship or job someday. It can point you toward technical specifications; you will definitely have to do future projects. It can help you research landmark legal cases related to the field; wait until you have to take CE 332. Its applications are tremendous. Tips: If you wish to find a specific document or piece of information use the Easy Search option. If your search is more general use the Power Search option. To ensure accuracy enter as many search options as possible. It is a very good tool to research companies when looking for jobs If it isnt letting you access the information, try logging into the Penn State system in a different tab. o Penn State pays for all of its students to be able to use this resource.

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b. The Internet Archive (The Wayback Machine)

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php Reasons to use this site: Did you ever get frustrated trying to access a link that brings you to a broken page, or worse, the dreaded 404 error? o This website is a tool that will make that broken website work again. Ever try to visit a website to realize that they updated the important information right out of it? o Anytime a website is changed you can visit the old versions using The Internet Archive. It is very easy to use. Its free. Description: This Internet Archive is a neat tool that has been archiving, or saving, websites since 1996. If you have a web address you can enter it in and find the website, as it was, throughout time. You can see how websites have changed. You can access information that has been taken down. It is a tool to help you to see the way things were. This tool is an excellent resource when you encounter a 404 error meaning the webpage that you found is no longer in existence. Tips:

Some websites are protected and cannot be archived. You cannot see websites prior to 1996. Use this website every time you encounter a 404 error. The website is very easy to use, but if you encounter a problem you can refer to the blog and find answers to your questions. Keyword searches are not supported by this website. o You must know the specific URL of the website.