1 Antonio Trani Virginia Tech Presented by Dr. Baik October 25, 2006 Library Searches and Thesis/Dissertation Writing

2 Library Resources Look at Good amount of information

3 Finding Sources

4 Books and E-Books

5 Articles and Databases

6 Good Databases for TISE Students Compendex, from Engineering Village ASCE Civil Engineering Database Computer and Information Systems Abstracts CRC Engineering Handbooks Online - ENGnetBASE Engineering & Technology Mechanical and Transportation Engineering Abstracts - MTEA NTRS: NASA Technical Report Server TRIS - Transportation Research Information Service Online

7 Sample Search (Compendex)

8 Sample Search (Cont.)

9 Selecting a Reference

10 Retrieving the Article Most of the time you can retrieve the article directly form the links provided in the database If not: –Try another database engine –Use interlibrary load

11 Typical Thesis Organization Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - Literature Review Chapter 3 - Model Description (or Analysis Methods) Chapter 4 - Model Results Chapter 5 - Conclusions Chapter 6 - Recommendations Appendices - as needed

12 Chapter 1 The need for your research State the gaps in knowledge State why this is important State your approach briefly

13 Chapter 2 - Literature Review Often overlooked Very critical to any research effort Justifies your analysis (gaps) Spent time reading journals and articles Spent time summarizing them Give credit and learn how to cite Use VT library sources + End Note (a free program to students to do bibliographic references) End Note can be downloaded at:

14 Software for Students To get End Note

15 Chapter 3 - Model Description Describes the methods used to do your work Be explicit - do not assume the audience knows much Explain any software issues Explain your methods and materials used Include any statistical analysis employed in analyzing data Explain why this method is different than others used before

16 Chapter 4 - Model Results Be explicit Use graphs and tables Label graphs and tables appropriately Use consistency in your tables and graphs Watch out for inconsistent significant figures (typical in Excel and sometimes in Matlab graphs)

17 Chapters 5 and 6 Often the weakest part of the thesis Be explicit and thoughtful Conclusion should support your entire thesis/dissertation Are your results unique? Are they repeatable? Etc. How has my thesis advanced the state of knowledge? Recommendations are very important - do not rush just to write the last minute thought