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Ideas for Paper Topics

This is just a list of interesting paper topics that you may find helpful as you explore ideas for your research paper.

These three general engineering/science databases are good places to begin your search for articles on an engineering topic.

Knovel eBooks


If you do not know much about your topic, start here. These are electronic books that provide great background information.
Engineering Village
Your FIRST choice on where to go for articles.The broadest engineering database in terms of coverage, Engineering Village focuses on scholarly engineering journals and conference papers, as well as covering much of the trade magazine literature.
Applied Science & Technology Abstracts
This database is NOT as comprehensive as Engineering Village. However it does allow you to limit your search to trade magazine articles which is helpful sometimes.
ProQuest Research Library
This covers both the popular literature and scholarly materials, including policy articles and trade magazines.
ScienceDirect
Lots and lots of full text articles in PDF format.

The following discipline specific engineering databases will get you deeper into the literature.

ACM Digital Library (Association of Computing Machinery)
Full text of every article ever published by the Association of Computing Machinery. Material included as part of our subscription includes journals, magazines, newsletters and proceedings.
Aerospace Research Central (ARC)
This database provides full text access to the journals and conference proceedings of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
ASCE Research Library (American Society of Civil Engineers)
This digital library provides full text access to all 30 ASCE Journal and Periodical volumes published since 1995. (Some journals are available going back a little further.)
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Digital Library
Waldo Library subscribes to all 21 of the ASME journals both in online and print formats. Online access is from 1990 to the present.
IEEE Xplore
Full-text access to all journals, transactions, and magazines published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers with coverage from 1988; Includes IEEE conference proceedings and all current IEEE standards. Note: this resource is limited to fifteen simultaneous users. Please logoff when you are finished.