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Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Subject guide to Engineering resources for study or research of the subject

Selecting the Best Sources

Where can I search for useful resources?

Where to search

 

Popular sources for information

Google vs Google scholar vs Find@HKUL vs Databases

Google

  • cover a lot of information, including non-academic or unreliable resources

Google Scholar

Find@HKUL

Databases

  • for specific types of information, e.g. electronic articles, newspapers, law cases, statistics etc.
  • in-depth search
  • subject-specific
  • allow sophisticated search strategies

Useful Search Skills

How can I search for resources effectively?

Boolean operators

A. Learn the tips and tricks
Boolean operators, Truncation, Phrase search
Operators Function Example
AND Connect different concepts
(Both terms to appear)		 health AND smoking
OR Combine synonyms
(Either of the terms to appear)		 smoking OR tobacco OR cigarettes
NOT Exclude a term  energy NOT nuclear
Wildcard ? Search variant spelling  customi?ation >  customisation, customization
Truncation * cigar* > cigar, cigars, cigarette, cigarettes
( ) Group terms cancer AND (smoking OR tobacco OR cigar*)
" " Search for an exact phrase “genetically modified”

Note: Symbols may vary among different databases. Check each database's help page for more information if needed.

 

B. Do it step-by-step

1. Identify the keywords of your research topic.

Topic: The relationship between fossil fuels and global warming

>> 1. fossil fuel

>> 2. global warming

2. Brainstorm or find out related concepts.

Keywords Related concepts
Fossil fuel

Petroleum

Crude oil

Coal

Natural gas
Global warming

Greenhouse effect

Climate change

3. Build your search query with the above tips and tricks.

(Fossil fuel OR Petroleum OR "Crude oil" OR Coal OR "Natural gas") AND ("Global warming" OR "Greenhouse effect" OR "Climate change")

4. Conduct a search in the desired database.

5. Apply different filters in the databases when needed.

6. Evaluate the search results.

Evaluating Information

How can I evaluate the information?

evaluate information

CARE

Think with CARE when you encounter a piece of information.

Currency

  • Is the information current or outdated?

Accuracy & Authority

  • Is the information reliable, trustworthy, and correct?

Relevance

  • Does the information fulfill your needs?

Equity & Impartiality

  • Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?

InfoLit for U

InfoLit for U Information Literacy MOOC

Want to learn even more on how to recognize when information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information?

Join the Information Literacy MOOC — InfoLit for U, a self-paced, non-credit bearing MOOC designed by the library of all 8 UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong, which is suitable for students in all years of undergraduate study.