The following information is adapted from a chapter written by Teresa Ashley, MLS, in Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 4th ed. (Wiley)
When to Use Books. Books can provide excellent background, a historical treatment of your subject and depth. For many current research topics, however, books tend to be too general. To obtain more specific information on technological advancements, you must go to journal articles, technical reports, or other sources.
When to Use Reference Books. Reference works include a broad range of reference books. If you must must be knowledgeable about areas beyond your specializations, reference works can be a good starting point for what is known in a field.
When to Use Journal Articles. The information in journals (unlike books) is highly technical and contains current research in an area of specialization.
When to Use Indexes. Indexes are essential when you want to find all the research articles, for example, written on fuel cells before President George W. Bush announced his intentions to focus on that technology in 2002.
When to Use Abstracts. Periodical indexes enable you to find articles on a specific topic. If you find too many articles, read the abstract of each article to decide whether to use that article. Abstracts appear with the articles themselves. But you can also look at just the abstracts without having to go to the articles themselves.
When to Use Product Literature. If you are on a design project, product literature is indispensable. You can get the dimensions or performance figures for specific components, accessories, or equipment related to your project. Using these resources enables you to know what is already available in your field and to compare currently available products.
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