Citing Sources: Engineering

When information is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, the source of that information must be documented. Otherwise, you are guilty of plagiarism.

Various standards have been created for citing sources in different disciplines including IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), APA (American Psychological Association), and the MLA (Modern Languages Association). Unless your professor tells you otherwise, the preferred style for citing sources in your assignments is the IEEE style. See the following for help with this style.

Reference Guide: IEEE Style (from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
https://wiki.engr.illinois.edu/download/attachments/31394450/IEEE-refgui...

Sample IEEE Documentation Style for References (from Carleton University)
http://http-server.carleton.ca/~nartemev/IEEE_style.html

IEEE Standards Style Manual (from the IEEE style website)
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/style/index.html

Other style manuals include:

Communication Patterns of Engineers
E-Book

Handbook for Technical Writing (6th ed.)
REF: T11.B78 2000

Scientific Style and Format: the CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (7th ed.)
REF: QH304.C33 2006

MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication (2nd ed.)
REF: Q223.P33 2002

Writing and Presenting Scientific Papers (2nd ed.)
REF: Q223.M34 2004
 

RefWorks is a web-based reference management tool that you can access from any Internet connection and use to:

  • Create your own database of citations or bibliographic references you have selected from library Catalogues and indexing and abstracting databases, such as Academic Search, PubMed, PsycInfo, etc.
  • Set up folders to organize and retrieve these citations. 
  • Create and format bibliographies using these citations in one of the over 200 supported citation styles, such as APA, MLA, etc.
  • Insert and format citations in your papers and articles using the free Write-N-Cite plugin for MS Word.

Adding Patents to RefWorks

To add patent records from CIPO Canadian Patent Office or USPTO United States Patent and Trademark Office, you will need to add them manually in RefWorks as follows.

  • From the Reference menu select Add New Reference.
  • Select the IEEE output style from the View Fields Used by dropdown menu.
  • Select Patent from the Ref Type dropdown menu.
  • Fill in the fields marked with a green check mark.

Patents may also be searched in the Canadian Patents database (See list of databases on Library home page.)

Step One:

Step Two:

  • Execute your search limiting the results to Patents.
  • Mark the results to be saved.
  • Export the marked records.
  • Select RIS format as your File Format.
  • Click Export and then Save.
  • Open RefWorks
  • From the References menu select Import.
  • From the Select Import Filter drop down menu select ScienceDirect (RIS format)
  • From the Select Database drop down menu select ScienceDirect Navigator.
  • Specify Folder (optional.)
  • Browse to find your saved file.
  • Click Import to obtain your marked patent records.