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A Guide to Engineering Resources for Students at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications

A guide for students in the students in the 3+1 Electrical Engineering Dual Degree Program.

Resources for topic ideas:

1. Browse the links below to find current engineering topics:

2. Try browsing the websites and publications of major engineering societies:

3. Try browsing through recent issues of some engineering magazines and newsletters (also sometimes called trade magazines/journals). Click on the links below, then look for a new window with links to "Journal":

Or, if you are researching a specific area of engineering such as nanotechnology, then try some google searches like these examples:

  • nanotechnology news
  • nanotechnology controversy

Evaluate and test your topic to see if it is manageable.

1. EVALUATE YOUR TOPIC.
Did you pick a single-concept topic, like these, for example?

  • optical tweezers
  • desalination
  • biofuels

Be aware of some common problems with single-concept topics:

  • Single-concept topics are often too broad which means that you will retrieve too many articles.
  • The simplicity of single-concept topics often forces you to write a definition or summary of that topic -- like writing an encyclopedia entry -- instead of exploring ideas, investigating a question, or gathering evidence to support a hypotheses.

If you think your topic is going to be too broad, then think about how you would answer these questions about your topic: 

Formulate a research question by thinking about what you already know about your topic and what you would like to know about your topic.

Take a look at these examples of more complex research questions:

  • What can be done to prevent photodamage to cells manipulated by optical tweezers?
  • How are windmills being used in desalination projects?
  • What are the latest techniques for the removal of contaminants in algae for biofuel production?

But, be aware of some common problems with more complex topics:

  • Sometimes complex, multi-concept topics are too narrow and you won't retrieve enough results.
  • It can be difficult to identify the best main main concepts (or keywords) to search.

2. TEST YOUR TOPIC.

Try your topic keywords in a few article databases to see if you get some results that look like they would be useful to you. If you find nothing relevant, then you might want to ask for help, or try a different topic.