Resources for Electronic & Communciations Postgraduates
Getting Started 
- Borrowing & Renewals: postgraduate entitlements
- Exam papers: access point for online papers.
- Program Documents: access point (Library PIN required).
- Research theses are viewable via DIT's Institutional Repository ARROW. PhDs and MPhils are also available in hardcopy for viewing at the library desk.
- How to use the Library: full helpguide listing
Literature Reviews
A literature review is part of the introduction to a research report, or thesis. It provides an overview and critical analysis of relevant published scholarly articles, reports, books, theses etc on the topic to be investigated.
See the Kevin St Library guide Getting started with literature reviews , the textbooks at 808.042 in BookStack 10 or the following links:
Databases & Search Engines
Databases for Postgraduates & Researchers
| Journal Citation Reports | Proquest Dissertations & Theses: Worldwide |
| Incites Research Analytics | SCOPUS (impact factors and metrics |
Subject Databases for Engineering
| ANTE: Abstracts New Tech & Eng | Engineering Village | ACM Digital Library* |
| ASTI App Sci & Tech | Knovel Library | Science Direct |
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IEEE Xplore Digital Library |
Web of Science |
- To access the Databases remotely see Off Campus Access
- * NB the ACM DIgital Library core subscription includes full-text access to ACM Journals and Transactions, but NOT to the ACM Proceedings. See the Full-Text Options Section below.
Search Engines
SearchAll/Summon
What does Search All/Summon search? It is a search engine that provides relevance ranked results from DIT Library's online collections in a single search. It includes records from the DIT Library catalogue, databases, eJournals, eBooks and theses.
Google Scholar
Some features unique to Google Scholar:
- Cited by information e.g. “Cited by 43 publications"
- Set your Google Scholar Preferences to Dublin Institute of Technology Find @DIT to link to DIT subscribed full-text.
- See also the Kevin St Library Guide How to use Google Scholar
Science & Engineering Search Engines
- ScienceResearch
- WorldWideScience
- Zanran (numerical data)
eJournals
- The DIT Library eJournals can be searched by journal title. Search the entire journal collection including hardcopy titles on the Library Catalogue using Journal Title Search. Or use the Kevin St Library guide Finding fulltext journal articles
- To access the eJournals remotely you need a Library PIN.
eBooks 
- Browse via the eBook link - communications engineering titles are in the Knovel and MyiLibrary sections. Or search for a specific title via the Library Catalogue.
Fulltext Options & Other Academic Libraries
- If DIT journals don't provide the articles you require you may apply for an Inter Library Loan.
- Postgraduates may apply for an ALCID and /or a SCONUL card to visit another academic library
- To search other academic library catalogues for titles not held in DIT Library click here.
Open Access Resources
What is Open Access? 
- Open Access is unrestricted access to online scholarly information via digital and institutional repositories.
Advantages of Open Access:
- Greater visibility and impact of research
- Faster access to research information than traditional publishing
Information about Open Access:
- SPARC Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
- Open Access Overview
- Types of Open Access
Open Access Science Resources
Institutional Repositories
| Arrow : DIT's theses & publications | RIAN Irish Research Portal |
| DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal : full text research theses from 276 unis | OpenAire : Research in Europe |
| ROAR : Registry of Open Access Repositories | Sherpa & OpenDoar IR directories |
Current Awareness Tools
Register with a selection of these to keep up with research trends. S
Research Metrics & Impact Factors
The most commonly used bibiometric measures used to assess the impact of a particular journal publication are Impact factor, Eigenfactor and SCImago The impact of a specific reseacher can be measured by h-index, e-index and Times Cited. Tools to assist are:
- Altmetrics
- Incites Research Analytics (access via DIT Library Databases)
- Journal Citation Reports (access via DIT Library Databases)
- SCOPUS (access via Web of Science, DIT Library Databases)
See also:
- Research Smarts: DIT Library Bibliometrics FAQs
- Kevin St Library introductory guide Bibliometrics & Research
Digital Skills and Research Hub
For guidance and information on research communication, publishing and impact see the new DSRH resource.
Referencing & Citing
Citing the information sources used in research is essential to avoid plagiarism. See the Kevin St Library Referencing and citing guide. Each subject has its own citation styles - check with your supervisor if in doubt. The College of Engineering often uses the Harvard or IEEE citation styles e.g.
Bibliographic citation software allows you to store, organise and share your references using a choice of citation styles:
Information Skills Help
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Kevin St Library Information Skills Guides
- Graduate Information Literacy eTutorial module
Study Skills
A collection of titles re. writing for engineering and doing presentations is available in Kevin St Library in Stack 10 at the 808 shelf number or try:
Summer Services
Kevin St Library offers the following services to postgraduates during the months of July & August.
