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ENGL 170: Technical & Professional Writing

This guide focuses on resources that are specific to Technical Writing, for information and resources on Engineering and Technology courses visit the Engineering Technologies guide. For more English course guides visit the Camosun Research Guides.

Featured books Tech writing

Using Reference Books

Encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries and other reference sources are great for getting background information about your topic. They can provide the basic information you need to start your research and often, a list of suggested readings.

They provide the well-known facts: definitions, major dates, key contributions.

They are trustworthy and reliable, giving you the correct information you need for presentations and research reports.

If you don't know very much about your topic, or you're just starting your research, begin with reference books.

Best databases for Engineering & Tech Students

Database search tips

Database Tips:

  • You can limit to scholarly or peer reviewed information
  • You can limit to types of publications e.g. government documents, primary source documents, etc.
  • You can limit to specific geographic areas
  • You can limit by date ranges
  • You can save citation information for articles or reports found in a library database by either emailing or saving to a bibliographic management tool (free sources include Zotero, Mendeley, etc.).
  • If you email yourself article information, the default citation style is APA; you can request it be sent in another style e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc.