GPS: Great Problems Seminar Grand Challenges

Professors Apelian & Nikitina

Start Your Research with the Gordon Library

The library provides you with a vast digital library as well as print materials for your coursework and projects: www.wpi.edu/+library.

RefWorks: Managing Your References

RefWorks Help

Off Campus?

Contact Us

Stop by, chat, or set up a research consultation.

Create an Individual Account

Upload and share your references with RefWorks. Any references saved into your personal RefWorks account can be output directly into MLA citation format, which can by copied & pasted into your papers. Within MS Word your RefWorks references for in-text citations and your bibliography can be instantly formated.

Create a team account at refworks.com/refworks.

Research Strategies

Free Web vs. Scholarly Content

The free web: search engines and other free web sites such as Wikipedia
Britannica Encyclopedia Online and other subscribed Encyclopedias.

Find Books

Search the Library Catalog for items @ WPI or WorldCat to search beyond our library.
Search also books.google.com for previews of many books.

Find Articles

Try QuickFIND multi-database search from the library homepage to retrieve results from 12 databases (including the library catalog & Worldcat for books) on your topic with one search. To focus on more specific databases, choose All Databases & Electronic Resources and a subject area.

Start with QuickFIND within Databases by Subject:

Search QuickFIND to find at least 2 useful resources for your project.
Saving/Emailing from QuickFIND: Check the items you wish to save and export to RefWorks or download/email the results.

All databases listed are WPI subscriptions so if off campus be sure to set up the WPI proxy within your browser. But check out Google Scholar, a web search of scholarly sources, including many WPI subscribed articles. Within database searches, look for image or "FullTextFinder" link for retrieval options.

Gale PowerSearch: Articles on all topics, click more search options, limit to peer-reviewed for scholarly articles. Try the Subject Guide Search to find articles by subdivisions:
Engineering Village: Abstracts to articles, conference papers on any engineering topic (searches both the Compendex & INSPEC databases)
ScienceDirect: Current scholarly articles on sciences and social science topics.
LEXIS®-NEXIS® Academic: Current full text news, legal, medical, and business information. News coverage ranges from regional coverage (Worcester T & G; Boston Globe; New York Times) to international.

Search one of the above databases to find at least 1 more useful resource for your project.
Email to yourself or add the reference to your RefWorks account.

Only Finding a Citation? Getting the Full Text

Is the journal online or here in the library? Use FullTextFinder to link to full articles or retrieval options within database results or search our Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers list
Visit another library: Search WorldCat to find one
Request delivery from another library: Interlibrary Loan.

WPI's Journal, Magazine, Newspaper Search

To find sources such as New York Times, Nature, the Lancet and other magazines print or online that the library subscribes to, search by source title within our Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers list.

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Oct 07, 2009, 09:12 EDT