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John Ward
Assignment #2
A Guide To Using Civil Engineering Resources
By: John Ward
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John Ward
Assignment #2
Table of Contents
Page
Content/Scope……………………………………………………………………………….3
Audience……………………………………………………………………………………..3
Assumptions…………………………………………………………………………………3
Organization…………………………………………………………………...……………3
Journals:
i)Betham Open Civil Engineering Journal…………………………………………..4
ii)Professional Civil Engineering Journal…………………………………………...5
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications………………………………………………..6
Statistical Abstract of the United States……………………………………………..…...7
Important Websites:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Overview……………………………………………………………………8
Penn State Department of Civil Engineering ………………………………9
American Society of Civil Engineers ………………………………..……10
Engineering Toolbox………………………………………………………11
Chegg………………………………………………………………………12
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Assignment #2
Content/Scope:
Included in this guide are general instructions, and summaries of how to use several
different websites and other resources to obtain different information through various different
sources. In addition to instructions and summaries, a section for helpful tips is also included to
help the reader navigate and use the resources as efficiently as possible. Journal Indexes, Journal
Articles, Websites, Statistical Abstracts, and Government publications are all included within
this guide.
Audience:
The intended audience of this guide is prospective Civil Engineers, current Civil
Engineers, and former Civil Engineers. It is most beneficial to college students pursuing a
bachelors of science in the field of civil engineering, or more specifically: environmental
engineering, water resources engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction management
engineering and structural engineering.
Assumptions:
Certain assumptions were made when constructing this guide. These assumptions
include, at the very least a general interest and understanding of engineering as a whole, and
preferably an interest in civil engineering or environmental engineering, water resources
engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction management engineering and structural
engineering. It is essential that for some of the abstracts that internet access is obtainable, and it
is recommended that the reader be a student or have some sort of affiliation with The
Pennsylvania State University.
Organization:
This guide is organized with journal search engines indices first, followed by the Catalog
of U.S, Government Publications, then the Statistical Abstract of the United States, then relevant
websites. Each section includes a “title”, “how to use”, “content/description”, and a “tips for
efficient use” segment. The “how to use” segment gives brief instructions on how to get to the
resource, and navigate it. The “content/description” section generalizes the site and provides a
quick summary of resource. Finally, the tips section provides suggestions to using the resource
more effectively and efficiently.
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Betham Open Civil Engineering Journal
Open Civil Engineering Journal
How to use it:
Go to http://benthamopen.com/tociej/ and browse through the open journal articles presented on
the front page. You can view journal abstracts and download the PDFs of the journals.
Content/Description:
The Betham Open Civil Engineering Journal website provides a quick guide to civil engineering
journal articles. There is a search bar to specify your topic, however just browsing through the
available journal articles on the front page. This site is very easy to use. I viewed the abstract of a
journal article titled “An Interface Model Including Cracks and Roughness Applied to Masonry,”
the abstract explained a method of detecting cracks and roughness in masonry units. You can sort
through journal articles based on year using tabs o the right side of the page. Be sure search
broadly and make sure to skim the articles and make sure they are the correct journal articles
because the journal articles seem to be longer through Betham Open Civil Engineering Journal.
Tips for Efficient Use:



Be broad with when searching, this site provides less search results than other, larger
journal websites.
You can switch between browsing by title and browsing by subject, so if there is no
specific title you are searching for, browsing via subject can get you some good results.
You can browse by year, which is helpful when trying to locate a known journal.
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Professional Civil Engineering Journal
Online Journal from American Society of Civil Engineers
How to use it:
Go to http://ascelibrary.org/journal/jsendh and search for related civil engineering journals. Titles
of journal articles will appear below, and can be filtered through by clicking on tabs that appear
above the journal article results.
Content/Description:
The Library for the American Society of Civil Engineers is a great resource for searching
through professional journal articles. It offers many different intra-field options to choose from,
and provides a good selection of journals to read from. First thing you want to do is select a more
specific field, for example structural engineering. After choosing a sub-field, you can then use
tabs located above the journal article results to filter through “Just released”, “Recently
Published”, “Most Cited”, and “Most Viewed.” Once selecting a journal title you will be directed
to the abstract of the journal article. You then have the choice to download the entire article or
not. I chose to look at a journal article titled “Use of 3D Finite-Element Models for Predicting
Intermediate Damage Limit State in RC Bridge Columns.” The journal outlines how computer
finite element analysis can be used to evaluate and determine the integrity of bridge columns.
When using this journal search method be sure not to be too specific, there are a plethora of
results but there aren’t quite as many results as you would expect from a search engine.
Tips for Efficient Use:
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Use the pull-down menu to browse through different engineering fields
Cycle through the tabs “Just Released”, “Recently Published”, “Most Cited”, and “Most
Cited” to browse the best journal candidates.
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Catalog of U.S. Government Publications:
Federal Publication Database
How to use it:
Go to catalog.gpo.gov/F to bring you to the homepage. From there you can search keywords,
titles, author and subject. From there a list will appear of documents pertaining to the search
criterion that was entered. Click on the title of the article that is most appealing or relevant.
Content/Description:
The homepage of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications opens up with a welcome
message at the top and then goes on to briefly explain what the use of the website is and very
briefly how to use it. When searching for the broad field of Civil Engineering there is over 1100
titles to choose from. To make all of the publications easier to manage, you can sort each row by
clicking the top of the column labels. For example if you are look for a particular publication
author you can click the column header that is labeled “Author” and it will arrange the
publications in order of the author’s last name. In addition to sorting through the publications
like that you can go through some of the articles and click next to them to mark them if you like
them or found them interesting, and later review all of the selected publications you marked by
clicking the “View Selected” button. The document I chose to look at was “Corrosion
Monitoring Research for City of New York Bridges” which was produced by Betti Raimondo.
The publication outlines causes of bridge corrosion such as freeze-thaw cycles and also touches
on galvanic corrosion and stresses the importance of galvanizing metals.
Tips for Efficient Use:
 Be sure to search using all of the categories: “keywords”, “Title”, “Author”, and
“Subject.”
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Statistical Abstract of the United States
Online Statistical Abstract
How to use it:
Go to your internet browser and type in: www.census.gov/compendia/statab/. You can search
using the search tool in the top right corner of the page, or you can browse through the sections
that are named on tabs located on the left side of the page.
Content/Description:
The purpose of using the Statistical Abstract of the United State is to obtain statistical
information about certain fields of interest within the United States. Not all of the fields that are
included in the Statistical Abstract of the United States deal with a particular employment region.
For example you can find statistics on the births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the United
State. The online homepage of Statistical Abstract of the United States opens up to a big header
that describes what a statistical abstract is. You can sift through an overview, change the format
the PDF, and view earlier editions of the statistical abstract. The information contained in the
Statistical Abstract of the United States comes from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and other sources. When you search Civil Engineering
in the search bar, results show interesting statistics like “Total Capital Expenditures for
Construction Industries” and “Field of Bachelor’s Degree in the United States.” The Statistical
Abstract of the United States can be used by civil engineers to find statistics on job outlook,
salaries, and government employment. One abstract titled “Total Capital Expenditures for
Construction Industries: 2013 and 2012 Revised” compares the amount of money spent on the
construction of building , heavy and civil engineering construction, and specialty trade
contractors from 2012 and 2013.
Tips for Efficient Use:
 When using the online website for the Statistical abstract of the United States be sure to

be specific, when just searching the broad field of Civil Engineering 17,600 results are
found.
Browse through the sections on the left hand side to help search through sections that are
related to civil engineering.
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Important Websites
Included in this section are four websites that focus on trying to inform prospective and current
civil engineering students. Both websites are very important tools to utilize when and if students
choose to pursue an education in civil engineering. The first website is Penn State’s Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering page. The second website is the American Society of
Civil Engineers website.
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Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Homepage:
Website
How to use it:
Go to your internet browser and type in: www.engr.psu.edu/ce/
Content/Description:
This webpage contains tons of information, relevant to any prospective and current Penn State
civil engineers. Tabs at the top of the page allow you to navigate through undergrad, graduate,
visitor, and alumni information. On the left side of the page, there is a broad spectrum of tabs
that help guide the user to different areas of information. These tabs include everything from the
accreditation to job placement, to research information. The center of the website offers a really
nice introduction message that introduces Penn State’s Civil and Environmental engineering
programs and the specific focuses that are offered within the major. Lastly the page offers a
section for announcements that help remind current students when program deadlines are due
and updates students on upcoming lectures and Civil and Environmental engineering special
events.
Tips for Efficient Use:
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Browse through the sections on the left hand side, there is a lot of very helpful
information there for prospective students, undergraduate students, and graduate students.
Check out the news and events section because this will you a feel of what Penn State
does out-of-class with their Civil Engineering education.
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John Ward
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American Society of Civil Engineers website:
Website
How to use it:
Go to your internet browser and type in: www.asce.org
There are sections of this website that you need to pay for, but most information can be accessed
for free.
Content/Description:
The website’s homepage opens up and the first thing that catches your eye is a little section that
reads “441 employers are hiring civil engineers across the U.S. Find a rewarding job through
ASCE Career Connections.” ASCE aims to help civil engineers find employment and help
uphold a list of ethics. Tabs across the top help you navigate through an abundance of
information. The Memberships and Communities page directs you to information regarding
joinging the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the benefits. The next essential
information page is the Information and Careers tab which is super helpful for upper classmen
undergraduates because it provides information about getting jobs, how to get professional
certificates and reviews for important engineering exams. The publications tab is helpful to
locate official civil engineering journals, contract documents and books. At the bottom of the
homepage is a features category which lists news for civil engineers. At the very bottom of the
page there is a jobs segment which outlines open civil engineering positions, helpful for
upperclassmen students.
Tips for Efficient Use:
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The publications tab at the top is useful when trying to locate professional articles written
by civil engineers or about civil engineering.
The education and careers tab should be used as a tool for current engineers who are
studying for state exams, or are looking for employment.
Search the website specifically; there is a lot of information throughout this website, so a
broad search may return a lot of results.
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John Ward
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The Engineering Toolbox:
Engineering encyclopedia
How to use it:
Go to your internet browser and type in: www.EngineeringToolBox.com
Search what type of problem you are running into, or keywords, and Engineering Tool Box will
come up with a page that helps explain it.
Content/Description:
The website’s operation is very simple, when something doesn’t make sense to you, type it into
the google search that is at the top of the page, and the website will present you with a page help
you understand the information. As you scroll down the page, there are lists of common
searches, or issues that engineers as a whole run into. The first few topics are organized by how
frequently they are searched. As you scroll towards the bottom of the page, sections that are
common to engineering are listed in alphabetical order. Once you find or search the topic you are
having trouble understanding, a page will come up that intends to help clarify or present the
requested information to you. Engineering Tool Box comes especially in handy when you have
to look up specific values for certain items. For example, if I need to know the thermal
coefficient of a material, I could just type in: “Thermal Coefficient” followed by the material,
and a list of values would appear.
Tips for Efficient Use:
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Search specifically; this site is built to have a plethora of information and very specific
categories.
The best use of this site is for coefficients, tables of numbers and definitions, there are
helpful sections to help teach you topics, but they are broad and lack a lot of the teaching
aspect with more complex problems/categories.
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John Ward
Assignment #2
Chegg:
Online Homework assistant and Book rental service/website
How to use it:
Go to www.Chegg.com. Chegg offers a broad range of help in many, many different fields, not
just civil engineering. You can navigate through books, study help, career information, and
scholarships. To access most parts of chegg you need to pay for a membership
Content/Description:
Chegg offers help and provides students with many avenues of help. You use the search bar at
the top of the page to search for books and rent them or buy them, both digitally and physically
have them sent to your home. When searching for the book there is an option to view book
solutions which is helpful when trying to work through homework problems or studying for an
exam or quiz. Another interesting tool that Chegg offers is online tutors that you can ask
questions to and they can help you on the spot if you do not understand a topic or need
something clarified. You may also post questions to chegg if they do not have the solution that
you are looking for. For example if you are working through a homework set for Concrete
Design (CE341), you can look up the book on chegg, and fid the book solutions to help guide
you to correct answer, and if the question is not from the book, you can ask a tutor to help or
even post the question on chegg, and a professional will tackle the problem for you and offer you
some help. One tip to keep in mind when using chegg is that not every book is on there, so
sometimes you won’t be able to use chegg for certain classes/problems, however I have never
ran into this problem.
Tips for Efficient Use:
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Using chegg to help you solve problems is the best way to use the site.
When searching in chegg, be sure that you are only trying to find a book. Chegg does not
teach you, nor is it an outlet of information, but rather and online textbook database.