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2003-1588

Development of a Journal Information System for Engineering Research Studies

KIT FAI PUN and ANESA HOSEIN

Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, WI (email: kfpun@eng.uwi.tt)

Abstract: A prototype journal information system (JIS) comprising of a cataloguing sub-system and an information indexing sub-system was developed to assist researchers and engineering students in their literature review and research studies. The system can provide 1) a fast- searching capability to trace articles with specified themes, subject areas, keywords, authors, year of publication and index references; and 2) the facilities for grouping and sorting of articles according to types and names of journals and their specializations. This paper describes the design, collection and input of data, query usage, and report outputs of the system.

Introduction Today’s literature reviewing process is different to that of two decades ago1. The process is more complex as much literature is being published in a wider array of journals. The literature reviewing process underwent by engineering researchers and students began to employ digital libraries available through compact diskettes (CDs) during the 1980s and since the 1990s through the World Wide Web (WWW)2. The digital libraries were able to provide an efficient searching interface for retrieval of information as compared to paper citation, subject and keyword indexes that were previously available1,2. In the past, researchers and students stored collected materials (e.g. copies of papers and notes) in personal card indices to aid in the retrieval of papers during the writing process3. Today, personal bibliographic software (PBS) is widely used for the same purposes with add-ins or compatibility features with word processing programmes (e.g. Microsoft Word and WordPerfect)4. Most PBS are able to create bibliographic references in many writing styles, store information by keywords and link to online digital libraries. Many commercial PBS packages (e.g. AutoBiblio, Bibliographix, Biblioscape, Endnote, Procite, and Reference Manager) cost about US$100-300. Despite the cost factors, these packages are developed for different disciplines (e.g. physical sciences, bioscience, library science, medicine, economics, and legal) and/or general purposes. However, they may not meet the specific requirements of researchers and research students of engineering disciplines and applications4-6. This paper presents a journal information system (JIS) that provides a cost- effective and personalized means for assisting researchers and research students to manage their literature review processes and outputs. Using the system can save considerable amount of time in tracking the location of literature, especially when the search is conducted over a long period and researchers are unable to recall papers at some later date. To discuss how the JIS helps in a

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society of Engineering Education

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Pun, K., & Hoesin, A. (2003, June), Development Of A Journal Information System For Engineering Research Studies Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11723