DeVry University

CIS RESEARCH GUIDE
James E. Lovan Library


Listed below are the broad categories of sources available for CIS research.  All are available in the library; many are available from any computer with World Wide Web access.

Definitions and Background
Current Information/Periodicals
Books
Business/Industry/Organizations
Specialized CIS Reference Sites
Internet



Definitions & Background
The following resources will assist you in defining terms or learning more about the background of your project.
  • CIS Dictionaries

  • The library has many CIS dictionaries. These are used to define terms.  Most are located in our Reference Section and will usually be found in the call number QA 76.  Some examples are:
    • The Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary   Ref QA 76.15 .M54 1997
    • The Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms   Ref QA 76.15 .D667 1998
    • The Dictionary of Computing & Digital Media: Terms and Acronyms
      Ref QA 76.15 .H318 1999
    • The Computer and Information Science and Technology Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary  Ref QA 76.15 .S63 1994

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  • CIS Encyclopedias

  • The library also has several CIS encyclopedias.  These may be used to find more comprehensive or more detailed information on a topic.  Generally, these books will be found in the reference section.  Some examples are:
    • The Computer Desktop Encyclopedia   Ref QA 76.15 .F732 1999
    • The Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence   Ref Q 335 .E53 1992
    • Novell's Encyclopedia of Networking   Ref TK 5105.5 .S425 1997
    • The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology   Ref Q 121 .M3  Please ask at desk for CD-ROM.

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  • CIS Handbooks

  • The library has a variety of CIS handbooks on its reference shelves. Handbooks usually have information relevant both to the novice and the expert.  Some examples are:
    • The Technology Management Handbook   Ref T 49.5 .T4454 1998
    • The Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook  Ref TS 156.8 .P764 1999
    • The Parallel & Distributed Computing Handbook   Ref QA 76.58 .P3635 1996
    • The Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook  Ref QA 76.9 .A43 1999

Books
Sometimes the information required can only be found in a book.  Books can be found by using the WebVoyage Catalog.
  • If you have a particular subject in mind, see if the DeVry Kansas City library has books on this topic by using the WebVoyage catalog.  

  • If you cannot find the item you need, try netLibrary, the DeVry Institute's online library.  This is a collection of over 8000 ebooks covering a wide area of topics.  This resource may be used anywhere after an account is created using an on-campus computer.
  • If the Kansas City DeVry Library does not have the book, search the online catalogs of libraries in the immediate area.
  • As a last resort, use the WebVoyage catalog to see if another DeVry campus has the book.  It can take several weeks to obtain a book from another campus, so only use this option if plenty of time is available. 
Business/Industry/Organizations/ Research
Often times information on a CIS topic can be located through business, industry, or organizational web sites.
  • Faulkner's FACCTS 
    This database contains more than a dozen report types and original publications.  They are organized, prepared, and written by IT and communications professionals.  The data is most commonly used for tracking technology advancements, strategic planning, competitive analysis, market awareness, product implementation support, and product and vendor evaluation and training.  

To use the service from off-campus, enter using the link located on your DeVry University – Kansas City e-mail page.

  • Hoover's Online 
    There is useful business and professional society information available through business information databases like Hoover's Online. To obtain all information available to subscription members,
    enter using the link located on your DeVry University – Kansas City e-mail page.   A limited amount of information is available at this site for free from non-campus computers. TIP:  Make sure you search the following fields  All Directories; Site Search; News.
  • CorpTech  (Database is only available on campus.)   
    CorpTech contains profiles of more than 50,000 manufactures and developers of technology products, including smaller, privately held companies.  Seventeen high-tech industries are covered.  Information on company capsules, company rankings, competitors, employment trends in various industries, and the ability to find manufacturers by product, is available online for free.

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  • The University of Waterloo Library 
    This page offers extensive links to computer related associations.  Browse the index to see if a particular organization could be relevant to your research.


Specialized CIS Reference Sites
See the Virtual Reference Room on the DeVry Kansas City library's web page.
  • Academic Info Computer Science  
    This is a topical directory of web sites related to all facets of computer science.  This source indexes pre-selected, high quality web sites in the field.
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  • Computer and Internet Standards (Yahoo)  
    This directory is chiefly concerned with Standards.
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  • Cora  
    This is a special-purpose search engine covering computer science research papers.

Current Info/Periodicals
Often the newest and most reliable information is available through periodicals. Search for periodical articles by using the following resources:
  • ProQuest Databases
    The DeVry Kansas City library subscribes to the following databases from this vendor: (These links are designed to work only from an on-campus computer.  Please access remotely through the link on your student e-mail account.)

    ProQuest's Computing Index

    Top computing journals in full-text for research on subjects such as database
    design, software development, web commerce, LANs, WANs, Intranets, the Internet.

    ProQuest’s Telecommunications
    Full-text for top telecommunications industry publications. Includes magazines, journals
    and newsletters for the latest in this fast changing industry

     

  • EBSCOhost Databases

  • The DeVry Kansas City library subscribes to the following databases from this vendor: (These links are designed to work only from an on-campus computer.  Please access remotely through the link on your student e-mail account.)

    Computer Source
    Provides researchers with the latest information and current trends in high technology.

    Access Note:  EBSCOhost can be searched from any computer with internet access, but you will need to enter using the link located on your DeVry University – Kansas City e-mail page..
  • Print Journals

  • Most of the journals in the ProQuest database are available in full text on the screen and can be printed or emailed.  If the journal article you want is NOT available in full text, check the periodicals list to see if the library subscribes to the journal you need in print form.
Internet Searching
  • For those of you who want to go the extra mile and do a general search of the Internet, we recommend the Dogpile search engine.  This engine searches many search engines and puts the "hits" into folders by subject.  That way, even if you get thousands of hits, you can easily pull out the most relevant.  
  • As you browse internet sites, be careful to evaluate the authoritativeness and credibility of each site rather than assuming that if it is published on the web, it must be accurate.  See the guide to Evaluation of Web Resources to find checklists and tutorials on how to evaluate a site for research purposes.
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This page was updated 10 May 2004