Get to know the library.ucf.edu webpage
  1. Here is a screenshot of the page

  2. If you don’t know how to find something that you know should be available make use of the ask a librarian service, look on the left hand side, half way down you see “Want Help? Ask a Librarian” here is a link to that page: http://library.ucf.edu/Ask/  from here I generally always use the chat, this is because it is efficient and concise as opposed to a phone conversation where you make small talk and can be put on hold and you are stuck standing there with a phone in your hand. Being a multitasker, I just switch back to what I was doing while I wait on the chat response. If this doesn’t work out I will call or go in person. Many times I am in a “research zone” mentally and the last thing I want to do is get distracted, another reason the chat works best for me, it is a bit impersonal and that’s what I need to stay focused.
  3. Useful things to explore before starting your research
    1. Research Guides – Also located on the Home page under Find, the second link down. Click on the link, http://guides.ucf.edu/ from here there are a lot of guides available. Each librarian can make their own guide on different topics. We want to focus on Engineering so
    2. On the right hand side click on Engineering, it takes you to here http://guides.ucf.edu/cat.php?cid=8548 every one of these guides are useful to you when starting research. Once you get going you may never look at these again but you should now I will point out a few but look at all of them.
                                                               i.      Databases – http://guides.ucf.edu/databases links you to a list of databases. Look at the top of the screen, there are tabs.
1.      Find Engineering & Computer Science hover and click Computer/Electrical Engineering http://guides.ucf.edu/content.php?pid=41587&sid=328916
2.      You now see a listing of Best Databases and Other Databases. Read this page! Once you are into a domain specific topic you will be using the Best Databases list often, and mostly IEEE Xplore. But first we will use the Web of Science to get a general idea of what’s going on in your world of DSP.
                                                             ii.      ………..PAUSE
So right about now you are reading and thinking do I really need to know all of this general information. Yes, you do. The reason is DSP is not a free standing topic most of the time; you will be intersecting the topic of DSP with something else like medical devices, measurement devices, music, video, images, basically any industry. If you name any industry I can tell you how DSP could help or already does.
Lets continue Part 3 a little later I need some coffee.