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Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Welcome Guide : Research Support

Support for the Research Process

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In addition to our collections, UW-Madison Libraries provide support for all steps in your research process, from the planning stages through publication, archiving your output, and maximizing your scholarly impact.

Visit our Research Support page to learn more!

Graduate Research: the Big Picture

Want to learn more about the research process on a graduate level and how UW Libraries can assist? 

 

Take the Graduate Research Library Micro-Course

Micro-courses are short non-graded courses that you complete at your own pace. This micro-course introduces you to resources and services that can help you conduct your research efficiently, engage with scholarly conversations in your field, and share your contributions with the world.

 

Research Support

UW-Madison librarians provide support for all steps in your research process, from the planning stages through publication, archiving your output, and maximizing your scholarly impact. 

Using Standards in Your Design Process

""Standards are established norms or requirements, usually described in a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes, and practices. Searching standards during design can help you to:

  • Identify design constraints from best practices established by experts in the industry
  • Comply with laws that specify design and testing criteria
  • Reduce your product liability risk by not complying with best practices and/or laws
  • Budget for certification testing that may be required or can improve your market position.

UW Libraries owns or subscribes to standards from many standards-producing organizations.

Refer to our Standards research guide to learn more about our standards holdings. 

Need a specific standard that we don't own? Request that we purchase it on your behalf. 

Research and Design with Patents

""Patents are an important part of the business and legal landscape surrounding science and engineering research and an invaluable information resource in the design process. UW-Madison Libraries' Patent & Trademark Resource Center can assist with general questions on the patent process and can provide an introduction to patent searching. 

Industry and Market Research

""UW Libraries has a large number of databases and other resources dedicated to industry and market information. Get to know them with the following research guides: 

For expert assistance with these databases, contact a business librarian. 

UW-Madison Research Data Services (RDS) Resources

""UW-Madison Research Data Services (RDS) can help you learn how to efficiently curate and share your data and code. RDS is an interdisciplinary organization committed to advancing research data management practice on the UW-Madison campus, with a focus on providing researchers with the tools and resources that support their efforts to store, analyze, and share data.

Additional data services resources:

Creating and Managing your ORCID ID

""  It is free and easy to sign up for an ORCID ID. An increasing number of publishers are requiring you to have an ORCID ID in order to submit your manuscript. Even if an ORCID ID is not required, there are many reasons to create one:

  • Reliably connects you with your contributions and affiliations
  • Saves you time – “enter once, re-use often”
  • Improves recognition for you and your research outputs
  • Alleviates mistaken identity

This site provides guidance for UW-Madison researchers in creating and maintaining an ORCID ID: