Mechanical Engineering: Publishing & Data

LaTeX (pronounced Lay-tech or Lah-tech) is an excellent tool that can simplify your writing processes if you work with lots of equations or need more direct content management than MS Word.  Here are some resources to get you started:

• overleaf.com (sign up with your VT email address) - most popular online distribution of LaTeX, code and write anywhere plus collaborate with others

• latex-project.org - main site for LaTeX releases, development and how to get LaTeX

• ctan.org - Comprehensive TeX Archive network, find information about the 6,000+ packages available for LaTeX

• tex.stackexchange.com - community Q&A all about LaTeX, if you have a question, go here first!

• overleaf.com/learn - has everything from basic tutorials through details about commonly used packages (also check out their useful handouts on keyboard shortcuts and quick guide)

• Virginia Tech's Templates - Overleaf page with VT templates, including for theses and dissertations

If you are looking for more learning, be sure to catch a workshop (search for "latex") or watch a recording (materials in Github).  If you need one-on-one support, schedule a consultation or contact Dr. Sarah Over.

There are so many AI tools available today, but many are not suitable for academic and/or research applications...  In the Libraries we recommend assessing each tool when you use it for applicability to your research project!

This technology certainly has plenty of room to grow, so be sure to verify and validate your results when using it for technical applications (Why? See how ChatGPT can generate fake data).

Here are some AI options to get you started:

• Microsoft Copilot (previously Bing Chat): designed for many tasks including generating media, understanding topics, creating task lists and more, free at Virginia Tech, approved only for low-risk data (see link for details on access)

• Dimensions Research GPT: also powered by ChatGPT, uses Dimensions' database (broad research database with articles, data, clinical trials, patents and more) to provide answers to research questions and content links, VT subscription to Dimensions includes this add-on - sign up for Dimensions first using your VT email

• elicit.com: another academic-focused tool, can even upload papers to analyze, free and subscription options

• Perplexity.ai: works to give up to date information with sources from academic literature, news, websites and more, free and subscription options

• Research Rabbit: specializes in analyzing citations and helping users explore related publications, free

• SciSpace (typeset.io): designed to support reading research articles with connections to other papers, can search or ask a question with articles included to support answers, free and subscription options

• Undermind.ai: designed to be a personal research assistant for specific research topics, will walk you through asking a research question and provide curated results, free and subscription options

Be sure to check out our AI Guide for more info on AI (guides.lib.vt.edu/ai) and the great information from TLOS (tlos.vt.edu/resources/generative-ai.html)!

Starting a literature review?  Or not sure how to get started?  Try the handout below or follow these steps to start and finish your literature review:

1. Determine your topic and scope: what information are you seeking?  What about time frame (last 10 years, last 50)?

2. Identify databases and other places to search:

   • Use the recommended databases on this guide or others that are relevant to your topic

   • Google Scholar is fine, but be strategic: works the best for specific topics you know well, not broad topics

   • Anywhere else to search for other types of publications (reports, patents, etc.)? 

3. Develop your search strings (test and revise just like in engineering design):

   • Brainstorm key words for searching (can use AI to help for this step)

   • Write (type) out your search string using Booleans, quotes, indexed terms, etc (try our search strategy builder)

4. Save your results to a citation manager!  Either export in bulk or use a browser connector to save individual publications, and then organize with tags, folders, notes, and PDF markups (your future self will thank you).

5. Revise as needed for 1-4 based on results and project needs (reach out to Dr. Sarah Over for help)

6. Document your results!  Use your citation manager to cite as you write (or connect to Overleaf)

7. Present, publish and/or share your review!

What about Systematic Reviews, Scoping Reviews or other specialized review types?  Reach out to us for help or to partner on a joint review!  These projects are typically months long and require a team of 3 or more people when done in full (common for graduate students to do "rapid" version with just themselves).

Working on a thesis or dissertation?

• ETD Guide: covers electronic theses and dissertations at Virginia Tech, including LaTeX and Word templates (formatting tab)

Looking for example theses or dissertations?

• VTechWorks ETDs: VT's repository, includes 1997-present and some scans of pre-1997 theses and dissertations

• Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global: comprehensive database for worldwide theses and dissertations

• More ETD Databases: many databases have coverage of theses and dissertations as well

And remember...  A good thesis/dissertation is a done thesis/dissertation!  Work towards completion, not perfection and when you need help, use the resources available like us in the libraries and the Writing Center.

No matter what type of research output you have produced, think about how to share it with your global research community!  Besides conventional journal articles and conference proceedings there are many, many other options out there including:

• VTechWorks: Virginia Tech's Open Access repository for publications of any type (including preprints - can also deposit in places like engrxiv)

• Virginia Tech Data Repository: through Figshare, Virginia Tech provides this repository for any type of data (you will receive a DOI) - great for journals that require your data to be accessible

• GitHub: share your code, websites and more through GitHub - just make sure to assign a license to your work

• OSF (Open Science Framework): create projects, manage files and more to share with others - designed for researchers

Not sure about your research output?  Have something unique that does not fit these types of repositories?  Ask Dr. Sarah Over for help or reach out via any of the links above to folks who run those sites.

There are also tools to help with research impact and intelligence, which are great whether you are hunting for a job, looking for information on candidates, learning about a company's research strengths and more.  Try the resources below or reach out to Dr. Sarah Over to learn more!