Researching Comp Sci Topics

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Introduction Ever wonder what your profs do when they aren't teaching? Most of the time they are doing research and trying to publish their work in journals.

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What are journals

Professors and industry professionals write papers on research that they've been doing, and submit these papers to journals. These papers are then reviewed by their peers, and if deemed worthy are published in the journal. Journals, unlike mainstream magazines (like Wired or Popular Mechanics)are very topic specific, and promote discussion through articles that present new or contest existing research in its field. The small audience also means many of these journals are non-profit, only charging a subscription and selling advertisement space to pay for publishing costs. Individual subscriptions are much less than subscriptions held by academic institutions, which can be several thousands of dollars.

Online journal databases

In the internet era, journals are moving towards online publishing and subscriptions. Many journals now provide an online version of all the articles they publish in an online database. Subscribers search the database and download the articles they want, instead of having a magazine sent to their home or office.

How to access journals for free

As a student of the university, you can access these online databases for free through the library's proxy. All you need is a valid library account and internet access.

1. Get your library id (http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/help/help_my_library.html#what_idpin)
2. Go to the library's journal website http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/elibrary/index.shtml (must go through the library proxy to get free access to journals)
3. Search Databases by name (under A for ACM Digital Library or I for IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL))
4. Enter your library id and password
5. Search the online database