LibGuides: Writing for Engineering 119 (Bultena): Standards

Standards: Definition & Examples

Standard: aka industry standards, consensus standards

a document outlining specifications or characteristics for products or processes
purposes include ensuring compatibility, interoperability, and safety protections
approved by an organization/association/standardization body e.g. a technical committee.
established by consensus

Standard: defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) The ISO publishes standards for areas related to technology and business.

Standard: defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Example of a Standard: IEEE Recommended Practice for Radar Cross-Section Test Procedures (available in IEEE Xplore)

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO develops and publishes international standards

comprised of 160+ national standards bodies
numerous technical committees (TCs)
over 22,000 standards
standards can be superseded (historical) or active (current)

ISO Online Browsing Platform

select Standards
Sample search: sensor tractors

Standards Catalogue

Browse by ICS or TC
Search (upper right) for standards, news, or documents

ICS = International Classification for Standards

hierachical classification
managed by ISO
Level 1: 40 fields of activity (2 digits)
Level 2: 392 more group (3 digits)
Level 3: 090 sub-groups [for less than have of Level 2 groups] (2 digits)

TC = Technical Committee

News in ISO will often connect to a specific technical committee or standard.

About ISO and Benefits of Standards

Standards - Finding

IEEE Xplore Digital Library This link opens in a new window
1913 - present. Full-text access to publications from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and from the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). To access standards, click Advanced Search. Scroll down to Content Types and select Standards.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) Recommendations
standards related to telecommunication networks, information and communication; scroll down to navigate to a series
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
ability to search for standards from ANSI, ISO, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials); full-text is NOT included; could try UC Library Search to locate / request a standard
Annual Book of ASTM Standards
print standards available at UC Merced; see UC Library Search for call # location

ASTM Compass This link opens in a new window
Limited number of standards. See ISO under Other Content. See this list.

International Standard (keyword search)
Search UC Library Search and filter to UC Merced only to discover holdings available at UC Merced.

Engineering Handbooks

Knovel Library This link opens in a new window
This reference collection of almost 900 titles includes books from 30 Sci-Tech publishers. The main subject areas include Engineering, Life Sciences & Chemistry, and Materials. All titles are available in full-text and are searchable. Additional features include interactive tables, equation plotters and graph digitizers.

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Writing for Engineering 119 (Bultena)

Standards: Definition & Examples

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Standards - Finding

Journal - focus on standardization

Engineering Handbooks