Handbooks & Reference Material - ME 438 - Physical Metallurgy - Research Guides at New Jersey Institute of Technology

Why use handbooks?

Handbooks are trusted and reliable sources of many kinds of information that practicing engineers need to have "on hand." Many have been around for generations and are now available online.

Handbooks provide information such as:

Material properties (elasticity, density, types of strength…) under various conditions
Introductory materials
Data/Tables/Figures
References
Definitions
Formulae

Handbooks at NJIT Libraries == Best Bets

ASM Handbooks Online
Alternate Name(s): American Society for Metals Information
Provides convenient access to the world's largest collection of information and data on the composition, structure, properties, processing, performance, and evaluation of engineering materials.
AccessEngineering from McGraw-Hill
An engineering reference and teaching platform that delivers interdisciplinary engineering content integrated with analytical teaching and learning tools.
Knovel Handbooks - Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
Notice: this database is not being renewed, and the current subscription will end on 2/28/2026.

Full-text access is available to the chemistry and chemical engineering subset of Knovel Handbooks, offering searchable data sets, reference works, and tools in science and engineering. Features include data search by physical and thermal properties, interactive charts and graphs, an Excel add-in, and unit converters.

Citing handbooks

How do you cite a handbook in APA style?

Information from handbooks are often cited as a chapter from an edited book in APA Style

The information you need to include (if available) Is the following:

Author(s) of the chapter
Date of publication of the chapter
Title of the chapter
Editor(s) of the book
Title of the book
Chapter page numbers (e.g., 25-39)
Publisher
Either a DOI or URL if you are using an electronic resources

Examples of citations from handbooks using APA Style:

Chapter in a multivolume edited handbook:

Destefani, J. (1990). Introduction to Titanium and Titanium Alloys. In ASM Handbook Committee (Eds.), Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Material. ASM International. https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v02.a0001080

Chapter in a single volume handbook:

Peters, S. (2002). Composite Materials and Processes. In C. Harper (Ed.) Handbook of Plastics, Elastomers, and Composites. McGraw-Hill.

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/njit.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.accessengineeringlibrary.com%2Fcontent%2Fbook%2F9780071384766%2Fchapter%2Fchapter4

See these resources for more information and examples:

Chapter in an edited book/Ebook References. from the APA

Missing Information for References from the APA