If you are asked to find your own dataset to use for a BDAN project, the resources in this box and the box below can help you. All are reputable sources with vetted data. Contact your librarian (shown on the right) if you need help navigating any of them.
Contains social science research data files for use with statistical software, such as SAS or SPSS. Users must create an individual account to access data. Getting Started Using ICPSR (WKU Guide)
For more comprehensive information about how to find company and industry data, please visit the Library guides on Industry Research and Company Research.
A patent is the intellectual property right granted by the U.S. Government to an inventor "to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the U.S. or importing the invention into the U.S." for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted. In most cases, this is twenty years from the date of application. In some situations, the term of the patent may be extended due to delays in the processing of the application. After the patent has expired, the invention becomes public domain. In addition, patent owners must pay a maintenance fee at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after issue or else the patent will expire.
See "How to Read a U.S. Patent" from Queen's University Library for a detailed description of the sections of a U.S. patent.
Content written by Paula C Johnson (Engineering Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries) in the Intellectual Property & Patents research guide. Current as of 26 Apr 2023.
Utility patent: Describes a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or useful improvement thereof (i.e. what something does)
Design patent: A new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture (i.e. how something looks)
Plant patent: Describes an asexually reproduced distinct and new variety of plant (e.g. ‘NuMex Heritage 6-4’ New Mexican Chile Pepper)
Content written by Paula C Johnson (Engineering Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries) in the Intellectual Property & Patents research guide. Current as of 26 Apr 2023.
You can begin your search the following way:
Content written by Paula C Johnson (Engineering Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries) in the Intellectual Property & Patents research guide. Current as of 26 Apr 2023.
You have an idea for an invention — or have gone so far as to create a prototype. Before marketing your invention, you will need to determine if your invention has already been patented. To do this, conduct a thorough patent search. This will usually involve searching a number of different patent sites, so it's useful to keep a log of all your search activity to avoid duplicate efforts.
See General Information Concerning Patents and Patent Process Overview for more information.
Content written by Paula C Johnson (Engineering Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries) in the Intellectual Property & Patents research guide. Current as of 26 Apr 2023.
In addition to the reference, substance, reaction and supplier content found in CAS SciFinder®, CAS SciFinder-n includes relevance-ranked results, step-by-step procedures and protocols, citation mapping, biosequence searching, retrosynthetic analysis, patent landscape mapping, touch-screen enabled structure drawing and much more—all accessible in a simple, easy-to-use interface.
WKU users must first create an account ON CAMPUS by clicking here to register. Once you have established a username and password, you can log in to SciFinder-n (CAS).
Technical reports describe the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research. Include in-depth experimental details, data, and results.
Technical reports are usually produced to report on a specific research need. They can serve as a report of accountability to the organization funding the research. They provides access to the information before it is published elsewhere.
Technical Reports are usually not peer-reviewed. They need to be evaluated on how the problem, research method, and results are described.
Content written by Paul McMonigle (Engineering Instruction Librarian, Penn State University Libraries) in the Technical Reports research guide. Current as of 26 Apr 2023.
