Gillian (Jill) D. Ellern

Systems Librarian/Computer Science Liaison
Email:  ellern@email.wcu.edu
Phone:  828-227-3746   
Office:  102B1 Hunter Library

This research guide serves as a starting point for general computer science research. Computer Science is the study of computation.  It is a very broad discipline that involves the study of many diverse topics including computers. Study in computer science can range from mathematical work aimed at understanding the theoretical and practical limits of what can be computed, to experimental work aimed at understanding the functioning of existing computing languages and systems, to design work aimed at building algorithms and computer systems that help people solve problems.

At WCU, Computer Science is a distinct field of study from Electronic and Computer Engineering Technology (the study of how the computer hardware works), the minor in Telecommunications (the study of how computers can be connected to each other), and Business Computer Information Systems (the use of computers in a corporate environment).  While computer science students learn about the fundamentals of each of these fields, they study only as much as needed to understand how computer software works.

You can use the Find Books/Media link to direct you to a page about searching and browsing the library catalog and to find links to topics covered by computer science courses.  The Find Articles link will help you figure out how to search and browse our databases and electronic journals and it takes you to a list of the “best” databases for computer science.

While the Internet has an overabundance of excellent websites on computer science topics, too numerous to list, this research guide attempts to concentrate on a few websites specifically targeting on topics covered in individual courses at WCU.