Inspec Archive

Inspec Archive enables discovery of fundamental engineering and technology content through the digitization of the entire Science Abstracts collection – it extends Inspec coverage by 70 years and adds over 873,000 additional records to the Inspec database.

From wireless power transfer to energy harvesting and fuel cells, the Science Abstracts series recorded the work of innovators of the past who laid the early groundwork for many of the hot topics in science and technology being developed today.

Help your research teams prepare innovative research based on solid foundations. Locate references to this historic research and the engineering breakthroughs of scientists and engineers including Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford and Marie Curie.

Not only does the Archive give access to the work of famous scientists, but it also gives access to the often-forgotten works (sometimes known as “sleeping beauties”) that may be of use in assessing the validity of current patents.  An idea suggested decades ago that did not develop then, may be of relevance today.

Access to historic content helps students and researchers understand how academic thought has changed over time and provides insights that can be applied to current endeavors:

• How does understanding foundational research put current knowledge into context?
• What insights can you gain from how a field has developed over the last century?
• Can you discover a forgotten work that shapes the future of research in your field?

Key features

• Fully searchable electronic access to over 873,000 records covering 70 years of international scientific literature from 1898-1968
• Includes both original and updated classifications and indexing to enable easy content discovery (updated indexing uses nearest equivalent current thesaurus terms and classification codes)
• Early records include longer, longer abstracts, varying in length from half a page to several pages and including diagrams and complex mathematical proofs (and often diagrams, graphs, or data tables)

Content size and sources*

The Inspec Archive includes 873,701 records spanning 70 years (1898-1968).

• Journal Articles: 838,920
• Conferences: 41,718
• Books: 6,318
• Reports: 1,905
• Dissertations: 847
• Patents: 43

*records can be classified as multiple content types

Purchase options

The Inspec Archive is available via a number of platforms to extend Inspec coverage and in a flexible range of pricing options including perpetual access through a one-off purchase.