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Standards

Definition: Standards may be defined as documented, sanctioned or approved agreements. These documents serve as examples giving precise criteria for consistent use, as rules or guidelines, to ensure that any given material, product or service fulfills its purpose effectively. Standards provide reference points against which similar matters may be compared and measured.

Online sources of Standards

Scope: information and links to online sources of various Standards and Standard bodies. Often organisations' catalogues can be searched and sometimes the full text of standards is available.

Acronym Organisation Notes
AAMI Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
  • information on medical instrumentation and technology, and relevant national and international standards
  • browse Standards available in PDF, or use the 'Search Standards' link for a guided search screen
  • results include price, abstract and a preview of PDF documents
  • also included, via the 'Standards Development' link, is information about active ISO, IEC and AAMI standards projects and other technical committee news
  • via the 'Resources link', 'Hot Topics' provides information on subjects in the news that are important to the industry
ANSI American National Standards Institute
  • select the 'eStandards Store' link
  • options include searching for a particular standard by Standards number or keyword; browsing ISO, IEC and other standards collections; or reviewing new standards and products
  • results give number, title, abstract, file size and price
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials Note: the library holds a number of print sets of Annual book of ASTM standards
  • select the 'Standards' option at the top of the list on the left. Search by number or keywords, browse by subject area or browse the alphanumeric listing.
  • results will give an exact name and scope note for each matching standard along with subject notes
  • cost (US dollars) and ordering information are provided; standards, in PDF format, may be downloaded using credit card facilities
  • ASTM standards [Printed] are available in the standards collection of the Hargrave-Andrew Library at: 600.78 A512
BSI British Standards Institution Note: register (free) to view summaries of documents.
  • choose 'Search Standards Catalogue' from the list on the left
  • you may conduct a simple search, using the BSI number, via the search box on the left of this screen
  • if you have already registered, use the 'Log In' tab on the left. First time users should register via the Login option on the right
  • for more complex searches (keyword, number, title, ISO equivalent, etc), click the 'Search' tab
  • Results give number, title, status and price. If you have registered, selecting an individual standard (i) will give more detail
  • log-off when you have finished searching
  • help is available with searching
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
  • Choose the 'IEC Web Store' icon on left of screen, and then the 'Search and Buy Standards Online' link
  • You may search by number, terms or various other criteria
  • Following the links will give, prices, abstracts, history, committees, etc
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc
  • to search IEEE Standards, click on the 'Standards' tab at the top of the screen.
  • select the 'Find a Standard' link from the box on the right of the screen.
  • select the 'Search for IEEE Standards products at ShopIEEE' option
  • you have the option of searching by keywords, or by standard number
  • limit your search to Standards by ticking the box at the bottom of the screen
  • Monash staff and students may obtain full text standards via IEEE Xplore (IEEE/IEE Electronic Library (IEL) Online)
ISO International Organization for Standardization
  • the ISO site gives a number of alternative methods of searching for standards or other publications
  • the most comprehensive searches may be conducted from the 'Extended Search' icon on the top right of the page
  • select the ? to the left of the 'Extended Search' link for help on searching
  • results give name of standard, its number and year of publication, language and descriptors. Some abstracts are available for more recently published Standards
  • includes links to ISO members
  • ISO standards may also be searched via Standards On-line Premium (Monash only). Requests may be made for ISO standards to be 'unlocked'
ITU International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication Standardization Sector
NISO National Information Standards Organization
  • select the NISO Standards link on the left of the page
  • use the options listed under 'Navigate the Standards' to browse standards by category, subject area or number.
  • PDF's may be downloaded for free, and hard copies may be purchased.
SA Standards Australia International Ltd. Note: Monash staff and students may access the full text of Australian Standards via Standards on-line premium. Standards may be searched by number or keyword. This collection is updated weekly. The full text PDF of standards may be viewed, printed or saved. When using 'Standards On-line Premium' you are urged to:
  • note the licence and copyright conditions; and
  • 'logoff' when you have completed your task. This is a two step process
  • there are a number of alternative methods to search for Australian, ISO and IEC standards from the initial Standards Australia page.
    • using the 'Search Product Catalogue' options will allow you to search by number, keywords, or lead you to the 'Power Search' facility
    • when results are displayed, clicking on the title will give summary information including price and status
    • standards may then be downloaded or a hardcopy ordered for a fee from Standards Australia
SAE Society of Automotive Engineers Note: the SAE Handbook is held in the Hargrave-Andrew Library
  • use the search box in the centre of the screen to search the entire SAE site for all SAE's publications including standards and specifications
  • use the 'Advanced Search' option to conduct more precise searches
  • when searching for a standard by number include the prefix without any spaces or punctuation (eg J1674 not J-1674 or AIR1815 not AIR 1815)
  • each result will give the document number, date, title, issuing committee, scope, file size and price. Information on ordering and method of delivery (post, fax or download) is also given
  • select the Standards link under the SAE store will allow you to browse Standards by category or subject
SNZ Standards New Zealand
  • use the Search option on the right hand side of the screen to search for Standards by name, keyword or number, (prefixes are not required)
  • results will list matching standards indicating if they are available in PDF or print format. Price is also given
  • clicking on individual titles will give additional information (if available), including number of pages and an abstract
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  • the entire UNESCO site may be searched from the first page. However, items of a 'standard' nature may be found under the Legal Instruments section.
  • the Documentation Resources section offers an effective Advanced Search option to search UNESCO documents and publications.
WHO-OMS World Health Organization
  • the entire suite of WHO pages may be searched using the 'Search' box at the top of the page.
  • results vary depending on the type of document retrieved, e.g. publication, report or recommendation.
  • the Search option in the list at the left of the page offers a range of options for limiting a search, e.g. the subject option will give access to a listing of documents relating to Pharmaceuticals.
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
  • covers various aspects of intellectual property from copyright to patents at the international level
  • use the 'Resources' link on the top bar, or those in the box on the left, to locate information

Related information:

  • IHS Australia (Information Handling Services Group Australia) - major vendor of Australian and other standards
  • NSSN (National Resource for Global Standards), produced by ANSI - bibliographic information for over 225,000 international and national standards (U.S. focus)
  • WSSN (World Standards Services Network) - entry point to a network of WWW servers of worldwide standards organizations; also contains information about standards and standardization

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