Page 7 - Electrical Engineering Dictionary

forthcoming Comprehensive Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Tech-
nology will include those terms.
Several other IEEE interest areas were not explicitly assigned to area editors. How-
ever, after discussing this fact with the Editorial Board, it was decided that relevant
terms of a general nature would be picked up and terms that were not tagged for the
dictionary from these areas were probably too esoteric to be included.
These interest areas encompass:
Aerospace and Electronic Systems Geosience and Remote Sensing
Education Industry Applications
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Nuclear and Plasma Science
Engineering Management Oceanic Engineering
Professional Communications Ultrasonic, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control
Social Implications of Technology Vehicular Technology
Given the Area Editor structure, constructing the dictionary then consisted of the
following steps:
1. Creating a terms list for each area
2. Defining terms
3. Cross-checking terms within areas
4. Cross-checking terms across areas
5. Compiling and proofing the terms and definitions
6. Reviewing compiled dictionary
7. Final proofreading

The first and most important task undertaken by the area editors was to develop a
list of terms to be defined. A terms list is a list of terms (without definitions), proper
names (such as important historical figures or companies), or acronyms relating to
Electrical Engineering. What went into each terms list was left to the discretion of the
area editor based on the recommendations of the contributing authors. However, lists
were to include all technical terms that relate to the area (and subareas). Technical
terms of a historical nature were only included if it was noted in the definition that
the term is “not used” in modern engineering or that the term is “historical” only.
Although the number of terms in each list varied somewhat, each area’s terms list
consisted of approximately 700 items.
Once the terms lists were created, they were merged and scrutinized for any obvious
omissions. These missing terms were then assigned to the appropriate area editor.
At this point the area editors and their contributing authors (there were 5 to 20
contributing authors per area) began the painstaking task of term definition. This
process took many months. Once all of the terms and their definitions were collected,
the process of converting, merging, and editing began.
The dictionary included contributions from almost 200 contributors from 17 coun-
tries. Although authors were provided with a set of guidelines to write terms def-
initions, they were free to exercise their own judgment and to use their own style.

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