In this paper,
we present a new approach to partial fraction decomposition of rational functions
with irreducible quadratic factors in the denominators
It improves the Heaviside’s cover-up technique to handle this type of problem via polynomial divisions
and substitutions only
with no need to solve for the complex roots of the irreducible quadratic polynomial involved
to use differentiation or to solve a system of linear equations
Some examples of its applications in engineering mathematics are included.