INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS RESEARCH WORKSHOP
SUMMER SEMESTER 2007
LIBRARIAN: Dr. Darlene Ann Parrish
The selected electronic resources listed below are useful for conducting business
research, such as finding articles on various business topics and finding
information on companies and the industries in which they operate.
ELECTRONIC DATABASES
Electronic databases are available from the FAU Libraries home page at
(http://www.fau.edu/library) by selecting “Indexes/Databases"
under the heading "Quick Links." When accessing the databases remotely,
be sure to select the link entitled "Off
Campus Connect" for the “EZproxy” server.
ABI/INFORM
Dateline
Contains information on local and regional business news topics, public
and privately held companies, and industries, and is especially useful
when searching for information on small private companies.
ABI/INFORM Complete
Gives references to journal articles on companies, industries and human
resource management issues from several ABI/INFORM databases including
Dateline, Global, Archive and Trade & Industry. It contains some full text
articles.
Business & Company
Resource Center
This is an excellent starting point for conducting a SWOT analysis of a
company. This database includes detailed information about public and
private companies,
such as the history and financial data. There is also a list of articles
on legal and management issues.
CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)
This authoritative source is useful for
research on international affairs and current political and
economic developments around the world. It contains
articles and case studies that can be found in scholarly
journals, working papers and books.
Country Commerce (EIU) The focus of this database is to
provide practical information on commercial laws and
business regulations for 50 countries around the world in a
full text format. It is especially useful for
information on starting businesses in other countries.
Country Watch This comprehensive database gives
access to reports on 192 countries around the world that provide political,
economic, social and environmental analyses.
Global Market Information Database (GMID) This is an excellent resource for
finding statistics on consumers and markets in 207
countries. Additionally, information on market
profiles and retailing is available.
Hoover’s Company Capsules & Profiles
Provides basic facts on 15,000 companies including some private companies.
The names of the “top competitors” and any rankings (i.e.
S&P 500) are also given.
LEXIS-NEXIS Academic
Includes current articles from newspapers, magazines and journals in the “Business
News” section of this database. Most effective way of searching is
by typing in company name or keywords in the “Headline.”
This database is also useful for finding information about private companies
by selecting "General" and then "U.S. News" and the specific region of the
country.
MarketLine Business Information Centre (MBIC)
This database
is especially useful for finding information on global issues that would impact
companies. It gives access to current business information about companies
(including those that are foreign owned) and industries in 50 countries.
Mergent Online
Provides detailed financial information on
public companies. Comparisons can be made with
top competitors within an industry. Also included in
the database are the SEC filings (EDGAR),
including the 10K reports, which can be searched by company
name.
Newsbank
"Access World News" provides access to articles in national, regional and local newspapers.
Plunket Research
The most useful feature of this database is the access to reports dealing
with “Marketing Research and Trends.” These reports include
information on domestic and international markets for various industries.
Another useful feature is the glossary of business terms.
ProQuest Newspapers
In addition to the Wall Street Journal, this resource gives access to articles
in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.
Standard & Poor’s (S & P)
Netadvantage
Provides reports on companies and the industries in which they operate.
Industry information includes industry trends, company rankings within an industry,
and industry statistics.
Wall
Street Journal 1984-Present
Provides full text access to articles, which can be searched by company
name or keywords.
WEB SITES
EDGAR Database of Corporate Information (SEC)
This is the official WEB site of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The latest and historical filings can be located by selecting the link “Search
for Company Filings.”
EVALUATING INFORMATION
If you are not using one of the “Electronic Databases” listed
above or other databases via the FAU
Libraries Electronic Collection, you
need to consider some of the following questions when evaluating information
from the Internet:
1. How authoritative is the source of the information?
2. How accurate is the information?
3. How reliable is the information?
4. How current is the information?
5. How relevant is the information to my topic?
CITING REFERENCES
BF76.7.P83 2001 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
5th ed. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2001.
APA Style Electronic Formats
