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BUSI 1301 - Company Research Project

Starting point for research for the Company Research Project for BUSI 1301: Business Principles

Finding Information

Searching Gale Business InsightsSearching the Wall Street JournalSearching Other DatabasesSearching Company Websites

Evaluating Information

Always evaluate your sources! Who? What? Where? When? Why?

There is a lot of great information available online, but it is often mixed in with the not as credible information. When looking for information for an assignment, remember to think about the 5 w's:

Who- Who created that information? What do we know about them and why do we trust them?

What- What does the information tell you about your topic? Does it answer your research question?

Where- Where did the information come from? Does the author give their sources?

When- When was the information created? When was it last updated?

Why- Why was the information created? To inform and educate? To sell? To persuade you to think a certain way?

Types of Information Available in Databases

Types of Information Available in Databases:

 

Journal Articles: 

Peer-reviewed journals are written by academic experts in business topics (MBA's, PhD's) and reviewed by other experts in the field. Might focus on a topic overall, or may be a case study on a particular business.

Examples: Business History, Human Resource Management, Marketing Science

Trade Journal Articles: 

Trade journals are highly specialized publications written by people working in or academically involved in a particular industry. They often provide in-depth information on trends, new products and other topics of interest to people working in that industry. Some are peer-reviewed, and some are not. 

Examples: Marketing Business Weekly, Houston Business Journal, Research Technology Management

Newspaper Articles: 

Newspapers are written by journalists and are published frequently. They are not peer-reviewed. They report on current events and have up to date information. 

Examples: The Financial Times, Business Insider,  Wall Street Journal

Magazine Articles: 

A published periodical that contains a collections of texts such as essays, articles and stories. They are not generally peer-reviewed, and are written mostly by journalists. 

Examples: Business Quarterly, Harvard Business Review, Time

E-books: 

Full text of digitized books. Search for books on your company or information on the related industry or people.

Collections: EBSCO eBook Collection, ProQuest Ebook Central