Course Number: BU121
Subject: Business
This guide will help you research and gather further evidence to support your discussion in your Critical Thinking Report for BU121. Along with links to key databases, this guide will include how-to tutorials for key resources.
Finding Business Articles
When gathering evidence to support your ideas in a report of this nature, one of your best bets will be Business Articles. These resources can give you excellent analysis and insight into the question of corporations and some of the issues they face today. Further you might find good examples to illustrate your points or ideas.
The following databases allow you to search a number of different online journals and other resources through one search engine. You may find full-text articles, reports, and other resources on your topic.
Combined search of ABI/Inform Global, ABI/Inform Trade and Industry, ProQuest Asian Business and Reference, ProQuest Entrepreneurship, and more. These databases contain citations and abstracts for business and management publications, including scholarly, trade, popular, and news titles, many of which are available in full-text or full-image. This resource also incorporates industry, company, and market-focused reports.
Search with keywords related to your research. You may limit your search to full text and filter by subject, geography, date, etc. located on the left side of the search results page. For search tips to use this database platform effectively see ABI Inform LibGuide.
A comprehensive database, with citations and full-text content, for leading business journals including scholarly, trade, popular, and news titles. Also includes company profiles, industry reports, market research reports, SWOT analyses, PEST/PESTLE analyses, and other information.
Search with keywords related to your research. On the search results page, click on Subject: Thesaurus Terms on the left side to filter your search by subject. You may also limit your search to full text and filter by geography, date, etc. located on the left side of the search results page.
This collection includes databases which contain citations and abstracts for business and management publications, many of which are available in full-text or full-image. It incorporates management, industry and company-specific information of both a practical and theoretical nature.
TIP: To access "Hoover's Company Records", click on Browse, then Company Reports under Business. You can then search or browse the list.
A single-access search gateway to the full text of online journals published by several major academic journal publishers (Wiley InterScience, Springer Verlag, Kluwer, Elsevier Science, American Chemical Society, and the former Academic Press).
Search with keywords related to your research. Click the link to subject terms below an article title to find more articles grouped under a specific subject quickly.
A reputable full-text resource with news and business information drawn from worldwide sources, including Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and the KW Record. It also includes many full text articles from magazines and scholarly journals in all subject areas. Consult the Factiva LibGuide for search tips.
Provides full-text documents for international news, business, legal research, and key people in the news. Documents include newspapers, news transcripts, magazines, newsletters, company and financial reports, legal documents, medical resources, biographical information, American patents. To browse for articles from a specific publication, news and business topic, industry, or area of law choose "Sources" from the top menu.
Company Profiles
Note: If you wish to use company examples in your evidence, here are guidelines for private and public company information
Private Companies
Information on private companies is limited. You may find a profile, contact information, senior executives, brief business description, date of incorporation, and sometimes broad annual sales/revenue estimates that are self-reported.
Possible information sources on private companies can include:
Also, don't forget to look at the company’s website, which can give you a great deal of information about your company.
Public Companies
Information on public companies is considerable and includes everything from company profiles and history to financial statements, recent developments, and much more.
Finding profiles and financials of public companies using the following key databases:
Provides annual reports and company financials - i.e. income statements, cash flow statements. To run a company search, select the "Company Financials" tab > from the drop-down menu, select "Balance Sheet", "Income Statement", "Retained Earnings", "Cash Flow" or "All Sections" > click "Refresh". Adjust date range if needed. The data can be downloaded into Excel format.
Enter company name in search box > select "Companies" from drop-down menu.
Enter company name under the "Get Company Info" search then click "Go".
Includes financial information such as balance sheets and cash flow. Select "Companies/Markets" > "Company" and enter a company name or symbol. Select "Financial Results" to choose various financial statements for the company in question.
Click on the "Companies" tab at the top of the screen and click "Companies" under the Search Profiles subheading.
Citing Sources
The resources below will help you create and use citations in your report effectively and correctly.
The Laurier Library provides guidance on citing in different styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and by subject including government publications and data and statistics. You may watch a tutorial on how to cite.
Developed by business librarians at Bronfman Business Library at York University, this guide puts together great examples on citing business resources including books, articles, industry reports, company reports, analyst reports from databases.