Business Information A library handbook for the Business School 2013/2014 EDITION - TREFOREST

Image reproduced with permission © www.CartoonStock.com

© University of South Wales

Contents 1. Finding books & eBooks 2. Finding journal articles 3. Finding newspaper articles 4. Finding company & financial information 5. Finding industry & market information 6. Finding economic & country data

Appendices Appendix 1

Checklist for evaluating information

Appendix 2

Case study – „Job insecurity in Great Britain today: myth or reality?‟

Acknowledgements This guide has been inspired by the numerous business information literacy projects at Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom. Special thanks go to following members of the Business Librarians‟ Association (BLA): Andy Priestner, Information & Library Services Manager, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and Marion Kelt, Senior Librarian - Digital Development and Information Literacy, Glasgow Caledonian University. Finally, “Research methods for business students”, currently in its 6th edition, by Mark Saunders et al. has been a great source of information. Emma Harrison Information Librarian - Business School September 2012 (Revised July 2013)

Finding books & eBooks

“The best way to read” © 2011 http://www.flickr.com/photos/luizfilipe/ Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence

Key resources Access via Glamlife > Library > Library Catalogue



Printed books: Use the Library Catalogue to find books held at Treforest‟s Library and Student Centre and at other University of South Wales libraries (Cardiff, Glyntaff and Merthyr Tydfil College). You have the option to reserve any book that is not available at your location and collect it from the site of your choice.



Electronic books: Use the Library Catalogue to access all of our eBooks online. All eBooks will give you a direct link to connect.

Alternative resources Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > eBook Collections     

Dawsonera eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) Leisure Tourism Database MyiLibrary Oxford Reference Online

Dawsonera, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) and MyiLibrary contain popular and specialist business books, as well as some key textbooks from your reading lists. All text is fully searchable, and access is available any time of day, wherever you are in the world, as long as you have Internet access. Leisure Tourism Database provides access to nearly 100 electronic books published by CABI. Topics covered include leisure, tourism, sport and events, and there are no limits on copying, printing, sharing, etc. CABI regularly add new books as they are published, so this collection will continue to grow. Oxford Reference Online is useful for immediate access to online dictionaries, thesauri and other reference works published by Oxford University Press.

Finding journal articles

© 2011 University of South Wales

Key resources Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > eJournal Collections

 

Business Source Premier Emerald

First steps Business Source Premier allows you to search for journal articles from hundreds of scholarly, trade and professional journals, and provides full-text access to the majority of articles found. Emerald publishes scholarly journals that cover all aspects of business and management, and provides 100% full-text access to the content. Both databases allow you to search by topic, and also to set-up alerts for anything that interests you. Adding depth Other significant eJournal collections include: 



Leisure Tourism Database Relevant for event management, sport management, sports development and tourism students ProQuest Psychology Journals Particularly useful for full-text access to articles about business ethics and business psychology







ScienceDirect Includes full-text access to a collection of over 100 Elsevier journals about business, management and accounting Social Sciences Citation Index This is a multidisciplinary database with searchable abstracts covering the literature of the social sciences SPORTDiscus Relevant to sport management and sports development students

To search the list of all online journals subscribed to by the University of South Wales, go to Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find e-Journal. This list is particularly useful if you have heard about a journal article that you would like to read, but you are not sure where to look for the full-text. If you use Google Scholar, you should find direct links to the full-text of our e-Journals from your search results screen. In order to activate this, you will need to add „University of Glamorgan – FINDit at Glamorgan‟ and „University of South Wales – FullText via Swetswise‟ to Scholar Preferences > Library Links. Harvard Referencing

© 2011 University of South Wales

Go to Glamlife > Library > Harvard Referencing to download the latest guidance.

Finding newspaper articles

“Reading newspaper” © 2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/zandwacht/ Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence

Key resource Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > Newspaper Articles



UK Newsstand

First steps UK Newsstand provides full-text, archival access to the range of newspapers published in the United Kingdom. It covers broadsheets, tabloids and regional titles. Alternative resources Other significant newspaper collections include: 



LexisLibrary Although primarily a law database, access to newspaper archives is provided under the „News‟ tab Custom Newspaper Library Wales Particularly useful for finding Welsh newspapers

These collections cover similar titles to UK Newsstand, but the date ranges may differ slightly.

Finding company & financial information

“business chart showing success” © 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/ Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence

Key resources Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > Company Information

  

Marketline Company Profiles Authority Fame: detailed information on UK and Irish companies Key Note

What can these databases offer? Marketline Company Profiles Authority includes PEST and SWOT analyses and lists of competitors for over 10,000 of the world‟s leading companies. Fame allows you to find extensive data on all large companies in the United Kingdom & Ireland. Please note that information on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not included. You will be able to find information such as key financial ratios, mergers and acquisitions information, identify competitors in any market, and compile email lists for key personnel in any sector. Key Note provides a database of 7 million companies in the United Kingdom, using trusted data from Companies House. They also publish „Business Ratio Reports‟ that enable you to compare, contrast and analyse the financial performance of the leading companies in each market place. Employability Are you preparing for a job interview? If so, these sources should be a key part of your research. You can use these services to uncover latest company and industry news, analyse competitors and products, and find out more about key board members and personnel.

Finding industry & market information

“Virksomhedsbesøg” © 2012 http://www.flickr.com/photos/larsloekke/ Available under an Attribution-Noncommercia-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic licence

Key resources Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > Industry and Market Information

 

Key Note Mintel Oxygen Academic

First steps Key Note offers a vast range of market reports across every major industry in the United Kingdom, plus new and updated titles published every month. Mintel Oxygen Academic is a one-stop online platform, designed to give students and academics fast and easy access to the same market and consumer intelligence used by professionals around the world.

Adding Depth Frame your data by using industry profiles, SWOT analyses, product reviews, periodicals, trade publications and additional market research reports available on Business Source Premier, and by using newspaper articles found on UK Newsstand.

Finding economic & country data

“the world and I” © 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_jones/ Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence

Key resources Access via Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > Industry and Market Information

     

Business Source Premier Economic and Social Data Service Eurostat OECD Economic Surveys Office for National Statistics Welsh Government Statistics

What can these databases offer? Business Source Premier includes detailed country reports that give in-depth background information on the economic competitiveness of a given country. Economic and Social Data Service is a national data service providing access and support for an extensive range of key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines and themes. Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.

OECD Economic Surveys provide periodic reviews of OECD member and non-member economies, although the list is not comprehensive. Each survey gives a comprehensive analysis of developments in the subject country, and covers the key economic challenges being faced and recommendations for dealing with challenges. Office for National Statistics uses a combination of census, surveys and administrative sources to produce data about the United Kingdom. Statistics are organised by theme such as business, the economy, the labour market and population. Welsh Government Statistics are produced by Statistical Services in the Welsh Government, and provide independent official statistics to support decision-making, research and debate.

Appendix 1 Checklist for evaluating information Evaluating information is an important part of your research. You should evaluate all information found, regardless of whether you have found it during an Internet search, in a book or a journal article, or in a piece of information given to you by your lecturer. You need to decide whether the information is relevant to your needs and if it is of sound quality.

Relevance

Is the information comprehensive? Check the language used. Do you think it is aimed at students, academic researchers, or members of the public? Does it complement or contradict either your own knowledge or information you have found elsewhere?

Bias / viewpoint ▶noun 1. inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair: there was evidence of bias against black applicants | the bias towards younger people in recruitment. ■ a concentration on or interest in one particular area or subject: his work showed a discernible bias towards philosophy. ▶verb 1. cause to feel or show inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something: readers said the paper was biased towards the Conservatives | editors were biased against authors from provincial universities. Stevenson, A. (ed.) (2010) Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford Reference Online [Online]. Available at: http://www.oxfordreference.com/ (Accessed: 14 October 2011)

Bear in mind that all information has a purpose. Is that purpose to inform, persuade or entice? Has any information been intentionally or inadvertently excluded? Some publications fail to present all the facts or cover all perspectives, especially if it is a controversial topic. It is rare to find academics in complete agreement on a topic, so it is not always safe to rely on just one published source. If there are alternative views, demonstrate that you are aware of them and explain why you disagree. Does the author‟s viewpoint influence the content of the material? Is it a piece of information produced by a professional association that reflects the views of its members and could therefore be less objective? What kind of language is used? Academic information is normally written in an objective style using specific and unemotional language. If it is emotionally charged or contains illogical arguments, it may a clue that the information is biased or misrepresents the facts.

Reliability and validity

Information sources considered as most reliable are those produced under some form of editorial control. Scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals only contain articles that are reviewed and accepted by subject experts prior to publication. Reliable articles can also be published in professional association journals and reports, trade publications, magazines and newspapers. However, even if the publisher is reputable, there is no guarantee about quality. The only indication you have is that the publisher had a high enough regard for the work in order to publish it in the first place. Does the author have a good reputation? Do you know what their level of expertise is? Have you seen references to the information, or its author, in other items that were useful? A note about Wikipedia. You do not know the identity of the original authors of any entry, and absolutely anyone can make subsequent edits! Therefore, it is not regarded as an authoritative source of information. By all means use it to build your own knowledge of a topic, but it is highly advisable not to use it to back up an argument in an academic piece of work.

Currency

It is important to establish when information was published. Please note that this particularly difficult with websites found during an Internet search, unless the webmaster has not included a date on each web page. Depending on the topic you are researching, it may be necessary for you to choose a date range for the information you require. For example, if you need information about trends in the fast food industry, you may wish to look at 5 or 10 years worth of data. If you need ideas for predicting e-business trends, you will need to limit your search to the very latest information. You will need to make your own judgment about what date range to apply depending on your topic. Some information remains valid over time, whilst other information becomes discredited or obsolete. Ask yourself if a piece of information is likely to have been superseded.

Accuracy

You can try to determine whether data is accurate by establishing how it was compiled. If research findings are presented, is the research methodology explained clearly and look sufficient to support the argument? Is the work of others cited to support or refute arguments made? If so, are the references sufficiently detailed to allow for follow-up? This may be glossed over if the author has something to hide.

Appendix 2 Case study – ‘Job insecurity in Great Britain today: myth or reality?’ For his first university assignment, Adam needs to research job insecurity in contemporary Britain and discuss whether it is a myth or a reality. The first place Adam searches is the Internet because he knows from past experience that it is possible to find business information online. Adam searches Google for information about job insecurity in Britain today, but apart from one website and some newspaper articles, he finds far too many links to blogs, wikis, recruitment websites (about vacancies for jobs in security), and many other web listings that are not quite what is required for an academic assignment. Next Adam tries Google Scholar because it is known for containing scholarly information. This is more successful but the dates of many articles look too old to be about Britain today. After working out how he can alter the date range, Adam eventually finds a couple of interesting articles. However, he discovers that the full-text isn‟t always available to him and messages along the lines of “We do not have a current subscription for your institution for this item in our system... purchase access for $32.00” keep appearing. Adam then decides that, in order to save time and money, the library could be the place to look. Adam searches the Library Catalogue and selects a book and a DVD to provide the background to the concept of job insecurity. These are both useful to introduce some theory into his essay. Adam has found some good introductory resources, but he knows that he should draw on current research to demonstrate that he is aware of the academic literature on the topic. The next day Adam speaks to a librarian who recommends a database available via FINDit called Business Source Premier. He searches for “job insecurity”, using the quotation marks to search for the text as a phrase which will make his results more relevant. He refines his results to display only scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals, then by geography to display results from Great Britain only, and then sorts his results by date order. Many of the articles within Business Source Premier are available electronically, which means that he is able to obtain articles instantly. He also tries another database recommended by his lecturer called Emerald and discovers even more academic articles that are available in full-text. Adam is pleased with what he finds, and knows that he can now draw on a variety of sources to give his arguments in his essay depth and credibility. The references Adam used:  



„Age of uncertainty: 1955 - now‟ (2011) The British at Work, Episode 4. BBC Two Television, 16 June. Bryson, A., Cappellari, L. and Lucifora, C. (2009), 'Workers' perceptions of job insecurity: do job security guarantees work?', LABOUR: Review of Labour Economics & Industrial Relations, 23, pp. 177-196, Business Source Premier [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 14 October 2011). Burchell, B.J., Day, D., Hudson, M., Ladipo, D., Mankelow, R., Nolan, J.P., Reed, H., Wichert, I.C. and Wilkinson, F. (1999) Job insecurity and work intensification. Available at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/job-insecurity-and-work-intensification (Accessed: 13 October 2011).

 





Heery, E. and Salmon, J. (eds.) (2000) The insecure workforce. London: Routledge. Routledge Studies in Employment Relations. Nolan, J. (2008) „„Working to live, not living to work‟: an exploratory study of the relationship between men's work orientation and job insecurity in the UK‟, Gender, Work & Organization, 16(2), pp.179-197. Wiley Online Library [Online]. Available at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ (Accessed: 13 October 2011). Owen, J. (2011) „Families feel the pressure as the slump takes its toll‟, The Independent, 9 October [Online]. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-andfamilies/health-news/families-feel-the-pressure-as-the-slump-takes-its-toll-2367800.html (Accessed: 13 October 2011). Silla, I., Gracia, F.J., Mañas, M.A. and Peiró, J.M. (2010) „Job insecurity and employees' attitudes: the moderating role of fairness‟, International Journal of Manpower, 31(4), pp.449465. Emerald [Online]. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ (Accessed: 14 October 2011).

Search tools Adam used: Google, Google Scholar, Library Catalogue, Business Source Premier & Emerald