LibGuides: Business Research (General): Getting Started: Finding Business Information

Quick Steps to Finding Business Information

Choose Your Topic
- Decide what you want to learn more about
- OR start with some aspect of an assigned topic
Find Background Information about your topic
- Use Credo Reference (Library Database)
Find Specific Information about your topic
- Use business databases like Business: Insights (Gale)
- financial information, business strategies,
- company or industry information

For more in-depth information about business research see the boxes below.

Credo Reference
Use this database to understand basic concepts taught in your courses. It's also a great database for the first step in your research process. It contains short articles from encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and other reference sources on a wide range of subjects. Get started on your assignment or research project by learning about key people, places, dates, events, concepts, and ideas related to your topic.
Business: Insights (Gale)
A business research database that provides tools for finding information about industries and companies including their histories, SWOT analyses, investment, financial and market share reports, and industry essays. Access comparison charts and case studies to learn practical business skills and decision-making strategies. Find current news, statistical data, and in-depth reports. Set up searches by country, state, city, SIC and NAICS codes, revenue, and number of employees.

explore multiple sources to find out what information has been published about your topic
- skim and scan the article - look for facts you can use (size of company, revenue, demographic, etc.)
- jot them down along with the title and database (you'll need it later
discover what you don't know and what you need to learn
identify key facts, details, and concepts that relate to your topic
evaluate the credibility of the information
analyze if the information is useful and how you might use it
synthesize (bring together) the pieces information to complete your assignment or project

Step 1: choose a topic interesting to you
Step 2: make a list of search terms related to your topic
Step 3: find background information - use Credo Reference database
- definitions and concepts (business management, entrepreneurship, etc.) and
- basic facts/ideas (key people, business types, names, dates/timelines, places, history, etc
- use background information to identify an area you want to focus on
- identify new search terms based on what you learn
  - write it down so you remember it
Step 4: look for detailed research about your business topic
- scholarly articles, data, statistics
  - database: MasterFILE Complete (magazine and newspaper articles)
  - database: Business Insights (Fortune 100 company data and information)
  - database: Academic Search Premier (scholarly/peer-reviewed articles)
Step 5: evaluate your articles by asking:
- is the article useful for your assignment?
- is the information up-to-date based on your topic?
- is the author qualified to write about your topic?
- did you verify the information with other sources?
- is the article factual and unbiased?
- is the purpose of the article to educate? inform?
- is it written for your reader?
Step 6: combine what you already knew about your topic with the new knowledge you learned during the research process