You'll know you are successful when you have found good credible research sources that help you accomplish your task
There are strategies you can use to make the process go more smoothly and they are discussed in this LibGuide.
A database is an online collection of resources - articles, eBooks, etc. Western Library has a complete list of databases for students that cover a broad range of topics and subjects, including several business databases.
Browse Western Library's A-Z Databases list linked below.
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Before you begin searching the Library Databases (for any topic), it's helpful to create a list of search terms. Search terms are keywords or phrases related to a topic.
Examples: Search Term List - keywords, variations, and alternate terms for business topics
| entrepreneur, entrepreneurship | "study skills" |
| "strategic management;" "hospitality management" | "time management" |
| business - organization, company, corporation | "critical thinking" |
| market, marketing; "segment marketing;" "target marketing" | "interpersonal skills" |
| accountant, auditor, comptroller, accounting, "cost accounting" | mindset |
| finance, financial affairs, banking, investment | "learning styles," "visual learner" |
| "professional development," "business skills," workplace AND skills | problem-solving |
| "human resources," HR, personnel | "nonverbal communication" |
| strategy, strategic, "strategic plan," "strategic planning" | teamwork |
| "customer service," "client service" | "lifelong OR self-directed learning" |
NOTE: If you find that your results are not as targeted as you'd hoped, try putting search terms that consist of 2 or more words in quotation marks. This directs the database to search the phrase rather than the separate words individually. Also, combine search terms using AND, OR.
Use the database Credo Reference to find definitions and explanations of business terms, and solid background information about business topics. Link to the database and a tutorial below.
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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.
MasterFILe Complete by EBSCO is a great database to use to find short articles on Professionalism topics like time management, self-development, professional skills, and jobs and careers. Login with your Western ID.
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) and Academic OneFile (Gale) are great databases to use to find scholarly articles from academic journals on time management or motivation studies and other deep-dive articles about studies related to industries, companies, and organizational structure. Login with your Western ID.
A giant database that covers a wide range of topics. Use it to find peer-reviewed scholarly articles, as well as articles from trade journals, newspapers, and magazines.
A great resource for writing assignments. Browse a wide list of subject categories from the database’s home page to find articles and information from scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, and multimedia. Content is provided in the fields of biology, chemistry, criminal justice, economics, environmental science, history, marketing, political science, psychology, and more. Includes Gale’s visual Topic Finder tool.
