Business Databases: Tutorials

What are library databases?

• Databases compile and provide access to digital versions of:
  • newspapers
  • magazines
  • scholarly/academic journals 
  • encyclopedias
  • data and statistics
  • business reports
  • video 
• Available 24/7

How do Western databases work?

• Choose a database
  • On campus? - Begin searching
  • Off campus? - Login with your Western ID
• Type your search term or phrase into the search box to bring up a list of articles, audio clips, videos, eBooks, etc.
• Filter your results by full-text, publication date, content type, etc. 
• Use the helpful database features:
  • Email | Download | Print an article to keep track of the resource physically or digitally
  • Share by copying and pasting the article's permalink
  • Save the article to a cloud-based service (Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive)
  • Cite the source with built in citation generators
    • Choose your preferred citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).
    • Double-check that the citation format and content is correct.

Why should I use a database instead of the Web?

Searching use keywords and keyword phrases

Your search results will only be as good as your chosen keywords and combination of keywords and keyword phrases. Below are some tips on how to generate useful search terms, as well as some business-related examples.

• Create a list of search terms related to your assignment or research goals
• Continually add to your list as you gather more information about a topic from assigned readings or research
• Consider different versions of a word(s) and different combinations of terms 

Business Keyword Examples:

• Business; business model; business structure; small business; micro-business
• Company; corporation
• Customer segments; customer development; customer management; consumer
• Distribution channels; indirect channel; direct channel
• Entrepreneur; entrepreneurship
• Fixed costs; variable costs
• Management; manager; operations management; project management; strategic management
• Mass market; niche market; target market; market segments
• Personnel; employee; staff
• Product; services
• Profit; profit margin
• Revenue stream
• SWOT, SWOT analysis
• Value; value proposition

This video below introduces basic and advanced search, strategies for developing a search, and some general research tips.

Basic and Advanced Searching

Basic Searching

At different stages in your search for information you will use different search strategies. When you're brainstorming to see what is out there, do a basic search. Enter a single word or a short phrase about your topic into the database's search box. Keep it simple: "pandemic," "college education."

Skim the list of articles that appear. Are there a lot of articles on your topic idea or just a few? How hard will it be to thoroughly research and write about this topic? If there are just a few you may want to choose different search terms. Look at your notes from the encyclopedia databases for ideas. If you still get too few results, you might want to change your topic. You're only at Step 2 in the research process so there's still time.

Advanced Searching

If you are looking for more detailed information about your topic, try one of these advanced search strategies.

• Put quotation marks " " around a phrase - "college education." This forces the database to search for the phrase "college education," not the words "college" and "education" separately.
• Put an asterisk (*), or truncator, at the end of a word will search for everything that begins with that group of letters in most databases
  • Example: comput* will return all words starting with four letters; computing, computer, compute, etc.  
• You can also try a question mark (?) within a word to include multiple spellings
  • Example: wom?n will find both woman and women.
• Focus your search by using Boolean operators; AND, OR,  NOT
  • Example: pets AND cats OR dogs, NOT hamsters
• Some databases allow you to perform proximity searches
  • Example: the following phrase, movies w/3 drugs is searching for instances when the term movies is within 3 words of the term drugs. This method works well in a Google search.
• Consider using alternate terms, or synonyms. for words,
  • Example:  society = culture, community, civilization, etc.
• Broaden your search. If you don't find an article on your topic don't assume it hasn't been written. You might just be using the wrong terms or might be searching too specifically to find it. Try broader terms.
• Look carefully at the results from your search. If there is a great article, look for the subject headings (often bolded) or a list of subjects. These are database-generated terms ("machine language"). Use these terms in future searches.