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Introduction to Business 1133 |
The Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library contains many resources, helpful in answering simple questions to providing information for a report or research paper. This document will point you in the right direction for locating materials for your project, report, or paper.
First, you need to decide on a topic for your research paper. Here are some aids in choosing a topic:
General Encyclopedias
General encyclopedias contain information on almost any topic and would be a good place to start finding basic information when looking for a topic.Subject Specific Encyclopedias
Subject encyclopedias can be used to find more detailed information on a topic. Examples of subject specific encyclopedias in the reference collection and online:
 Searching the Library for a Book (Student generated tutorial) |
Assignment 1 |
| So You Have to Do A Research Paper? (EBSCOhost) (Student generated tutorial) |
Assignment 2 |
If you can't find a full-text article in one database, check A-to-Z located at: http://www.se.edu/lib/electres.htm. A-to-Z is a list of journals that are available full-text, either in an online database, the library paper collection, or microform.
| Tutorial on How to Use A to Z Journals (audio included) |
Assignment 3 |
All corporations produce financial information, but for many corporations, that information is not public. Businesses that are public, must report on their financial activity to government agencies. However, privately owned companies are not required to disclose any financial information; therefore, that information is more difficult to oobtain.
Sources of Corporate Finances
| Online | Mergent Online
This database contains financial statements, history, background, mergers and acquisitions, subsidiaries, business constructional programs, principal plants and properties, annual reports, names and titles of officers of 15,000 U.S. public companies, as well as data on international companies. Private companies are not included. This database is located at: http://www.mergentonline.com/ |
| Online | Fortune 500
Published every spring as a special issue of Fortune Magazine since 1955, it contains information on the 500 largest public industrial and service companies in the United States by revenues. For each company listed, it gives revenues, profits, assets, stockholders equity, market value, profits as a percentage of revenues, assets and stockholders equity, earning per share, and total return to investors. It also analyzes the 500 companies by performance. You can also find other lists at this site, such as: The 100 Best Companies to Work For, America's Most Admired Companies, and the Global 500. |
| Online | Forbes Lists
Published each year, there are lists such as: The 200 Best Small Companies, The 400 Best Big Companies, Fastest Growing Tech Companies, largest Private Companies, worlds 2000 largest companies, It is located at the Forbes website at: http://www.forbes.com/lists/ |
STATISTICAL INFORMATION
| Online | Statistical Abstract of the United States
This annual publication has been published since 1878, and it is very useful because it pulls together statistical information from many different resources in one volume. It contains statistics from both government agencies and private sources. Data is generally at the national or state level, but there is some data at the metropolitan level. For each table of statistics presented, it gives the source of the information. It covers such topics as: population, vital statistics, health and nutrition, law enforcement, parks, elections, labor force, income, expenditures, finance, communications, and more. Located online at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html |
| Online | County Business Patterns
Provides data, by county, on all business establishments with one or more paid employees. Located on the Internet site at: http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html |
| Online | Survey of Current Business
Published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, this periodical contains articles and statistics on many different aspects of business. It is located in the Gov Docs Room on Floor 2A, and online at: http://www.bea.gov/bea/pubs.htm |
There is much useful information on the Internet, and also information that is of little value. When finding material on the Internet, you need to be careful. Printed resources go through an evaluation process before they are published. Anybody can put out material on the Internet where there is no editorial or evaluation process at all. When deciding to use an Internet resource you need to look at the following:
| Evaluating URLS (audio included) |
Assignment 4 |
INTERNET SITES
NetLibraryInternet Resources by Subject: Business & Finance
http://www.se.edu/lib/subbusindex.htm
Business.gov
http://www.business.gov/
U.S. Government Business Resources
http://www.se.edu/lib/govdocs/businessgov.html
When you are writing a research paper, one usually consults a variety of resources. Proper credit must be given to all resources used in the paper. This is called citing your sources. There are several different ways to cite your sources, each with different rules. See Linkmark Citation Machine for assistance with citations.