Start Searching: Suggested Databases
Once you have decided on a topic for your assignment, you can continue searching for sources in databases such as Academic Search Complete. This database is a great place to find both scholarly and popular sources.
For more help searching, visit the Search Tips page.
-
ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
This collection features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as The Economist and Sloan Management Review, country- and industry-focused reports and major news sources like the Wall Street Journal. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world, including expert market information and influential business news.
-
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals. View the EBSCO Search Tutorial Video
-
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete includes full text business journals and magazines, such as the articles of Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, Sloan Management Review, as well as hundreds of other business journals and publications, covering all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance and more. This robust business database contains indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886. In addition, searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals. View the EBSCO Search Tutorial Video
Types of Sources
Scholarly Sources
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
-
Published in academic journals, not in stores
-
Written for and by experts in the field
-
Longer review process, may be peer-reviewed
STRUCTURE
-
Abstract
-
May include graphs, data, and/or statistics
-
Includes a list of references at the end
USES
-
Subject-specific information, research, and data
-
How scholars communicate
-
Quality and reliability of the information is much greater, particularly if it is peer-reviewed.
Anatomy of a Scholarly Article 
Images borrowed from Capalla University Library.
Popular Sources
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
-
Magazines and newspapers
-
Broad, general audience
-
Shorter review process
STRUCTURE
-
Simple language
-
Shorter than journal articles
-
May include pictures, special layouts, and/or advertisements.
-
Rarely include references
USES
-
Current information and events
-
Overview of a topic
-
Human interest stories or convey emotional responses.
Understanding the Results
The topic page starts with an overview and picture that represents the topic.
It is then split into different types of sources, which are as follows:
a. Featured Viewpoints: quick essays highlighting differing opinions within the topic, handpicked by Gale
b. Viewpoints: more opinions on the topic
c. References: Overviews of the topic
d. Statistics and Infographics: Graphs, charts and data to support your research
e. Multimedia: Pictures, videos, podcasts, and audio
f. News and Magazines: Recent coverage and in-depth analysis
g. Academic journals: Scholarly articles written by scholars in the field, often peer-reviewed
Once you choose a source type, the list of results will be to the left. The title, author(s), and information will be listed. It will also indicate if it is peer-reviewed.
You can filter the results further by:
a. Publication Date: You can limit the results to a specific date range. Depending on the assignment consider limiting to the last ten years.
b. Subjects: Provides a list of subjects and allows you to search for specific subjects within the results.
c. Document Type: Provides a list of document types and allows you to choose the types of source.
d. Peer-Reviewed: You can check off whether you want only peer-reviewed articles.
The icon next to each result indicates the source type. Academic Journals are often the most useful for school and professional research.
The article's author, journal in which it appears, publication data, and page numbers appear in the first line. This information is what one would find in a citation.
The next line down shows a preview of the article's abstract, or description of the article.
Click on the title if you want to view the detailed record and read the entire abstract. Subject terms are searches that would lead to this article: use these to help you understand what you will find in the articles and for other ideas related to the topic.
If the article has images, charts, or graphs, thumbnails will be shown
Full text articles can be in HTML format, PDF format, or both. To access the article, click on the blue hyperlinked title, HTML Full Text, or PDF Full Text, or use the icon in the left side panel.
