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Business Research Guide

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Also known as "Scholarly Articles," "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:

  • Written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic.
    • "Review" means the article is approved by other experts before publication
  • Usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
  • Intended for an academic audience

Find Business Articles:

bookshelves filled with booksWhile there are numerous books you could find on Amazon.com related to the topic of business, it's important to distinguish between popular business books, such as self-help manuals or personal business philosophy treatises, and academic business books, which are written by one or more experts or scholars with academic credentials in the field of business.

Here are some key features of academic books that can help you distinguish them from popular books.

Features of Academic Books

  • Are written by experts with academic degrees (not celebrities or famous CEOs)
  • Are published by universities or academic publishers
  • May contain a collection of related chapters by different authors
  • Contain numerous citations and references
  • Analyze a topic or concept in depth, rather than just introducing it
  • Do not attempt to sell a product or strategy
  • Often do not contain decorative images (but do contain charts and graphs)

For help distinguishing whether a book is academic or popular, talk to your professor or librarian.

Find Books & eBooks:

sheet of paper with numbers, charts, and graphsMarket research involves gathering and analyzing information about a market, industry, consumer group, or product. Market research reports can help businesses: Effectively launch new products or services, analyze the competition, determine what customers want or need, test new concepts, and examine responses to marketing campaigns.

Industry reports (sometimes called industry profiles) contain useful information about specific industries, including: Industry activities (What does the industry produce? Who are their consumers?), major companies involved, current conditions and trends, projections for the future, government and legislative issues, and news.

Company profiles can contain lots of information about specific companies, including: What the company does and where it's located, information about executives, a short history of the company, lists of competitors, financial information, current revenue/sales figures, old financial statements, and industry information.

Find Market Research, Industry Reports, and Company Profiles:

Newspaper stand on a city streetKeeping up with business news is important to stay informed on industry changes, company news, and other important factors that impact your research. Two of the most popular/trusted sources for business-related news are the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

Key Features of News Sources:

  • Intended for a general audience; commonly written at about an 8th-grade reading level
  • Reviewed by one or more editors for quality and accuracy
  • Provide information on a recent event or topic of interest
  • Provide the perspectives of average people, not experts

IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all news sources are created equal! Some have hidden (or obvious) motives or political beliefs. When in doubt, do some background research into who owns the news organization to learn more about it and its agenda. 

Find News Sources:

stack of magazines on a deskThere are a large number of popular business-related magazines geared toward industry professionals. Examples include Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Industry Week. While the content of these magazines is not scholarly like academic articles or guaranteed to be written by professionals like trade journals, it can still be useful to regularly peruse respected business magazines.

Features of Popular Business Magazines

  • Written by journalists, not academics or professionals
  • Intended to entertain and inform
  • Offers broad overview of industry trends or news in the field
  • Contains advice, opinions, or subjective coverage of topics
  • May feature human interest content, such as interviews

Find Business Magazines:

Video: Types of Sources

In the following video [3:54], you will learn how to select a resource appropriate to your information need, the importance of analyzing a resource’s capabilities and constraints, and how to determine if a resource has quality information.

Note: clicking on the image below will open the video in a new tab or window. 

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