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Authoritative Resource Types for Business Research and Literature Reviews

The following checklist provides authoritative resource types commonly utilized in business research. The checklist serves as an excellent starting point for most business research projects and literature reviews. Use the form below to check off each source as you proceed through your research. For a thorough literature review for your business course you will be using most if not all of the following sources types.

Type of Source and Use

Business magazines & financial newspapers Business magazines and financial newspapers provide articles written by business people for business people. Many supply general news and current events information. Examples include:

Wall Street Journal

Financial Times

BusinessWeek

Barron's, Forbes

Fortune

MoneySense

Canadian Business Magazine

Canadian Financial Post,

Money Key databases:

ABI/INFORM Global

Business Source Complete

CBCA Business

Business Source Premier

Regional Business News

Trade journals Trade journals provide articles and data that are written by – and for – people within a particular field or industry. Most trade journals supply statistics, industry reports, and important industry news. Examples include:

Computer World

Information Week

Journal of Accountancy

InfoWorld

Food Service World

Canadian Manufacturing

Food in Canada

Scholarly or professional journals Scholarly and professional journals are written by experts in a particular field or subject area

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and provide the highest level authoritative content. Examples include: International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance & Management, Journal of Marketing, International Review of Economics & Finance, and the British Journal of Management Key databases:

ABI/INFORM Global

Business Source Complete

CBCA Business

Business Source Premier

Regional Business News

Popular magazines and newspapers Popular magazines are written for a general audience, and usually do not contain abstracts, footnotes, bibliographies, trade data, financials, industry reports, etc. Examples include:

Newsweek,

Time,

MacLean’s Magazine

The Walrus

Canadian Restaurant News

Food Service and Hospitality

Government information and data Government organizations produce, compile and distribute vast amounts of business-related information. Much of the data are especially useful for marketing research, gathering economic indicators, locating new laws that may impact industries, and much more. Key government search engines:

Industries Canada

Canada’s Economic Action Pan

Services for Businesses

Case studies Case study method is a research technique that provides intensive investigation of one or a few situations similar to the problem situation. Examples or types of case studies include: Illustrative, Exploratory, Critical Instance, Program Effects, Prospective, Cumulative, Narrative and Embedded. Key database:

ABI/INFORM Global

Business Source Complete

CBCA Business

Market research reports Market research reports (or analyst reports) are comprehensive reports that examine – in great detail – key indicators such as: market composition; projected market growth; top marketers and brands; competitive situation and profiles; new product trends, consumers; internet sales; and much more. Examples include: Industry Reports, Company Reports, Emerging Markets, and Global Retail Reports. Key database:

MarketLine in Business Source Complete.

Professional associations and organizations

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Professional associations secure, compile, manage and sell hard-to-find "inside" information and trade data for most industries. Many associations participate in trade shows and maintain corporate libraries. Examples of professional associations include:

Canadian Marketing Association

American Apparel and Footwear Association,

The Society of Professional Accountants of Canada

International Economic Development Council

Polls and surveys Polls and surveys provide insight – and quantitative data – into the full spectrum of public interest including politics and government, public institutions, international relations, business, social affairs and consumer behavior and preferences. Examples of major polls include:

Gallup,

IPSOS Canadian Polls

Statistics Canada

Canadian Opinion Research Archive

White papers White papers are documents released by companies, organizations, and government agencies to authoritatively describe products, technologies, and policy. Though a white paper is not necessarily an unbiased report, it will typically provide a more detailed overview than press releases and many other forms of documentation. In addition to providing information, however, white papers are also often used for marketing purposes. As a result, it is not uncommon for different vendors to produce competing white papers on the same topic. There are literally thousands of white papers covering a broad range of topics. Many are available online, especially from corporate and organizational web sites. Examples of white papers include: Achieving User Adoption: How to Unlock the Full Value of a Business Intelligence Implementation (Vendor White Paper), IndustryWeek White Paper Series – Lean Manufacturing, and Search Engine Optimization White Paper – BitPipe. Key search engines and databases:

Technology Research for Business Professional

BizReport

TechRepublic While Papers

Non-Governmental Organizations NGOs provide essential international data on a wide range of issues such as political, socio-cultural, economic, technology, trade, and related information. Examples include:

World Bank Publications

IMF Financial Statistics,

United Nations Papers

OECD Reports.