Library Briefing for Preparation of Honours Project

Three Components of Information Research

May 2009

in Business

• Knowledge on Resources

• Skills

• Acknowledge the sources

• Access to Resources Beyond HKBU Library

A Quick Survey

Q1. How frequent would you use Google/ Internet search engine to locate resources for your assignment?

A) Every time

B) Sometimes

C) Seldom

D) Never

A Quick Survey

I use Google.

Everyday.

Library ??? …um…

Information Resources

Q1. What kind of information resources do you think are the most essential/ important to your business projects?

A) Web sites

B) Books

C) Newspaper and Journal articles

D) Statistics

E) Answer not listed in the above

Information Resources

All of them!

Provided that

they are

appropriate for

your topic!

All of them!

Provided that

they are

appropriate for

your topic!

SCOPE of RESEARCH Specific aspect of a broad area Currency / time frame Geographical area Language of publication Single or Multidisciplinary approach,

e.g. the application of IT in accounting

INFORMATION RESOURCES Books (facts, not necessary updated) Journal articles Newspapers Films, videos and broadcasts Conference papers Surveys/Research reports (primary data) Theses Statistics Standards Patents Directories Dictionaries/Encyclopedias Law/Ordinances Companies’ annual reports and accounts Financial/Security/Investment Data Industry/Market Info.

Identify types of information resources

Define your scope of study (a focused topic, currency, region, etc.)

Possible Information Resources

Colonel Harland Sanders; parent company KFC; Tricon Global; stocks; competitior activity; tech impacts; suppliers; government policy; consumers; financial records; human resources; business direction; social trends; consumer behaviour; marketing; public opinion; H5N1 chicken disease; genetically modified foods ………..

Source: HK Food & Drink Report 2009: Including 5-year industry forecasts. (2009). HK: Business Monitor International.

Critical Thinking on the Sources

How would you determine to use the information resource in your paper or not?

Critical Thinking on the Sources

TWO issues:

Choose the right information resources

How to find the resources? Google is just ONE kind of search engine There are many other business-focus search engines

Critical Thinking on the Sources

Types of Information Resources

in Business Studies

Global Development, Economic Outlook, Forecast, Competitiveness

Use economic indicators and social indicators to indicate how well the economy is doing and the social trend of a country.

Examples of Selected Information Resources: The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (by the International Institute

for Management Development) The Global competitiveness report (by the World Economic Forum) World development indicators (by the World Bank) The world economic factbook (by Euromonitor) OECD Economic Outlook World economic and social survey (by the United Nations) World economic outlook (by the International Monetary Fund, IMF) Key indicators (by Asian Development Bank) Indicators of social development--Hong Kong (by the Hong Kong Institute

of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong) International historical statistics International financial statistics Country profile <country name> (by the Economic Intelligence Unit) Country report <country name> (by the Economic Intelligence Unit) World Bank Country Study series

Use census and population data to find demographic trends Examples of Selected Information Resources

2001 population census 2006 population by-census

Use price and expenditures to find data about cost of living Examples of Selected Information Resources

Household expenditure survey Consumer price index 中国城市 ( 镇 ) 生活与价格年鉴 = China urban life and price yearbook 中国价格及城镇居民家庭收支调查统计年鉴 中国物价年鉴 IMI 消費行為與生活形態年鑒

Consumers Information

Examples of Selected Information Resources Market Share Reporter Consumer Asia Consumer China International Marketing Data and Statistics (by Euromonitor) TradePort: Market Research

Find country and market reports from the "Buy USA database" and country, business and finance surveys from the Economist.com.

http://www.tradeport.org/research/index.html

Market Surveys/Research/Share

Find SWOT analysis, industry reports, market research, business case information in current industry environment, profile (trends, projections, operations, key ratios and statistics)

Examples of Selected Information Resources

Industry Reports

• ABI/INFORM Global & ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry: Nearly 700 country- focused industry reports with SWOT analysis, market trends, forecasts and competitive data from Business Monitor International (BMI).• Profiles of HK Major Service Industries (TDC)http://www.tdctrade.com/main/si/servicei.htm • Profiles of HK Major Manufacturing Industries (TDC) http://www.tdctrade.com/main/industries/industry.htm

Annual reports, officers Financial statements and data Background and history Products and operations Competition Ratios Trading records Daily and weekly quotations Closing price of Stock Index, trading

value and volume of deals, market capitalization, etc.

Where can you find the data & information?

Selected Sources:•Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx): Data & Statistics•Irasia.com•Taiwan Securities and Futures Information Centre•Lexis-Nexis – Business Section•中國上市公司文獻庫 in China InfoBank

Where can you find the data & information?

Selected Sources:•Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx): Data & Statistics•Irasia.com•Taiwan Securities and Futures Information Centre•Lexis-Nexis – Business Section•中國上市公司文獻庫 in China InfoBank

Company Information

To understand the regulatory framework in accounting

Examples of Selected Information Resources: Accounting & Tax with Standards

in ProQuest incl. updates and standards on

FASB, IASB and GASB Accounting standards searched by

the HKBU Library Catalogue in the following search statement:

(s:standards OR 準則 ) AND s:<accounting OR financial statements OR auditing> AND <specific standard name>

Accounting/Financial Reporting Standards

To understand the legal environment in business Examples of Selected Information Resources

The Laws of Hong Kong Bilingual Laws Information System

http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online (provides access to past revised

editions of Hong Kong Laws. The database comprises a total of six consolidations of the laws of Hong Kong: 1890, 1901, 1912, 1923, 1937, 1950, and 1964 (last updated to 1989). http://xml.lib.hku.hk/gsdl/db/oelawhk/search.shtml

Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII) provides legal information relating to Hong Kong http://www.hklii.org/

The China Law Reference Service (includes text of documents in Chinese with English translation in parallel columns)

iSinoLaw (Chinese and translated English text) 中國法律法規庫 in China InfoBank Corporation Law – China @HKBU Library Catalogue: Subject search

Law

Selected Information Resources: Hong Kong Annual Digest of

Statistics ( 香港統計年刊 ) Hong Kong Monthly Digest of

Statistics ( 香港統計月刊 ) and its “featured articles 專題文章”

Hong Kong Social and Economic Trends ( 香港社會及經濟趨勢 )

Census & Statistics Dept. Hong Kong Statistics (Online) at: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/ (Under “Statistics by Subject” & “Social Topics Studies”)

Hong Kong Trade Statistics Annual report on the consumer

price index, etc.

Business Statistics Online (Trade Development Council) including trade statistics, trade in

services, employment statistics, GDP, foreign companies in HK, etc.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Statistics. “Economic & financial data for HK”, “Monthly statistical bulletin” which

contains financial statistics including the “Residential mortgage survey”

中國統計數據庫 (1995- ) in China InfoBank

International statistical resources from United Nations, World Bank, IMF, OECD, etc.

Statistics

• To use data/statistics as evidence to support facts found

To find current newspaper articles using one-stop search engine

Selected Library Search Tools: ABI/INFORM Global: covers news in publications like The Wall

Street Journal and Financial Times (London) Lexis-Nexis Academic: well-known news sources including New

York Times, Washington Post, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Herald, South China Morning Post (HK), The Strait Times (Singapore), The Sunday Telegraphy, The Times (London), Financial Times (Archive)

WiseNews: major HK, China, Taiwan and Macau Chinese and English newspapers. Many of them provide back issues from 1998 onwards.

Newspaper Articles

To find scholarly articles, research reports supporting and/or opposing the argument of your topic

Examples of Selected Library Databases: ABI/INFORM Global | ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry (ProQuest): annual

reports, business cases, market research, swot analysis etc. Accounting & Tax with Standards (ProQuest) incl. updates and standards on

FASB, IASB and GASB Banking Information Source (ProQuest) Economic Intelligence Unit: Country Profile/ Country Report in EBSCOhost –

Military & Government Coll. Emerald Fulltext

EconLit NBER Working Paper Series

PAIS International Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) World Economic Outlook Reports

China Journal Net 中國期刊網 - 經濟政治與法律專輯

Journal Articles

A Question to you… How many types of information resources I have just

introduced?

Which type of information resources have you ever used in your assignment/project this year? Journal articles Newspaper articles Company information Statistics Law Industry reports Market surveys/research/share Consume information Economic/social indicators

Finding the right puzzle

fitted into your work!

My research topic:

Which resource would you choose?

Choose Appropriate Business Resources

Sports Drink

My research focus:

Nutrition facts is the most critical success factor in Sports Drink market. Is it true?

• Market share of “Gatorade” and “Powerade”• Articles, research report on the nutrition facts of the sports drink

Source: 明報 , p.B16, 2009.4.15 mp+

Source: Market Share Reporter: An annual compilation of reported market share dta on companies, products and services. (2005). v.1, p.169.

Skills……

I find Google faster and easier than Library Resources

Library ??? … um…

CATALOGUE FOR:•Books, eBooks•Journals/Magazine Titles•Newspaper Titles•Multimedia

DATABASES FOR:•Journal/Magazine Articles•Newspaper Articles•Theses, ConferencePapers, etc.

We still need Library Tools

What Skills?Searching skills, of course!

Evaluation!

Search Strategies

Library catalogue / Databasessearch mechanism BUT similar

Library catalogue / Databasessearch mechanism BUT similar

intitle:

≠SEARCH TECHNIQUES EXAMPLE employee AND motivation Credit analysis OR risk assessment corporate governance [no quote!] risk assessment AND NOT financial sharehold* | organi?ation marketing within # models field search, e.g. t: (in title); s: (in subject);

a: (in author)

“Chinese economic development” CANNOT find titles with “China’s economic and political development”, “Economic development in China”, etc.

1.1. Define your search topicDefine your search topic Be specific; try to write it in the form of a question.

What are the latest strategies for retaining staff?

2.2. Identify the main conceptsIdentify the main concepts Ignore “soft” words or connectors e.g. effect, improve

retention, staff, (strategies)

3.3. Create a list of possible search termsCreate a list of possible search termsretention, retain, retaining, retain*

staff, employee*, worker*

4.4. Combine your search terms appropriatelyCombine your search terms appropriately

(retention or retain*)

and

(staff or employee* or worker*)

* - variant endings of a word

AND – narrows search, use between concepts

OR – broadens search, use between synonyms

( ) – orders search, use to keep your synonyms together

Formulate your Search – a Sample

A Case: Find out materials on introduction to company law of China? What would you type into the search box?

Possible Answers: Keyword: Chinese company law? Keyword: China company law? Keyword: China AND company law? Keyword: company law of China?

Try power search! E.g. Subject Heading: Corporation Law – China E.g. KW in field search: s:(law – china) and (corporation law or

company law); ( 公司法 or 企業法 )

Power Search in the HKBU LIB Catalogue

I may look exhausted.

But I’m just getting started!!!

Information Search…

1.1. Define your search topicDefine your search topic Be specific; try to write it in the form of a question.

How can we improve performance through motivating employees?

2.2. Identify the main conceptsIdentify the main concepts Ignore “soft” words or connectors e.g. effect, improve

performance, motivating, employees

3.3. Create a list of possible search termsCreate a list of possible search termsperformance, productivity

motivating, motivate, motivation, motivat*

employees, staff

4.4. Combine your search terms appropriatelyCombine your search terms appropriately

(performance or productivity)

and motivat*

and (staff or employee*)

* - variant endings of a word

AND – narrows search, use between concepts

OR – broadens search, use between synonyms

( ) – orders search, use to keep your synonyms together

Formulate your Search – Your Turn!

ABI/INFORM GLOBAL (part of ProQuest)

ABI/INFORM GLOBAL (part of ProQuest)

ABI/INFORM GLOBAL (part of ProQuest)

Acknowledge the Sources

…(Oops, no time to go into details!)

Purposes To acknowledge the sources of

information (published and unpublished works) you have used in your assignment

To avoid plagiarism

Output A list of works used in

preparing your assignment It is called a bibliography or a

reference list A bibliography: lists everything

you have read A reference list: limits to the in-

text references in your assignment

Acknowledge the Sources

There are RULES

under different

names!There are RULES

under different

names!

Basic Rules All citations in the manuscript must appear in the

reference list, and all references must be cited in text. (APA, 2001, p. 28) Example: In-text: Cho (1991) argued that… Bibliography: Cho, C. (1991). Argument on

suicide. HK: Modern Suicide Association.

Acknowledge the Sources

Resources Beyond HKBU Library

Request books that our Library does not hold or that have been checked out, but that are held by other libraries with the status "AVAILABLE" through Hong Kong Academic Library Link (HKALL)

The following services are for BBA students only:

Apply for a Reader's Card to access other Hong Kong University Libraries HK$50 per application valid for one academic year (Aug-July) Application form and one photo required – ask at Reference Desk

Online Interlibrary Loan Request First 20 articles per academic year free of charge Web-based HKBU ILL System

Keep track of the status of requests online Retrieve electronic articles on desktop HK$5 charge for each additional article filled by local libraries.

Access to Resources Beyond HKBU Library –Final-Year

Compile your Bibliography

Citation Management Software

Functions:

• Import references directly from major databases or enter manually

• Create bibliographies and in-text citations

• Access your references from any location via the Web

Unit 2.2: Citing Information Resources @Library Tutorials

Register for a personal RefWorks account at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/refworks/account.php (one working day is required to process your request)

Identify the purpose of services available to Honours Project students:

1. A book found in HKBU Library Catalogue has been checked out.

2. HKBU Library does not have the journal where you need an article published in 2001, v5, n2, pp.121-141.

3. An article found in ABI/INFORM Global database without full text in PDF or HTML.

Matching Exercise

Choices:

(A) Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request the article

(B) Use WebBridge to check HKBU holdings first

(C) Use HKALL to request the book available in other HK university libraries

Choices:

(A) Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request the article

(B) Use WebBridge to check HKBU holdings first

(C) Use HKALL to request the book available in other HK university libraries

Ask a Librarian

… or I’ll be forced to spend my day on FaceBook!

Chat with a Librarian…

Join my Facebook group: BBA Hon. Proj. Info. Researchhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108895159987Join my Facebook group: BBA Hon. Proj. Info. Researchhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108895159987

Business Liaison Librarians:

Ms. Alison ChanMs. Katie Lai

Thank You!