Management 5861 – Management of
Knowledge and Information 2
Library Resources
The following reference books provide good background
information and overviews of business issues – a good starting point for
research. These works can be found
through the online catalog, by browsing the shelves (business books are usually
in the H’s), or by consulting a librarian. There are also many reference
materials available in electronic format, such as
Business: The Ultimate Resource (HD 38.15 .B878) 2002
Best
practices, summaries of landmark business books, profiles of management gurus,
dictionary, almanac.
International Directory of Company
Histories. 60 vols.
(Ref. HD 2721 .I63)
Use the
Index at the end of the last volume in the set to find your company.
Encyclopedia of American Industries (Ref. HC 102 .E53)
Sorkin’s Directory of Business & Government. 17 vols. (Ref. HC 108 .C4 S8)
Company
profiles of
Hoover’s Handbook of
Emerging Companies (Ref. HG 4057 .A28618)
Hoover’s Guide to Private
Companies. (Ref.
HG 4057 .A28616)
Market Share Reporter. Annual.
(Ref. JF 5410 .M35)
Annual compilation of reported market share data on companies, products
and services.
Dun & Bradstreet/Gale Industry Handbook (Ref. HG4907 .D86) 5 vols.
Industry Norms & Ratios (Ref. HF5681 .R25 I532)
Business Plans Handbook (Ref. HD62.7 .B865)
7 volumes
To find
books in
If you are
off campus you can access our online catalog the same way. If you want to see if another library owns a
book or journal, click on I-Share Libraries on the top menu bar of the catalog,
and search either all 56 libraries or select one closest to you. With your
North Park ID you can use any of these libraries. For more detailed instructions, see our
online catalog Help sheet.
To find articles in
magazines and journals, select a general database such as Academic Search
Premier or one of the specialized business databases listed below. Many of the articles are available in full
text on the computer – you can print them off or read them on the screen; for
others you will be given only the citation and a summary of the article – you
will have to go to a library or request the article through interlibrary loan
To access
the databases:
· Go to the library homepage at http://campus.northpark.edu/library
· Select Databases/Articles from the menu on the left of the screen.
· Choose your database from an
alphabetical list (Databases A-Z) or
by Subject (Databases by Subject).
· If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to another page where you will enter your user name and password.
*If you need to reset or give yourself a new password, go the Current Students page of the North Park website and under “Personal Information” click on “Password Change NP”: https://www.northpark.edu/cgi-bin/passchange.pl
General (interdisciplinary)
databases
Academic Search Premier: Most comprehensive
database; many full-text articles; interdisciplinary See
Help
sheet for more instructions.
WilsonSelectPlus: All full-text articles;
interdisciplinary
Lexis-Nexis Universe: Full-text newspapers and journals (e.g. New York Times); business, legal and
medical news Help sheet.
Facts On
File: Full-text world news digest Available
on campus only.
JSTOR: Full-text database with back runs of
117 important journals in 15 disciplines, including economics. Does not include the
current 3 to 5 years.
CQ Researcher:
Overviews of controversial issues, such as job exports, music industry, stock market troubles
Available on campus only.
Business databases
ABI/Inform: Full-text articles on
business and management topics
Business Source Elite: Some full-text
articles
Datamonitor: Comprehensive economic reports on companies, industries, and 50 countries.
Lexis-Nexis Universe: Click on “Business” in the left side of the screen Help sheet.
Value Line: Investment information/ratings of companies and industries
PsycInfo: Psychological literature
(includes personnel, corporate culture, and other business areas)
Besides
accessing proprietary databases such as Academic Search Premier (databases for
which the library pays), you can find an abundance of free information on the
Internet. But you can also be overwhelmed
by information and junk. It is essential
that you be aware of what institution or organization is publishing the
information you are using. Below are a
few to get you started:
Company websites:
Almost every company now has its own website. To find the annual report look under “Investor
Relations” or something similar. But
think of a company website as advertising.
For objective analysis of a company use one of the business databases
recommended above.
Federal Reserve http://www.federalreserve.gov
A wealth of well organized information.
Check out the “Personal Financial Education” pages first.
Yahoo! Finance
http://finance.yahoo.com/?u
Great
source of financial data on individual companies; easy to use.
Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com
While much
is reserved for paid subscribers, there’s a lot of free information here for
the public.
Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com
There’s a
lot of free information for the public on this site; if you are on campus you
will be able to access the features reserved for paid subscribers.
Department of State
http://www.state.gov
Department of Commerce
http://www.doc.gov
Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov
Inflation Calculator from BLS http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm#data
In
evaluating your sources you should bear in mind that standards and quality vary
widely on the web. Keep in mind the following criteria and answer these
questions:
Authority:
· Are any qualifications
or credentials of the author given?
· Who is responsible for
producing this website? Check the domain of the URL (is it an educational
institution (.edu), a professional organization
(.org), a government agency (.gov), or a commercial
site (.com)?
· Is the sponsoring
agency’s mission or background given?
· Who is the intended
audience?
Timeliness:
· When was the site
created?
· Have there been any
updates or revisions?
Objectivity/Accuracy:
· Is there a bias
evident?
· Is this page intended
to sell you something?
· Are there misspellings
or other inaccuracies?
Signs of a good web site:
· author and institution
are listed with a means of contacting the author
· the author’s
credentials are given
· it is sponsored by a
reputable institution
· there are no flagrant
grammatical or spelling errors
· the page is updated regularly and any
links to other sites are up to date as well.