Tutorials

This video tutorial will demonstrate how to find and access business-specific articles through the library database Business Source Complete.

To access library databases, click the gray Databases button on the library website.

Business Source Complete is listed alphabetically on the A-Z Databases page, or under the Business subject category in Best Bets. This database contains more than a thousand business and financial journals, case studies, company profiles, market reports, SWOT analyses, and more. To access this database, click its title.

To log in, your username is your SF ID number @sfcollege.edu. On the next screen, enter your college password.

The default search screen allows you to search for articles about business-related topics. When searching in the databases, use as few words as possible, and put different concepts in different boxes. In this example, the phrase minimum wage is in the first search box and small business is in the second search box.

The default setting limits your search to full text only. This means only articles that can be read in their entirety. The Full Text box should already be checked. To limit your search to scholarly articles, check the box next to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals.

To read any of the articles in your search results, click the Full Text links located under the description of the article. You may also click the article title to learn more about it.

To the right of the detailed record or the full text of an article is a Tools bar. You can print, e-mail, save, or cite this article using these icons. You may also look at the article’s subject terms to discover more ways to search for your topic.

To see which terms are the official terms in this database, click the Thesaurus link in the top blue bar.

Enter your search terms in the browse area. When you type in a topic, the thesaurus will tell you the official term used in this database. For example, if you are searching for articles on flat tax, you should use the term flat-rate income tax in this database to retrieve the best and most relevant articles.

Often, it is advantageous to study an entire industry. The industry profile option contains reports that discuss and analyze the big picture of industry performance. Type the name of the industry in the search boxes, and select Industry Profile in the Publication Type limiter section.

Select the most relevant business sector report. The reports can be lengthy but are especially useful in comparing a single company to the industry whole, or to determine if the industry is growing or contracting.

Another tool of interest is case studies. A case study brings to life a hypothetical problem and solution in an actual business. To find case studies, type your area of interest in the search boxes. Then click Case Study under Publication Type.

One of the special features of Business Source Complete is the ability to find current and complete information on important companies. Most profiles are created by independent evaluators. To access the Company Profiles search, click the More link in the top blue bar and choose Company Profiles.

This example shows a MarketLine report on Walmart. MarketLine is a premier source for market research information..

For a more in-depth look at a company, click the Company Information link in the top blue bar. This allows you to search for a company by its name, ticker symbol, parent company, or a regular keyword search.

Company Profiles include basic information, financials, academic journals, newspapers, SWOT analyses, and more.

This concludes the video tutorial on using Business Source Complete. If you still have questions, please contact a librarian:

352-395-5409
reference@sfcollege.edu
Building Y, NW Campus
sfcollege.edu/library