Welcome to the research guide for MBA/Online MBA students. In this guide students will find
This research guide provides MBA/Online MBA students with a starting point for conducting research on topics of interest in business. This guide directs students to resources that enable them to locate company profiles, industry research, marketing reports, consumer information and articles to support research.
Mobile Research Help
During the Fall and Spring semesters, catch up with me online with Microsoft Teams Tuesday 9-10am or Thursday 3-4pm. I'll be there to answer questions about library resources and help with research. During the Summer, I'm available to help both students and faculty via email or by phone.
Zoom Meeting
If you are having trouble with your research and need more than an email answer, we can set up a Zoom/Teams appointment to meet and talk. Use the "Schedule an appointment" button on my information link on the left to schedule a time to meet.
To help you with your research needs, I can help you with the following:
For normal support please use my contacts on the left under "Contact Me!"
I prefer email as the mode of contact. I am also happy to meet via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or in person.
For emergency requests (i.e. after 5pm Eastern Standard Time) please email with subject heading alerting me you need help. You can also text me at 850-284-0620 and I will do my best to answer in a timely manner.
Try Ask Us for general questions or troubleshooting.
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The Reading-Writing Center is available for help with writing and presentations. Click here and scroll down for hours and information.
When you are off-campus, you will automatically be asked to login using your FSUID and password whenever you click on a link from our website or resources. You should login using the same credentials you use to log into Canvas and your FSU webmail. VPN is not required or recommended for accessing library resources off-campus. For more help see Libraries "Off Campus Solutions"
Yes! Even though you may never actually visit Strozier Library in beautiful Tallahassee, FL, you can access nearly all the resources online using your FSUID. When clicking on the links from one of the library guides or the catalog just enter your FSUID https://www.lib.fsu.edu/service/campus-access when prompted.
The library collections are subject to these terms of use. If you are planning to use the data solely for your own commercial interests, you should absolutely not do that, as it is a violation of our terms of use https://www.lib.fsu.edu/copyright-faq . Violations risk shutting down access for everyone. Ask me if you have any questions!
Library guides like this one are great places to start. You can browse the Digital Business Library to look for business resources by research topic or business area, search the catalog or OneSearch https://www.lib.fsu.edu/catalog-and-discovery-upgrades, find articles by format or talk to your librarian.
You have options!
The library subscribes to the Harvard Business Review in a variety of places and formats. Here are the quickest ways to get access:
Paper
Can be found in the basement of Strozier, Row 35, 650.5 H339. This copy can only be used in the library. (if you have come this far to read a paper copy, come visit me! I’m steps away to your left in the office next to the vending machines.)
Online
Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full-text content. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition to the searchable cited references provided for more than 1,200 journals, Business Source Complete contains detailed author profiles for the 20,000 most-cited authors in the database. Journal ranking studies reveal that Business Source Complete is the overwhelmingly superior database for full-text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full-text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more.
These “Best Bets” are good places to start searching for company information, industry-related reports and articles on business topics. Follow the link the top of each section for more in depth information. If you’re having trouble locating the right information you are looking for, please escalate your problem to me.
Nexis Uni offers a simple, intuitive research experience with flexible search options and tools to help guide students through common research tasks. Nexis Uni offers the same trusted content collection of more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources that students and librarians alike have come to expect from LexisNexis, while also providing a better research experience.
Factiva.com, from Dow Jones, includes access to a wide range of information from newspapers, newswires, industry publications, websites, company reports, and more. The broad range of content provides both local insight and global perspective on business issues and current events – especially with regard to research requiring current information on companies, industries, and financial markets.
These “Best Bets” are good places to start searching for industry-related reports, profiles or articles. If you’re having trouble locating the right information you are looking for, please escalate your problem to me.
A collection of Industry Market Research and Industry Risk Ratings. Coverage includes over 700 U.S. industries in over 1100 industry-specific reports. Research reports contain trends, statistics and analysis on market size, market share of competitors, forecasting, and industry growth rates. Performance analysis includes emerging trends, recent production performance and 5-year forecasts. The US Specialized Industry Reports series covers niche industries such as pawn shops, boat insurance companies, air gun manufacturers and circus operators.
Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full-text content. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition to the searchable cited references provided for more than 1,200 journals, Business Source Complete contains detailed author profiles for the 20,000 most-cited authors in the database. Journal ranking studies reveal that Business Source Complete is the overwhelmingly superior database for full-text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full-text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more.
Mintel Reports offers product and industry market research reports covering US and International marketplaces. Each report combines data and analysis of the competitive landscape, supply chain, market-share size and trends, and consumer profiles. Complex demographic issues are broken into easy-to-understand sections, explaining consumer behavior and demonstrating the structure of the market.
Explore a curated collection of United States statistics in Sage Data. With this dynamic tool, you can scan and search the contents of billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customized views in tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Datasets cover a wide range of subjects – including business, finance, banking, economics, sociology, political science, demography, agriculture, education, international studies, criminal justice, housing and construction, labor and employment, energy resources and industries, and more. Sources include public, private/commercial, and nongovernmental organizations.
MRI Simmons Catalyst is a consumer intelligence and discovery platform that provides information on consumer behaviors, brand consumer messaging, cross-channel marketing, and media planning tactics.
SMA: Sports Market Analytics combines market research from the largest single research supplier to the industry, the National Sporting Goods Association; the U.S. Department of Commerce; various sports governing bodies; and full-text articles from 14 magazines and newsletters published by VNU, the world's largest sporting goods trade publisher, and newsletters provided by leading independent industry experts. Subjects covered include sporting goods industry, sports sponsorship and marketing, broadcasting, facilities, broadcasting and new media.
The College of Business does not have a standard style for citing information. It is the professor's prerogative for assigning a citation style required in the class. If there is no preferred style, I suggest Harvard, APA or Chicago. All are straightforward and commonly used.
The following guides will give you a general overview of the commonly used styles along with examples, and information on the citation management programs such as Zotero and Mendeley,
To find information on how to cite common business sources, such as:
Please check out the following libguides:
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