Case Studies: Finding Case Studies

Q. Where do I purchase Harvard Business Case Studies?
A: Go to https://hbr.org/store/case-studies 

Q: Can I use Harvard Business Review articles and cases for course reserves?
A: Yes, you can use articles from Harvard Business Review (HBR) that we own in print in your course reserves. We have HBR in print in the library from 1922-present, and these articles can be scanned for electronic reserves. However, this does not include HBR Cases. Cases are separate from the journal and must be purchased separately. The library does not subscribe to an HBR Case database. 

To add HBR articles in course reserves, please submit your request using the online form. Instructors may request that the Libraries pick up their personal items to place on course reserve using the Library Express Delivery Service (LEDS). For more information about faculty reserves, please consult the “Course Reserve Information for Faculty”

Q. Can I link directly to electronic copies of the articles in Business Source Complete?
A: The short answer is no, request a PDF to be added to your Canvas site using through Course Reserves. 

The longer answer is the Harvard Business Review are available in EBSCO's Business Source Complete for research only. HBR Publishing has a strict license agreement for electronic copies available in the EBSCO Business Source Complete database and does not allow anyone to link to their articles in Business Source Complete. HBR claims that their materials in Business Source Complete are not intended to be used for assigned course materials--this restriction includes linking to HBR materials from Canvas, websites, and course syllabi. In addition to these restrictions, HBR has developed an HBR 500 list. This is a list of the most popular 500 articles from HBR and has requested that these be listed as "read-only" in Business Source Complete. The articles are available to read online but they can't be download or linked to. 

You will need to go directly to Business Source Complete to access these articles or to use the Library’s “Journal Search” to find electronic access to the Harvard Business Review.  

The license agreement Harvard Business Publishing has with EBSCO claims to supersedes Fair Use, however Fair Use does apply to the print copy available in the FSU Libraries collection. FSU has access to Harvard Business Review from 1922-present. If you want a copy of an article the students can print, we can scan a copy from the HBR issue and upload to our e-reserve system.  It's a way for us to get around the restrictions placed on EBSCO by the publisher.  If you want to do this, it will take a little time to get it set up using Course Reserves.

Instructors should not link to HBR articles in Business Source Complete in Canvas, nor should they tell students that HBR articles in required readings and can be found at the library.  Using “Recommended Readings” is a preferable term. The copyright statement found on every single HBR article in Business Source Complete states that if the HBR content is to be used for course materials, then professors and students should purchase the content directly from Harvard Business Publishing or to contact the institution’s librarian for help in complying. The easiest way to provide access for students is to request the article through Course Reserves and allow us to load it for you.

FSU University Libraries will not be pursuing “expanded rights” or paying any “upgrade fee”.

For additional information about this issue, please see the American Library Association’s  Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) Official Statement on Harvard Business Review Pricing and Access (PDF).

Q: Are HBR Journal Articles WCAG and OCR compliant?
A: All PDFs scanned by FSU Libraries using tools that make the PDF OCR readable and, in many cases, WCAG compliant. Our only caveat is the magazine itself might cause problems (folds, gutter cut-offs, and unreadable fonts are examples). Luckily, we can use Business Source Complete to quickly double-check the actual content.

EBSCO (the owner of Business Source Complete) has gone to great lengths also. Please see their latest discussion on what they are doing: https://www.ebsco.com/blogs/ebscopost/ebscos-commitment-accessibility 

Please contact Jonathan Daso, Digital Literacy Librarian for more information about how to best provide access to FSU Libraries large and diverse collection.

Q: Can I search for Harvard Business Case Studies?
A:HBR Cases are indexed in Business Source Complete from 1942 to present. If you would like to search for cases related to a specific topic, simple enter “Harvard Business School Cases” into the search box and select “Publications” in the “Select a Field box”.  Business Source Complete database does not have the full text of the case study. Because HBR Cases are often purchased as course-specific materials, they are rarely available through Interlibrary Loan. The Library cannot buy Harvard case studies and add them to the collection. 

Q: Can I search for Harvard Business Case Studies in Business Source Complete and/ or can the library buy Harvard Business School Case Studies for my class?
A: HBR Cases are indexed in Business Source Complete from 1942 to present. If you would like to search for cases related to a specific topic, simply enter “Harvard Business School Cases” into the search box and select “Publications” in the “Select a Field box”.  Business Source Complete does not have the full text of the case study. Because HBR Cases are often purchased as course-specific materials, they are rarely available through Interlibrary Loan. FSU University has a policy of not purchasing class textbooks and class materials.