Try these advanced search techniques for better results.
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase
["Civil war"] will bring back only results that have the word civil next to the word war. This way you wont get results about civil disputes or the War on Terror.
Add an * at the end of a word to search for all possible endings/suffixes
[teen*] will search for teen, teens, teenager, teenagers
Use Boolean operators AND or OR
[Chicken AND beef] will search for results that have both chicken and beef in them, resulting in fewer matches
[Chicken OR beef] will search for results that have either chicken or beef, resulting in more matches
Tip: If you have any questions about using these advanced search techniques, contact the business librarian.
For Part 3, you have to pull together all of the issues you have discovered and pick one to focus on. Then, you need to develop an implementation plan.
It will be beneficial to look at what the literature says about your type of issue in two ways: 1. what do academics or researchers have to say about the issues, and 2. what do practitioners or professionals have to say about the issues.
To make sure you find helpful results, use the links below. Also, review the information about Advanced Search Techniques and Keyword Searching.
The following links will take you to partially completed searches in a database called Business Source Complete. They will allow you to search for some of the best management-focused articles in both practitioner or academic literature.
| Scholarly | Trade/Professional | Popular | |
| Examples | Strategic Management Journal, Information Systems Research | Advertising Age, Beverage World, Harvard Business Review | Wired, Forbes |
| Creator | Experts (with experience or academic degrees) | Subject-specific writers and professionals | Journalists, anyone |
| Purpose | Creating knowledge | Sharing information | Entertainment |
| Audience | Scholars, students, and researchers | Professionals and those interested in the field | General public |
| Formats | Journal articles and books are most common | Trade journals, professional magazines, professional association websites | Newspaper articles, other online articles and posts |
| Length and Content | Longer and focus on very specific and narrow topics | Short to mid length, middle-level specificity | Short and general |
| Sources | Provides sources formally with citations | Sometimes sources are mentioned, but rarely are they formally cited | Rarely are sources mentioned or cited formally |
| Pros | Likely to be reliable and credible, very in-depth and detailed | Tends to contain information about things affecting practicing professionals, not too complicated | Can be more up-to-date about current events, can provide a brief overview |
| Cons | Very detailed and specific, use technical jargon | Doesn't contain original research or knowledge, not as in-depth | Not as reliable, doesn't provide contextual information |
If you're ever unsure what type of source you have, contact the business librarian!
Identify the important nouns or main ideas in your research question.
Generate synonyms for each main term, along with words that are narrower, broader, and related.
Start searching and modify your keywords as necessary.
Tip: Keep in mind that keywords are tricky, they will evolve and you'll likely come across better ones as you begin searching. The more you search and learn about your topic, the easier it will be to develop keywords.
Watch this video from the University of Houston Libraries to learn more about this process:
