BU390 Library Resource Sheet / Spring 2008

All the information below can be found on the library’s website, which can be accessed both on campus and off campus using your username and password. Also, please stop by the library anytime and check with a librarian if you need any help or have any other questions!

RESEARCH ASSISTANCE =

            Citing Sources – how to cite different types of sources in different formats

            Evaluating Web Pages – what to look for in a website

            Searching with Boolean Logic – gives explanations and searching examples

WORLD WIDE WEB =

If you are looking for up-to-date information and statistics from a corporate or government source, the internet is, of course, the place to be. Just make sure to consider the source when looking at the information!

For this project you will need to consider both company and industry websites, both of which might have a strong bias. Google searching was used to find many of the websites listed below, searching just by company names or using search strings such as “American beer industry.”

For company websites, start with:

            www.anheuser-busch.com

            www.sabmiller.com

                 (click on the “Our Business” link for international markets info.)

            www.inbev.com

For industry websites, especially craft beers, start with:

            www.beertown.org 

                 Official website of the Brewer’s Association, whose purpose it is to

                  promote craft beers and breweries, includes industry statistics

www.northamericanbrewers.org 

      A non-profit foundation whose activities include the development

      of corporate policies and sanctioning of beer awards

www.beerinstitute.org 

      Established in 1986 to represent the beer industry before Congress

NEWSPAPERS =

            The library houses the current and past month of 5 local papers.

We also have the current month and previous year of the Wall Street Journal, since it is not available free online and none of our online databases carry it. The best way to use the WSJ is to search for articles within the past year at www.wsj.com  then come to the library and make a copy of the article (there is no charge for newspaper copies).

The New York Times is available full-text back to 1984 on the Lexis Nexis database. There is a direct link on the Databases page of the library’s website – open Lexis Nexis and choose the NY Times from the drop down box.

            The default date range is set to ‘all available dates’ – use this one unless you are looking only for recent articles.

            In the View drop down box, try the KWIC feature to look at where your search terms occur in the article, giving you a good idea of how relevant the article is.

            Make sure and check the length and type of article found – stay away from anything less than 2-3 pages and anything that appears to be an editorial.

            Use the Mark feature to tag your records, ‘View Tagged’ then print or email.

INFOTRAC =

On the library’s Databases page, choose Business and Company Resource Center.

The search is defaulted to a Company Search.

Type in the name of the company you are looking for and choose the correct link from the list (usually the first one).

There is a huge amount of information to be found about a company in this database:

            Company profile, including website info.

            Investment Reports, Financials, Rankings, etc.

In the Industry Search,

You can also find information on a certain industry, such as “beer and ale” or “craft beer”

For articles about the company:

On the left side of the company profile page, a list subjects of articles dealing with the company.

Also, the News/Magazines tab lists all articles about the company.

            A blue link below the article citations shows whether the article is a

            citation, abstract, or text. Only text is available full-text in Infotrac.

For more relevant articles,

Click on the Articles link to open the search screen. After limiting to full text, you can start with a really broad search term like “beer” and get over 4,000 results. You can also narrow by subdivision, so you can look at articles by specific subject.

            Search:

brewing industry, narrow by subdivision = 67 results under “company forecasts”

The best method is to start with broad ideas and then narrow your search with more terms.

Boolean operators (and, or, not) – “and” is most commonly used (the more terms you string together the narrower your search will be and the fewer results you will have). Also, use “” (quotes). Any term in quotes will be searched as those words together in the same order. 

Try:      (limit to Full-text)

Beer = over 4,000 articles found

            Beer industry and competition = 15 results

When you are looking at a list of sources, make sure and look closely at the citations. The journal title, year, and page numbers all give you an idea of what kind of article it is (and how long it is). Many articles from newspapers may only be a few hundred words – usually less than a page, and some may be editorials. Also, when you are looking at the article description (after clicking on the citation), the abstract will give you a really good idea of what’s in the article and how relevant it is to your topic.

You can Mark records in Infotrac, just make sure and Update your Mark List each time you mark records on a page.

When you view your Mark List, you can print or email the citations and the full-text of your articles if it is available.

Make sure to use your Bethany email address, since emails to yahoo, hotmail, etc. don’t go through!

Infotrac has good information about companies, but many of the articles come from newspapers and may not be as long or detailed as you need. For more sources concerning specific company and beer industry info., EBSCO  also has a business database that will be helpful.

TIP: Use terms “beer industry” “brewing industry” and “craft beer” in quotes

EBSCOHost =

Choose the Business Source Premier Database

The same searching strategies can be used here, along with ways to limit your search.

Limit to full-text, and try:

            Beer = over 12,000 results

            Beer industry = approx.  1,640 results (look at top 4)

            “Craft beer” = approx. 122 results

As you find relevant articles in EBSCO, make sure and add them to your folder. After you finish searching, you can open your folder and print all your full-text material at once instead of as you go. You can also email them to yourself, but make sure to use your Bethany email.

Remember: Database searching is different than the natural language searching that is used more commonly on the internet. Make sure to use correct spelling and always combine your terms with “and” or quotes for the best results. And don’t forget – the librarians are always happy to help with any questions you might have!