To solve challenges, you need answers. But finding those answers may be as difficult as the questions being asked. That is where the search comes in – and not all search is created equal. How you search, and with what tools, can make the difference between solving your problem and creating a new one.
Welcome! The purpose of this guide is to help Management 102 students find reliable and credible published sources using library resources.
Please use it together with the presentations in the Management 101 Guide.
Feel free to contact your faculty librarian, Sue Rionda (s.rionda@ru.ac.za), if you need more help.
Searching Tips
1. Identify Search Terms
The first and very important step in searching for information for your topic is identifying keywords/search terms. Library databases require you to enter keywords into the search box because entering an entire essay topic/question will not be as effective and may likely return poor or even no results at all. The search terms you use are critical in determining the relevance of the results that you will retrieve. Examples of the search terms you may use are:
"decision making"
"human resource management"
"financial management"
"operations management"
"marketing strategies"
"supply chain management"
2. Creating a Search Statement
To retrieve the most relevant search results, you may need to construct a search statement.
A search statement is a combination of keywords that you enter into the search box of a database. You can use Boolean operators between the search terms. Boolean operators are the words used to connect search terms and to define the relationships between the search terms. These include AND, OR and NOT. To make your search more effective, the following techniques can be used:
e.g. “risk management”
e.g. "marketing strateg*" will retrieve marketing strategy and marketing strategies
& behavio*r will retrieve behaviour and behavior
Search statement examples:
"customer focus" AND "small business"
"investment opportunities" AND risk
"Consumer behavio*r" AND "marketing strateg*"
motivation AND performance AND workplace
3. Using Search Statements
These Search Statements can be used to find appropriate textbook sources and articles on Search All as well as on relevant library databases and websites.
Always evaluate the information you read. Be particularly careful when consulting Wikipedia and similar internet sites as the authority and reliability of the content cannot be guaranteed. Remember to work SMART:
Source - is the source well known, reliable, up to date?
Motivation - why does this site exist? Are they selling a product? Supporting a particular lobby?
Authority - is the author's name on the page? Is the author well known in the field?
Review - has the information been reviewed/checked by others working in the field?
Two sources - is the information supported by other reliable sources?
The databases to which the library subscribes provide access to articles that have been peer reviewed by experts in the field before being accepted for publication.
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Online Access to Financial News Sources is possible via PressReader & Access Global NewsBank
Watch this useful video tutorial for help with using Access Global Newsbank.
Access Global NewsBank provides direct access to newspapers such as Business Day, Financial Mail, the Sunday Times, The Herald & The Sowetan as well as to Newspapers & Magazines from around the world.
NewsBank's Hot Topics are current research topics covering key global issues, events & people about business, economics, crime, politics, science, health, sports, the arts and more.
Click here to access Hot Topics in Business & Economics (The latest topics and stories impacting the United States and global economy business trends).
A searchable News Clippings services collection for local South African newspapers is available via SA Media (News Clippings)Please ask your Librarian if you need help