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SUBJECT RESEARCH GUIDE |
Many of the library's resources are available online. To start your research, begin with the the CSUDH Library web page found at : http://library.csudh.edu/ . Access to these resources is available from computers in the Library and the campus Computer Lab (WH D160).
Books are located using the Library's ToroFind catalog. Here you can search for books by author, title or subject. To find books on business plans, 1) select a search method, 2) enter your search terms in the box provided, and 3) click on the "CSUDH Catalog" button.
Examples:
Find: business plans and Check: "title key words"
Find: business planning and Check: "any words in subject" or "Library of Congress subject headings"
To find journal articles when you do not have a specific citation or reference to an article, try one of the article indexes. Click on a link below to access the database of your choice or use our comprehensive list of Article Indexes to see all available CSUDH databases.
For a review of how to use the databases to find
journal articles, click here. To limit
your results to peer reviewed articles, look for the words "scholarly" and/or
"peer reviewed" and place a check in the box beside these words. Many of the citations to articles will have links such as "PDF Full Text" or "HTML Full Text." This button 
will appear in many of the databases. By clicking on it, you can find out if the CSUDH Library has the article in another database or print/microfilm formats.
Use this database to search over 1,800 business journals for coverage on business and economic conditions, management techniques and theory, advertising, marketing, human resources and more.
Covers more than 750 magazines and newsletters with a trade of industry focus. Look here for the latest industry news, product and competitive information, marketing trends, etc.
An index with some full text articles. This database provides coverage for a broad spectrum of business-related topics.
This is the most comprehensive database for searching scholarly business publications. It includes full text articles for more 1,100 scholarly publication. All areas related to business are covered. When you reach the Choose Databases page, you can either click on Business Source Premier or the Enhanced Business Searching Interface . The Enhanced interface makes it easier to find makes it easier to search Industry Profiles and Market Research Reports.
If global business is your interest, EIU Viewswire provides business country alerts on market developments, country market forecasts and risk assessments, economic indicators, business regulations and more.
This is a good database to search for business news and includes the Wall Street Journal. This database has search functions for searching by industry and by company.
If you need to know about companies and competitors for the type of business you want to establish, Hoover's provides a brief overview of the companies, their products and operations, competitors, and brief financial information.
LEXIS/NEXIS has several modules. To access the business information, be sure to look on the left side of the screen and click on "Business." There is category of "Industry & Market" that can be used to search for industry news items. This database also includes records of SEC filings. In LEXIS/NEXIS, you need to be especially aware of the date range. The default of previous six months may not fit your requirements so be sure to take a look at the date range and reset it if necessary.
This database provides extensive company information for U.S. and international companies, SEC filings, and a good overview of industries through its industry reports. If you view a page for a specific company, notice the tabs at the top of the page for annual reports, company financials, news, research, etc. Although not available for every company, there are annual reports for both U.S. and international companies. The "create reports" tab allows you to create a custom report.
This database includes over 1,100 market reports. Information includes market size, market segmentation, market shares, and market forecasts.
STAT-USA covers both the U.S. and the world. State of the Nation files provide information on the U.S. economy, e.g, economic indicators, consumer price indexes, and sales statistics. GLOBUS and the NTDB files can be used for international market research, trade opportunities, and country analyses.
The Library subscribes only to the portion of this web site called the Value Line Investment Survey Standard Edition. Accessing this resource requires password information available by calling the Reference Desk at (310) 243-3582.
Finding a Specific Journal Title
If you have a reference or citation to a specific journal article, use the CSUDH Journals List to find out if the Library subscribes to the needed journal. This list includes both print and online journals. The Library currently subscribes to over 25,000 journals online. Current issues of print journals are housed on the 3rd floor in the Current Periodicals collection. Earlier years of print subscriptions are available as bound volumes in the book stacks or on microfilm. If you need a microfilm title, please come to the Reference Desk for assistance.
Use this list to look up specific journal titles. When you click on the title, you will usually find a page that has separate links for the year of available volumes. Click on the year and then you will next be able to click on specific issues. CSUDH's list also includes links to the ToroFind catalog record for print subscriptions.
There are are millions of web pages with information on business plans. Some have instructions on how to write a business plans and others are sample plans. You should evaluate the quality and accuracy of the information when using information from the web for your project. Here's a link to one of many websites which give you evaluation criteria: Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages.
Here are examples of web pages that can provide information on the basics of a business plan and on measures of industrial activity for marketing analysis:
This web page gives you some questions to think about as you are developing your plan. Be sure to check on the link on the left side of the page. This leads to information on writing the plan.
U.S. Small Business Administration Startup Guide
This is another useful page from the SBA to get you thinking about a business.
The federal government has a wealth of data available on the web. This is an example of a web page that provides statistical data useful for market analysis and forecasting.
This is a commercial site that gives sample business plans. The business plan that you write will be a result of your own ideas, research, and analysis. Please do not think you can copy one of these!!!
When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will usually be asked to provide a bibliography of the materials that you used. There are several standard guides available in the Library to help you. Please come to the Reference Desk for assistance. In addition, the CSUDH Library has a summary of the formats that are most commonly used posted on the Library website. Take a look at this guide in advance so you'll know what information you need to jot down before you begin your research. It may be more difficult to retrace your steps than to make bibliographic note cards as you are working on your project.
This web page on How to Cite Your Sources in a Research Paper has two links. The first link takes you to a download page for the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you will need to access the actual instruction page. The second link leads to a document that shows you how to cite books, articles, and web resources in APA, MLA, and Turabian formats. Always check with your professor to find out which citation format is preferred.
Last updated 6/24/05 by Naomi Moy.
