This week I am discovering some of the business databases in MARVEL.
First up is Business Source Complete. As suggested, I search for information on “FM radio” in this database. In red, I am told “Note: Your initial search query did not yield any results. However, using SmartText Searching, results were found based on your keywords.” Okay, time to see what these results are. Like the previous databases I have explored, there are several ways to narrow my results – refine my Source Types as well as Company Information, and a specific search bar for a Company Name. Scrolling through the first couple of pages, I see both Academic Journals and Periodicalsas sources for this keyword search. At this point as FM radio doesn’t seem to be a valid topic for this database, I probably need to change my terms a bit.
I check out the Visual Search just below the Search bar. This time I just search “Radio”. This gives me a breakdown of several ways to see my search. I click on CHARTS, diagrams, etc. This gives me a second column of choices – here I click RADIO broadcasting. As I move through these choices, my results (in green) begin to narrow, showing what this database considers to be most relevant. I’m not sure when I will use this database, but it has interesting possibilities!
Next I move to EconLit. As directed, I search for “resources for small business owners”. The results are seven items – six from Academic Journals and one book. I randomly click an article and am given several pieces of pertinent information – Author, Source, Publication Date, Abstract, Keywords and Descriptors to name a few. All will be helpful when searching for and verifying information.
The next piece of the assignment is to search Environmental Protection Agency and small business. I again get the red error message. I try the same search using quotation marks – nothing at all this time. The automatic keyword search that EconLit does brings up several items that include Reports, Books and Academic Journals.
The last piece of this exercise includes searching for tax policy and small business. This time it works! I am NOT given the red error message. These articles also include a variety of sources.
Moving to the next exercise, I am now using Regional Business News. I search Pepsi. This brings several pages of information. This time my results include News, along with those previously mentioned. Hmm, let’s try something a bit closer to home. I search DeLorme and this brings up several pages of articles. The results are similar to what I found earlier, but again, I need to adjust my search term to include the DeLorme Mapping Company in Maine, not Yves DeLorme, Inc. linens.
Value Line Investment Survey is the next database I search. I know less than nothing about investing, so this site has a 50/50 chance of being helpful to me. I poke around a bit, looking at Description, Ratings & Reports, Summary & Index and Look Up Company to name a few.
I decide to look up Wal*Mart. I know they have some kind of stocks, as I often see it in the stores. No matter how I try to spell Walmart – capitalized, one word, with a star – company name brings me nothing. I try searching by industry and use the term Retail. Still no luck. I’m sorry to say, this is not a database that works for me – I seem to be “stocks” challenged.
Last but not least, I am discovering The Wall Street Journey. Using the Advanced Searchbutton I type in small business and health care. This brings me over 19000 results. By adding quotation marks around the terms, my results narrow to 1867. Much easier to sort through! I am given several suggested ways to narrow my search. These include Publication title, Subject, Location, Company/Organization and Publication date to name a few. These will be helpful when searching with patrons.
This database has the same ability most of the databases have had to set up Alerts for new input. There is also the capability to Save to My Research, Print, and Save Search. As mentioned in a previous blog – this one also has the Cite option for those doing research.
This has definitely been a learning blog post for me. I have explored several MARVEL databases that were truly not on my radar. I have discovered that I am a bit challenged as far as stock issues are concerned. I love the Visual Search option (I love the pictures, graphs, and just the way everything colorfully narrows my search). I need to have more specific search terms, or at least have the correct business name. I should use quotation marks ALL THE TIME!
I think I’m looking forward to helping a patron with some of these databases – but only someone with a significant amount of patience.