1. HOW TO DO RESEARCH: Business GET READY, SET, GO

2. GET READY Choose a topic List keywords, synonyms and concepts Search the library catalog Read background information

3. Choose a Topic Of interest to you Manageable Specific Brainstorm List keywords, concepts, synonyms Formulate a question or hypothesis

4. Search the Library Catalog

5. Library Catalog

6. Search the Library Catalog Find books and media: new titles, encyclopedias and reference books Read for background information Note sources in bibliographies Check dates for recency Check for availability in catalog

7. Get Set: Construct a Search Strategy Questions How is strategic planning applied to businesses, nonprofits and government agencies? What are the effects of market/competitive environments? Identify strategic improvements related to performance trends, financial data and macroeconomic factors. Concepts/Keywords strategic planning market environments performance trends Related terms organizational data

8. Use Advanced Searching Techniques quotations “ “ to search for multiple terms as a complete phrase “strategic planning” “market environment” truncation * to include all variant endings: competit* (competition, competitive, competitiveness) Parentheses ( ) Sets the order of search. Terms in parentheses are searched first: “market environments” AND (competitive environments) If more than one set is used the one on the left is searched first

9. Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT Combine search terms for a narrow result: “strategic planning” AND “strategic management” Combine synonyms or closely related terms for a wider search: “financial data” OR “organizational data” Excludes terms from the search result: “nonprofit organizations” NOT “businesses”

10. Use Research Port

11. Select Databases

12. General Databases Academic Search Premier JSTOR Master File Premier

13. Subject Related Databases Business Source Complete Hoovers Company Information Factiva RDS Business Reference Suite Regional Business News Mintel

14. Business Source Complete

15. Business Source Complete

16. Business Source Complete

17. Business Source Complete

18. Searching on the Internet Search in Google but evaluate the site before using the information Information is written by anyone It is not authoritative or peer reviewed by experts in the field It is not organized and is difficult to find. Popular items come up first. Is flexible with search terms and recognizes phrases or natural languagae

19. Go Read sources, take notes Organize ideas Make an outline Write first draft Document sources (footnotes or endnotes) Write a bibliography Revise first draft Proofread final draft

20. APA CITATION FORMAT Citing Sources Using the APA Publication Manual http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/citing_apa.html APA Style Help http://www.apastyle.org/apa-style-help.aspx How to Write an Annotated Bibliographyhttp://www.umuc.edu/library/tutorials/bibliography/bibliography-text.shtml