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*Business Research Guide*: Finding Articles & More

A research guide covering all business-related topics, including accounting, economics, finance, marketing, and management.

Off-Campus Access to Databases

To access any database in this Research Guide from off campus, you will need your myMCC login.

Good Starting Point - EBSCO Business Databases

A good starting point for magazine, newspaper and journal articles on business topics is to search several of the EBSCO databases. The search box below will search the Academic Search Complete, Business Source Elite and Regional Business News databases.When searching databases, make sure to combine your key terms with Boolean AND (to include all the terms) or Boolean OR (for related terms). Check out the YouTube video below for a quick tutorial on Boolean searching.

Another good article database for business research is Academic OneFile.

Research databases
Limit Your Results
  • Select / Deselect all
  • Academic Search Complete
  • Business Source Elite
  • Regional Business News

Searching AtoZdatabases

The video above shows how to access the database and also demos a search for US Businesses and US Residents. The video below show how you can use the graph feature to view your results as a pie chart or bar graph.

Magazines

Click here to access Flipster for digital magazines. Current issues as well as back issues are available for you to view on your computer or mobile device, or through the Flipster app for iPhone/iPad or Android.

To access magazines from off-campus, log in using your library card number.

Recommended Databases

Finding NAICS Codes

Start your business or industry research here FIRST!

To use many information sources, you must know the industry classification codes for the industry or company you want to research. Do you know your SIC and NAICS codes? If not, click here for NAICS codes.  (HINT:  It's pronounced "NAKES" codes)

To find the NAICS code for the industry you are looking at, just do a keyword search here (search the 2022 edition): https://www.census.gov/naics/.  A keyword search is a simple search for the key word or phrase that you are looking for.  For instance you can search "pizza" if you want to locate the code for pizza parlors or pizza delivery, or "fitness" if you want to find the code for a fitness center or personal training.  If you have trouble finding a code for your industry, just ask a librarian for help.

NAICS codes cover entire industries and may include many types of businesses. Look carefully at your search results and click on the 6 digit code in order to view the full description and make sure you have the correct code.  The NAICS code will be useful when you search in books or databases for information.

What Are Industry Codes and How Do I Find Them?

What is an industry code?

An industry code is a number that represents an industry or type of business. These codes were developed by the U.S. government to make it easier to group businesses into categories called "industries," and to collect information about those industries.

Until 1997, the government used the Standard Industrial Classification system (often called "SIC"). SIC codes are four-digit numbers. The government now uses a system called North American Industrial Classification System ("NAICS"). NAICS codes are five- or six-digit numbers.

For example, the SIC code for the ice cream manufacturing industry is "2024." The NAICS code for the same industry is "311520."

Why do I need to know the SIC and NAICS codes for my industry?

Many business information sources are arranged by SIC or NAICS codes, so it's helpful to know your code(s) to find the information you need.

Selecting and Using Keywords Video (3:50)

keyword with magnifying glass over research

Joshua Vossler's video "Selecting and Using Keywords"

Keywords and Database Searching

  • Use specific keywords, not questions.
  • Revise your keywords to see how that changes your results.
  • Look for more keywords in the articles you find.

Entering Keywords into a Database (video 4:41)

Quick Tips and Shortcuts for Database Searching (video 5:19)