Course resource help for Business

Databases are collections of information. In Business you will need a wide variety of information including books, journals, accounting information, market research reports, company, market and industry analysis. If you are not sure what databases to use, we have listed them by the type of information available on them in the links below this one.

Business Source Complete

A huge database of academic journal articles, magazine articles, trade journals, reports, country profiles, industry profiles, and company profiles on all aspects of business including management.

EconLit with Full Text

Key economics databases containing academic journal articles, conference papers, book reviews and working papers from the America Economic Association. Many journal articles are available in full text.

Emerald Insight

This database contains academic and theoretical articles on management and business, including business strategy and the environment and aspects of quality control. The database provides abstracts from 1969 onwards and the full text of many journal articles is available from 1989.

Factiva

International news database providing archive of over 12,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages. Leading national newspapers, trade and professional journals, the BBC Monitoring Service (transcripts of world radio broadcasts) are all included.

FAME

Fame contains the accounts and other details of over 160,000 of the largest active UK and Irish companies. It provides 10 years of financial history information, shareholders, subsidiaries, corporate structures and stock profile data for quoted companies.

IBISWorld

IBISWorld, a database with market information for a wide range of industries.  IBISWorld is particularly strong on: heavier industries (mining, agriculture, construction) manufacturing service and entertainment sectors (including tourism and the arts), education and healthcare. 

MarketLine

MarketLine provides accurate and up-to-date research reports on companies, industries and countries for every major marketplace in the world. Reports include Company SWOT analysis, Industry Five Forces Analysis and Country PESTLE analysis.

Mergent

Mergent contains financial data for over 14,000 U.S and 27,000 International companies and annual reports for over 300, 000 globally listed companies going back 20 years. It includes the Dun & Bradstreet® Private Company Database and the Thomson Reuters Embargoed Research Collection (Investext) which offers authoritative analysis of companies, industries, products and countries.

Mintel

Mintel contains market research reports on the UK consumer with information on consumer lifestyles as well as industry, leisure, retail, travel and tourism reports.

Orbis

Orbis contains the accounts and other details of over 1.3 million international companies, including the UK. It provides 10 years of financial history information, shareholders, subsidiaries, corporate structures and stock profile data for quoted companies. Patent information is available for over 100,000 companies.

Passport

Passport contains international country, consumer lifestyles, economic and market research reports from Euromonitor International.

Statista

Statista offers access to statistics and studies on 80,000 topics and 170 industries. It contains statistics, infographics, market surveys, consumer surveys, industry and country reports. Sources include government institutions, such as statistical offices and ministries, international organisations, market research institutes, and trade journals. Data on the gross advertising market (Nielsen) and buying and consumption behaviour/brands(VuMa) and other paid sources such as Mintel, YouGov, eMarketer, Kantar and PwC are also included.

WARC

A database from the World Advertising Research Center, it covers journals, news, case studies and data on advertising and marketing.

Web of Science

In spite of its name, this database covers all subject areas. It's particularly useful for tracking citations to key articles. On Web of Science you can view an article and see a list of the author’s 'Cited References' - those sources that influenced the author. You can also see the article's influence on subsequent publications via the 'Times Cited' option.

Business books are located in Headington Library, just type the author, title or subject that you are interested in LibrarySearch and use the call number to find them on the shelf.

Ebooks are found the same way, type what you are looking for in LibrarySearch and then select ebooks from the ‘All formats’ filter on the right hand side of your results to filter to ebooks only. Here is our ‘Finding and using ebooks’ video to help you.

Journal articles contain the latest research and are written by academics for an academic audience. They are shorter than books and are on specific topics.  They may not be easy to understand by somebody who does not understand the basics of the topic already - you could try a textbook first before moving on to look for journal articles.

Finding a specific journal title?

If you are looking for a specific journal title, use our ‘How to find journals by title’ guide to help you or use the Journals by title option on LibrarySearch.

Looking for the Harvard Business Review?

The Harvard Business Review is available on Business Source Complete. Read our ‘Finding articles in the Harvard Business Review’ guide to see how to find it on Business Source Complete.

Which are the best journals?

The first thing to check is whether or not the journal is peer-reviewed (3 minute explanation of peer review). On LibrarySearch, look for the peer-review icon under the article title in your search results. You can also check a journal's website to find out whether it is peer-reviewed.

You can also use journal 'rankings' lists to see which are the most highly regarded journals in your subject. The Chartered Association of Business Schools  Academic Journal Guide is very useful for this. You need to register to view the guide, but it is free.  

Trouble finding what you’re looking for?

Try some of our advanced search strategies guide to improve your searching skills.

Business Source Complete

Emerald Insight

EconLit with Full Text

LibrarySearch

 

 

Analysis on companies, markets and industries can be expensive and difficult to get access to. We have a comprehensive collection of this as well as financial and accounting information available in the databases listed below. International newspapers (including the Financial Times) and trade publications are available in Factiva newspaper databases. 

Fame contains the accounts and other details of over 160,000 of the largest active UK and Irish companies.

How to use Fame

Orbis contains the accounts and other details of over 1.3 million international companies, including the UK. Patent information is available for over 100,000 companies.

How to use Orbis

Mergent contains financial data for over 14,000 U.S and 27,000 International companies and annual reports for over 300, 000 globally listed companies going back 20 years. It includes the Dun & Bradstreet® Private Company Database and the Thomson Reuters Embargoed Research Collection (Investext) which offers authoritative analysis of companies, industries, products and countries.

How to use Mergent

Factiva contains a news archive of 10000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages. National and local newspapers (including the Financial Times), trade and professional journals, and company's financial details are all included. 

How to use Factiva

Business Source Complete contains company, industry and market reports as well as SWOT analyses and information to help you make a PESTLE analysis.

How to use Business Source Complete (company information tab)

Marketline provides accurate and up-to-date research reports on companies, industries and countries for every major marketplace in the world. Reports include Company SWOT analysis, Industry Five Forces Analysis and Country PESTLE analysis.

How to use Marketline

Business information is marketable and expensive. We have a very comprehensive collection of market research reports and industry analysis available in the databases listed below. These can be used to explore market trends, competitive landscape, industry size and competitors, PESTLE analysis, products and consumers worldwide. 

IBISWorld is a database with market information for a wide range of industries. IBISWorld is particularly strong on: heavier industries (mining, agriculture, construction) manufacturing service and entertainment sectors (including tourism and the arts), education and healthcare.

Marketline  has industry reports including market segmentation and Five Forces analysis, as well as case studies, theme reports, company information and more.

How to use Marketline

Mintel contains information about the UK consumers lifestyles as well as industry, leisure, retail, travel and tourism reports.

How to use Mintel 

Passport contains information about International markets, consumer lifestyles, country, and economic reports from Euromonitor International.

How to use Passport 

WARC contains journals, news, case studies and data on advertising and marketing from the World Advertising Research Center.

How to use WARC

BRAD contains advertising rates and other data for U.K. newspapers, business and consumer magazines, TV, radio and other media. You will need a password to log into BRAD, which is available from the BRAD link above.  Contact a librarian for help using BRAD

Events Management students - contact your department for access to The Purple Guide.

Business Source Complete contains country reports including those produced by the OECD. 

How to use Business Source Complete

Passport (supplier is Euromonitor) contains country profiles, statistics and country pulse reports from around the world.  

How to use Passport

Marketline provides accurate and up-to-date research reports on countries and the companies and industries operating within them.

How to use Marketline

Our Statistics reading list contains links to reputable international and UK statistical sources

Masters dissertations are only accessible in full text by current staff and students of Oxford Brookes University. They are stored in RADAR, our Research Archive and Digital Asset Repository. Use our blogpost called Finding business dissertations to help you find them

We recommend that all distance learners familiarise themselves with the range of business databases available to help them with their studies whilst at Oxford Brookes. The Library Information Sources for Business Students’ virtual learning course covers: 

• how to get the best from journals databases 

• how to find company, market and industry analyses in our company information databases.

• how to find market research reports in Mintel, Passport and MarketLine.

• how to use Factiva, our newspaper database,  to find company, industry, and market news.

Access the Library Information Sources for Business Students virtual learning course:

• Enter your Brookes student number and password to access Moodle. Your Brookes student number and password are used to access the virtual library and all electronic resources. 

• When you see the name of the course, click on Self-enrol.

• The course will then appear on your Moodle dashboard and you will be able to access it at any time. 

Contact the Academic Liaison Librarians by emailing businesslibrarians@brookes.ac.uk if you have difficulties.