Welcome to the UMass Business Research Guide!
Contact Business Librarian Alison Messier for help with homework assignments, thesis preparation, special projects or any questions about using the UMass Amherst Libraries. Appointments can be scheduled for research consultations, reference questions, or assignment assistance. Please email the librarian to request an appointment. For instant service, please visit our Ask Us page, or use the links to the left below.
Spring 2022 Librarian Office Hours
Finding eJournals at UMass Amherst Libraries
**A note on Harvard Business Review: The UMass Amherst Libraries subscribe to this journal via the Business Source Complete database. It can be searched for using the Publication search box and by typing "harvard business review" (with quotation marks) and clicking the Search button.**
HBR can also be found using the eJournal search as detailed in the video above.
Selected journals from Financial Times Research Ranking (2016)
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ACCOUNTING Contemporary Accounting Research Journal of Accounting and Economics |
FINANCE The Review of Financial Studies
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CONSUMERS & PSYCHOLOGY Journal of Consumer Psychology
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ECONOMICS & PUBLIC POLICY Journal of Financial Economics The Quarterly Journal of Economics The Review of Economic Studies
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
MARKETING |
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ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT
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OPERATIONS & IT Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS) |
Scholarly Articles
Working Papers
Databases of News and Trade Articles
Case Studies
Harvard requires each person to buy a license for any Case, Module, or Curriculum Article that they want to read. The UMass Amherst Libraries are unable to purchase and share these materials. We advise you to use course packets (if available), work with your instructor to gain access, or buy your own copy of these materials.
O'Reilly Safari Learning Platform
Features video case studies from a first-person point of view about many well-known companies, including Slack, Pinterest, Google, Uber, Amazon, and more. Topics include business, data, software development, and user research. To browse cases, scroll down on the O'Reilly homepage. Under Case Studies > See More.
Case studies are searchable by keyword. They are typically about 10 pages in length and address industry trends or company strategies.
This database contains articles from many publications broadly covering the subject of business. The following journals are dedicated to case studies, and you can search for them by typing the title into the search box, surrounded by quotation marks (e.g. "Asian Case Research Journal"):
You can also search for case studies using the Advanced Search feature in this database. Just add the term "case study" to your keyword search string, e.g. "artificial intelligence" AND "case study".
Asian Journal of Management Cases
A peer-reviewed journal of teaching and research cases focusing on real-life management issues in Asia, including the South, Central and Southwest Asia, plus the Middle East.
South Asian Journal of Business & Management Cases
A peer-reviewed journal of research cases that "aims to provide a space for high-quality original case study research that studies a phenomenon within the boundaries of an organizational context," (quote from journal's website). Phenomena of study include sustainability, entrepreneurship, team building, business growth, customer experience, and more.
Books on business topics are primarily found in the H range of the Library of Congress Classification system, which is the Social Sciences section. This brief explanation of LC call numbers will help you find books and other materials in the Libraries.
Sub-sections of particular interest may be:
HD: Industries, Land Use, Labor, Management.
HF: Commerce, Business, Accounting.
HG: Finance, Banking, Investment.
HJ: Public finance, Revenue, Taxation.
Books in this range can be found on the 17th and 18th floors of the Du Bois Library. Refer to this floor directory for more information about locations of materials and services in the Library.
Getting Started
Discovery Search, the default search box on the UMass Amherst Libraries website, is the best place to search for books. It searches many resources at once, including from all of the libraries of the Five Colleges. Below are a couple of tutorials on how to use this valuable tool.
e-Books
The Libraries also have access to several e-book collections. Here are a few with business-related content:
How do I find career opportunities and information about jobs?
UMass Amherst students: Check with your school's career development office, visit Career Services, and join Handshake.
Career Information Resources
BLS: Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook has career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations.
O*NET OnLine is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, and developed by the National Center for O*NET Development. This comprehensive web application provides detailed descriptions of occupations and the world of work for "use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more!"
Website from the United States Department of Labor. Learn about careers, find career information, and locate career resources and advice.
Make a List of Companies
It is helpful when making a list of companies in an industry to know the related industry code. Often these are NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes. Codes act as a standard controlled language for industries. NAICS codes are newer and more specific than SIC codes. Find and learn about NAICS codes.
Useful Libraries databases for company information:
A global directory in which every featured company within the database has at least one foreign subsidiary. Users can find both US firms operating in foreign countries, and foreign firms operating in the US. Searchable criteria include industry, employee count, and revenue. UniWorld uses NAICS codes.
Provides current analysis of over 200 U.S. industries. Features analyst insights, industry information, products and markets, competitive landscape, operating conditions, key statistics, and more.
Company profiles with SWOT analysis. Includes information for both US and foreign industries and companies. Users can browse by industry sector, company, geography, case studies, news reports, and more.
Includes public and private company information for over 200 million U.S. and international companies. Data and details are provided from Hoover's, First Research, and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). Mergent uses NAICS codes.
Users can research an industry, including information such as business intelligence, key industry associations, opportunities, and more. Users can also research a company, including finding companies and executives, contact lists, and investment research. There is also a job seekers toolkit and resources section of this database, with helpful links to job search sites, seven keys to research, and information on how to apply for a job online. Plunkett uses NAICS codes.
A helpful database for creating a list of targeted companies for a job search, Data Axle currently contains over 30 million business listings. Can be searched by industry, company name, or using NAICS codes.
A guide to national, regional, state, and local organizations in the U.S., and international organizations. Coverage includes categories such as trade, business, and commercial; legal, governmental, and public administration; athletic and sport; cultural, and more.
GuideStar is a database that specializes in nonprofit company intelligence. It features current financial data, IRS forms, and visualizations of financial trends for nonprofits. It also includes directories to search for nonprofit organizations and people who hold leadership positions.
Popular Lists of Companies
Fortune 500 list. Contained within the Business Source Complete database, Fortune magazine publishes yearly issues detailing the largest U.S. corporations, officially known as the Fortune500. This custom URL directs you to the issues with "Largest U.S. Corporations" in the title, which is what the magazine calls its list.
Many different entities create company lists. The INSEAD Libraries has compiled a website of additional lists sorted by region and by sector.
Business Databases A - Z
Citations for Business Sources
Tutorial: APA Style Citations: 7th Edition
BCC Research
BCC Research Staff. (2019, March). Wearable medical devices: Technologies and global markets.
https://academic-bccresearch-com.silk.library.umass.edu/member/index/libraryhome
Census Data
Find the permalink to cite the Census table directly whenever possible, rather than the various visualization tools such as Census Business Builder, which do not usually have permalinks.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2017). Construction: Summary statistics for the U.S., states, and selected geographies (Table EC1723BASIC) [Data set].
U.S. Department of Commerce. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ECNBASIC2017.EC1723BASIC&t=Employment%3ANew%20Housing%20%28Construction%20and%20Sales%29&vintage=2017&hidePreview=false
eMarketer Pro
Briggs, P., Dolliver, M., Kim, A., Koch, L., & Wurmser, Y. (2020, February). Canada digital habits by generation: Identifying key distinctions across
age groups, from teens to baby boomers. eMarketer. https://content-na1.emarketer.com/canada-digital-habits-by-generation
IBISWorld
If the report has a unique identifier number, use it in parentheses after the title. In this case, include a more specific description in the brackets than just [Industry report] as is often used elsewhere, because IBIS has risk and other reports, as well as other levels of industry reports, and sometimes the titles and numbers are the same.
Diment, D. (2019, December). Corporate wellness services (OD4621) [U.S. specialized industry report]. IBISWorld.
https://my-ibisworld-com.silk.library.umass.edu/us/en/industry-specialized/od4621/about
MarketLine Advantage
Marketline. (2019). Renewable energy in Mexico [Industry profile]. https://advantage-marketline-com.silk.library.umass.edu/Analysis
/ViewasPDF/mexico-renewable-energy-93430
MarketResearch.com Academic
Kalorama. (2019, September). Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare [Market report]. MarketResearch.com Academic: https://www-
marketresearch-com.silk.library.umass.edu/academic/Product/16064936
Mintel Academic
Failla, J. (2020, April). Quick service restaurants - US. Mintel. https://reports-mintel-com.silk.library.umass.edu/display/986928/#
