The purpose of this page is to guide you through the research process, but if you have any problems or questions, please contact a librarian by:

     1) going to the library,
     2) calling 425-5312, or
     3) using the Ask a Librarian option.

Happy hunting!

All the books listed in this section are in the Reference area of the library. The material listed below is only an example of resources, not an exhaustive list.

• Encyclopedia of Associations (Ref HS 17 G334)
• Encyclopedia of Business (Ref HF 1001 E466)
• Encyclopedia of Small Business (Ref HD 62.7 H553 1998)
• Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce (Ref HF 5548.32 G35)
• Market Research Glossary (www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_glossary&Itemid=26)

• Industry Surveys (Ref HC 106.6 S74) Sample table of contents page, Sample page
• Industry Reports through MergentOnline (click on Find Articles, then on Business)
• Industry sections of Value Line (Ref HG 4501 V26)
• North American Industry Classification System - NAICS (Ref HF 1041.5 N67)
• Standard Industrial Classification Manual (Ref HG 1042 S73)
• U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook (Ref HC 106.8 U547)

• Company profiles through Business Source Elite (click on Find Articles, then on Business)
• Hoover Online (www.hoovers.com/free)
• MergentOnline (click on Find Articles, then on Business)
• Oklahoma Business Directory (Ref HF 5065 O5 O35)
• Thomas Register (Ref T 12 T612, www1.thomasregister.com)
• Value Line (Ref HG 4501 V26) Sample page
• Yahoo! Finance (http://biz.yahoo.com/i)

• American Demographics (http://adage.com/americandemographics/)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)
• City-Data.com (www.city-data.com/)
• Consumer Expenditure Survey (www.bls.gov/cex/)
• County Business Patterns (www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html)
• County and City Data Book (www.census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html)
• County and City Extra (Ref HA 202 A37)
• Current Population Survey (www.census.gov/cps/)
• Demographic Profile 3 Trend Reports (http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/websas/dp3_2ktmenus/us/)
• Kid Count (www.kidscount.org/census/)
• Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm)
• Occupational Employment Statistics (www.bls.gov/oes/)
• Online Statistical Data about Aging ( http://www.aoa.gov/prof/Statistics/online_stat_data/online_stat_data.asp)
• Origins (origins.ou.edu)
• Sales & Marketing Management publishes a yearly "Survey of Buying Power" that contains information on every county in the United States and cities with a population more than 10,000 (In the library on paper 1978-1990, on microfiche 1991-present)
• Statistical Abstract of Oklahoma (Ref HA 581 U54)
• State & County Quick Facts (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html)
• State & Metropolitan Area Data Book (www.census.gov/compendia/smadb/)
• Statistical Abstract of the United States (Ref HA 202 U6X, www.census.gov/compendia/statab/) Sample page
• U. S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)
• U.S. Economic Census (www.census.gov/econ/census02/)
• Zip Code Lookup ( www.esri.com/data/community_data/community-tapestry/index.html)

Write down the main concepts or keywords that have to do with your topic, then try to think of other words or phrases that are related. When you’re searching the library catalog and online databases, you sometimes have to try several different words or phrases before you find what you’re looking for. For example, if your topic is “How does television violence affect children?” you might write:

Searching Tips:

Boolean operators

• AND - will retrieve articles that have both terms. Example: If you search on "televison AND violence," you'll get articles about both television and violence.
  
  
• OR - will retrieve articles that have either term. (Be sure to put parentheses around words connected by OR.) Example: If you search on "television OR violence," you'll get articles about television, about violence, and about television and violence.
  
  
• Use Boolean operators and the search terms that you listed above to create a search, such as:
  
  "television AND violence AND children."
  If you wanted to include all of the related terms, you might try:
  
  "(television OR cartoons OR ninja) AND
  
  (violence OR aggression OR fighting) AND
  
  (children OR youth OR adolescents)."

• Truncation allows you to search for different versions of the same word. Basically, you substitute an asterisk (*) for one or more letters. This is a quick and easy way to include plurals, tense variations and alternate spellings. Example: "violen*" will find violence, violent, etc.
  
  
• Be careful when using truncation; "cat*" will find cat, cats, catastrophe, catalog, catapult, etc.
  
  
• When you're searching the OC Catalog, you'll need to use "$" instead of "*" (e.g., "violen$").

To access these resources, go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library). NetLibrary and WorldCat are available off campus only to OC students, faculty, and staff, who must use their OC login and password to access the databases. If you have an OC login but are having problems logging into these databases, please call the reference desk at 425-5322 or Ask a Librarian.

OC Library Catalog (books in the OC Library)

• Select: OC Catalog
• Search by author, title, or keyword

• Select: NetLibrary

• Select: WorldCat
• TIP: If you find a book in WorldCat that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we’ll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL button at the top left and typing in your name and information. The book will usually arrive in around 2 weeks, and the service is usually free.

• Select: Other Library Catalogs
• Select the desired library
• TIP: Other local libraries are a good option when you don’t have time to wait for a book on interlibrary loan. Through the OK-Share program, OC students and faculty can check out books from over 40 university & college libraries in Oklahoma.

To access all databases, go the library's Web page (www.oc.edu/library) and click on "Find Articles." All databases are available on campus, but most databases are available off campus only to OC students, faculty, and staff, who must use their OC login and password to access the databases. If you have an OC login but are having problems logging into the databases, please call the reference desk at 425-5322 or Ask a Librarian.

TIP: Search the E-Journal List (listed under FIND ARTICLES) by subject for a list of online journals in a specific field. For example, online business journals are listed under the subject Business and Economics.

In-depth information on companies around the world as well as industry reports. Allows searching for companies by the NAICS/SIC codes.

Citations and abstracts for articles in business, management, economics, finance, banking, accounting, and more, as well as the full text for many (but not all!) of the articles. Also provides in-depth company profiles, and allows searching by NAICS/SIC code.

TIP: If you find an article in Business Source that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Full text articles from regional business publications such as the Fort Worth Business Press.

Includes articles from all disciplines including business. Provides citation and abstracts for articles as well as the full text for many (but not all!) of the articles.

TIP: If you find an article in Academic Search that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Includes articles from all disciplines including business. Entries are citations. Allows you to limit your search to articles in journals that are in the OC Library.

TIP: If you find an article in ArticleFirst that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL button at the top left and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Full text of national, international and local newspapers.

• Take a look at the Library’s recommended links about business.
  
  
• Some particularly useful sites for Marketing (in addition to the ones listed above) are:
  
  
  1. Basic Family Budget ( www.epinet.org/content.cfm/datazone_fambud_budget)
  2. ClickZ Stats (www.clickz.com/stats/)
  3. Facts for Features & Special Editions ( www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/index.html)
  4. Oklahoma Department of Commerce (www.okcommerce.gov/index.php)
  5. SME-International (www.smei.org)
  6. U.S. Business Advisor (www.business.gov)
  
  
• Do a search in WorldCat that is limited to "Internet Resources."
  
  
• Use the following sites to search for scholarly information on the Web
  1. Infomine
  2. Google Scholar
  3. Directory of Open Access Journals (a list of free online scientific & scholarly journals)


• Search the Web for sites that provide information on your topic, but remember that many Web sites are not reliable and may provide false or misleading information. Some good search engines are:
  1. Google (a search engine that emphasizes academic sites)
  2. Altavista
  3. Alltheweb
  4. Yahoo!

• Once you have found your sources (books, articles, Web sites), you’ll need to evaluate them to see if you should use them in your paper.
  
  
• For tips on how to choose good sources over bad sources, take a look at Evaluating Sources of Information.

• After writing your paper, you must make a bibliography of the books, journal articles, and other sources used in your paper.
  
  
• Citing Your Sources gives a list of handbooks, style manuals, and Web sites that will help you cite your sources.