Week 2: Finding journal articles

Finding journal articles can be a little daunting.  That's why we have put together this guide to talk you through the process of finding a specific journal article (from your reading list for example) and how to find journal articles on a topic.  For the latter, Business Source Complete is a great source to use and in the guide you will find a video describing how you can access and use Business Source Complete.

Picture: artiewhite on Flickr

Looking for journal articles?

We've had a number of enquiries from Business students who are looking for journal articles on a particular topic.  As a starting point we suggest that one of the best ways to find business/management journal articles is to use Business Source Complete- an online resource which contains full-text trade and scholarly journals in all aspects of business.

To access Business Source Complete on or off campus:
1. Go to Library Search http://www.westminster.ac.uk/librarysearch 
2. Type Business Source Complete into the search box.
3. Click on the link to open Business Source Complete.
4. If you are off campus you may be asked to sign-in: look for a link that says 'shibboleth' or log-in via your institution- click on it and then choose University of Westminster from a drop-down menu.

To search:
1. Search using keywords for your topic.  If you add more keywords with AND you will get fewer results (narrowing your search).  [See also: Improving Search Results]
2. The results are presented in date descending order.  To change this click on 'date descending' and change to relevance.  
3. Those that are marked 'academic journal' are from scholarly journals, those marked 'periodicals' are from trade journals.  In the left hand column you can filter your results to see just scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.  [See also: What's the difference?]
4. You can also filter your results by date using the menu on the left hand side of the results page.

To access the article:

Any with a PDF Full Text Link you can click on that link to get the full article.  Any with the LinX icon you can click on that to see if we have full text available.

Click on this- if it says 'full text available' click on the go button

Further help:

• Contact the WBS Librarians using the 'contact' tab on the blog to book an appointment with one of us to guide you through using Business Source Complete.
• Look at the Business Source Complete help guides.  Click 'help' in the top right hand of the Business Source Complete interface.

Where else to look for journal articles on a topic:

• There are other resources available which allow you to search for journal articles on a topic. Emerald is another good one for Management topics.  To see all our e-journal resources click on the 'e-resources' link in the top right hand corner of Library Search, and from the e-resources by type drop-down menu choose 'e-journals'.  You can click 'show info' next to any resource to find out what it covers.  
• Library Search also has a quick search for articles- click on the 'articles & more' tab to search.  This is good for general topics but not great for specific business topics.

Not sure where to look for journal articles?

Business Source Complete is an excellent place to start looking for journal articles.  It contains over 10,000 full text journals covering all areas of business.  Search on your topic and find articles from trade journals and academic, peer-reviewed journals. It also contains some company, industry and country profiles so is a great place to start your search.  Marylebone library will be running drop-in sessions on locating articles using Business Source Complete from 1-2pm Monday to Friday next week (24th-28th October 2011) in Marylebone library training room.  

How do I access Business Source Complete?

In Library Search type Business Source Complete into the books, journals and more search box and click search.  Click on Business Source Complete to open it.  

Do I need a password to access it off campus?

You will need to sign into Library Search with your university username and password (make sure your name appears in the top right hand corner of Library Search).  Once you click on Business Source Complete you should be taken to the screen below.  Choose UK Higher Education and University of Westminster. 

If you are taken to the screen below make sure you choose the Shibboleth login link to take you to the screen above.

Where can I get help using it?

Come along to one of the drop-in sessions:

24th-28th October 2011 1-2pm Marylebone Library Training Room

Contact one of the WBS Librarians for help:

http://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/library-it-services/support-and-training/liaision-librarians

Click on the help button in the top right hand corner of Business Source Complete to see EBSCOs help topics.

Where else can I find journal articles for business?

Emerald is a good resource to use particularly for management, human resources and marketing topics.  Search for Emerald in Library Search.  Off campus you will need to log in by clicking Athens/institutional login (underneath the username and password box) and then UK Federation.  Try also the "Articles and More" tab in Library Search.  If you want to find a particular journal, search for it by name in the Library Search "books, journals and more" search box.  Click on the e-journals link in Library Search to browse our full collection.