• Go to www.lib.tcu.edu
• click on the “Journal Articles & Databases” link on the left side of the page.  (Alternately click on the “Find Article” link in the middle of the page)
• From this point, if you know the name of the database you want, click on that letter in the alphabetical listing and scroll down to find the link to your database
• If you don’t know the name of a specific database, but know the Subject (or topic) of your search, I recommend you use the drop-down box under “Databases by Subject” to get to a short list of databases applicable to your search.  For business research, here are the subject groupings you might be most interested in: Company & Industry, Finance/Accounting, Management & Marketing, Newspapers, Multi-Disciplinary, and Supply Chain Management.

Now that you know the pathway, here are a few key points about databases:

• If you are off-campus, you will need to use the same username/password that you use to get into MyTCU.
• Some databases have a limited # of users (click the ‘info’ link next to the database name to know for sure).  If you get a non-TCU password screen, chances are the max # of users for that database has been reached.  Wait approx. 10 minutes and try again.
• Databases are NOT websites.  Sure, you use the internet to get to databases, but databases contain electronic versions of Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, and sometimes Books.
• DON”T Google to get to the databases!  It has to recognize that you are coming from a TCU IP address.  In addition, many of the databases (like Hoover’s) also have corresponding websites: problem is, the websites will try to charge you $$$$$ to get the info; whereas, you could be getting the info for “free” by accessing it through TCU.   Everybody is trying to make a buck.

Let me know if you have any questions!

I would look in the following TCU databases (keep in mind that some of these databases have limits on the # of simultaneous users, so if a non-TCU password screen pops up, just wait and try again later):

Business Source Complete, EconLit, General Business File ASAP, Promt, Business Reference Suite (2 users), and Factiva (5 users). 

Here is how I would structure my basic search if you have multiple boxes on the page:

Box 1: iasb OR “international accounting standards board”

Box 2: fasb OR “financial accounting standards board”

Box 3: differences

In box 3, you may need to replace the word ‘differences’ with a keyword from some of the other criteria for your assignment (someone needs to post the questions being asked for me to give better suggestions here- my feeble mind cannot recall the entire assignment from my one glance at it).  In some databases, you need to NOT use the word differences in order to get results.  Try some variations and don’t give up on the first attempt.

If the database has a single search box, construct your search like this:

(iasb OR “international accounting standards board”) AND (fasb OR “financial accounting standards board”) AND differences

Good luck!

Someone sent me the assignment- yeah!  Here are some more suggestions for searches. 

• I am numbering my searches to match your assignment 
• I will put the search in black and any personal commentary/explanations in blue
• I will structure the searches as if I had one search box on the database page (if you have multiple boxes, put the items in parenthesis in a single box, together) 
• Feel free to post your own suggestions for classmates in the comments
• Same databases mentioned above.

1. (ifrs OR “international financial reporting standards”) AND (advent OR history OR emergence OR development)  You may want to delete the word, development, from your search since it will pull up lots of articles talking about the effects of IFRS on business development.  Play around with it.

2. (ifrs OR “international financial reporting standards”) AND politic*  The * symbol tells the search engine to look for all the variations that could be added to the end of the word (ex. politics, political, etc.)

3.  I think my original suggestions pertain to this (see above this added section)

4. (ifrs OR “international financial reporting standards”) AND (benefit* OR cost* OR pro)  Pro, because some databases will have articles that talk about the pros & cons of IFRS  (try truncating it also (i.e., adding the * symbolel- pro*)

5. (ifrs OR “international financial reporting standards”) AND “early adopt*”  If you don’t get anything back putting “early adopt*” in quotations, take out the quotation marks and try just the word, adopt*.  Or, you can try early AND adopt*

“If you go to the Help and Education page of Morningstar Investment Research Center, you will find our Investing Classroom. There are courses on stocks, mutual funds, and portfolio analysis. The nice thing about Investing Classroom is that it can help anyone–from the novice to the expert. You will find course levels ranging from basic terms at the 100 level to derivatives and contemporary theories at the 500 level.”

Just click on the Help and Education tab.  Remember, our database only allows 2 simultaneous users, so if you get a strange (i.e., non-TCU) password screen, wait a few minutes and try again.

Double click the screen shot below for an indication of what you will find:

• Go to the TCU database, Factiva   (note: this database only allows 5 users at a time, so if a nonTCU password screen pops up, that means that 5 people are currently using the database, and you’ll have to try later- wait 10-15 minutes) (I’m taking a breath now!)
• Note: You may just want to double click the image below vs. reading all this verbage!
• Type your search in the search box
• Make sure the date range works for your needs
• Click the “Source” plus sign
• Click on the “Group: WSJ Publications” link (this should make it show up in pink above the Source search box)
• Click “Run Search”
• DONE!

1. In the TCU catalog, type the name of the journal/mag./newspaper into the search box and select “Journal/Serial name begins with…” in the drop down box.

Journal/Magazine/Newspaper search in Library Catalog

2.  Your search will take you into an alphabetical listing of TCU’s journals/mag./newspapers.  Do not fear the alphabetical listing!    Click on the link to your journal/mag./newspaper.  If no link with your title appears, we don’t have full-text access to that particular title.

Alphabetical Listing of Journal/Mag./Newspaper Links

3. The next screen will show you which databases have full-text to that journal and whether we have a physical copy in the library.  Pay attention to the date ranges listed next to the database name!  Your particular article has to fall within those date ranges in order to access full-text.

If the library has a physical copy, you will need to write down the call #.  Our journals & magazines are organized by call number (not alphabetically).  Also, bound journals (older journal copies that have been bound together in a book) have the same call # as the current issues, but are in a  different location.  Click the location link to see a map of where it is located.

Screen showing Journal/Mag/Newspaper locations

Here’s the short version for those in a hurry (click on the hyperlinked text to get the complete answer directly from the census bureau with a cherry on top!):

Census tracts are subdivisions of a county.  Although these boundaries are fairly stable, they do change from one census survey year to another.  A census tract contains about 4,000 inhabitants. 

What info can I get at the census tract level?  The only data being reported at the census tract level is information contained in Summary Files 1-4 of the Decennial Census (the last one was conducted in 2000).  Click on this link to get to the Decennial Census. 

Here is the Census Bureau’s description of the information contained within Summary Files 1-4 of the Decennial Census: 

“Summary File 1 presents counts and information [age, sex, race, Hispanic/Latino origin, household relationship, whether residence is owned or rented] collected from all people and housing units.

Summary File 2 Population and housing characteristics iterated for many detailed race and Hispanic or Latino categories, and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

Summary File 3 presents detailed population and housing data (such as place of birth, education, employment status, income, value of housing unit, year structure built) collected from a 1-in-6 sample and weighted to represent the total population.

Summary File 4 contains tabulations of population and housing data collected from a sample of the population. The data are shown down to the census tract level for 336 race, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, and ancestry categories.”

For directions on how to navigate through the Summary Files when you have a specific census tract number, go here.

For directions on how to obtain census tract numbers for a state, county, etc. go here

Hope this helps!  Leave a comment if you have anything to add or need me to find something else.

SWAT- killing flies.

Totally not related.  Once again, I’m just trying to get your attention.  If you need to find a SWOT analysis on a company, use the TCU database, Business Source Complete. 

Here’s the quickest way to find a SWOT analysis in that database:  Type the ticker symbol of your company in the first search box and select “TK Ticker Symbol” from the drop down box.  In the next box, type: swot  (double click on image to see an example)

SWOT search example

Go to my delicious account (on the right hand sidebar of this page) to find more websites than what I showed at the workshop.  Just click into the “Career Information” tag bundle.

I’m still trying to figure out how to convert a PowerPoint presentation into a format that can be loaded into this blog.  If anyone knows, leave a comment for me (it won’t post immediately- our comments have to be approved due to all the spam we receive). Thanks!

Here are some quick, initial things to think about as you begin your research:

• Is the company public or private?  (hint: it is more difficult to find information on a private company)
• Is the company a subsidiary? (if so, financial information is typically reported under the parent company)
• What is the “official” name of the company? ex. Target Corporation, Ford Motor Company, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., etc.  (some databases won’t pull up information on the company unless you have typed in the “official name”)
• What is the address of the company’s headquarters?  (some databases list financial information on local units or franchisees OR 2 companies have similar names: either way, an address helps to verify that you are looking at the correct company)
• If it is a public company, what is the ticker symbol?  (some databases allow you to search by ticker symbol, and honestly, this is the fastest, easiest way to search)

I like to start my company research in Hoover’s Online because 1) the database is forgiving when it comes to the “spelling” of the companies name (i.e., I don’t have to type in the “official name” to get results) 2) the database easily answers all the questions posed above, and 3) I can get quite a bit of information from Hoovers including financial data, competitive landscape, biographies on key personnel, news, products, etc.

Next research post: I’ll talk about some useful TCU databases for researching public companies.

Example #1: If my research question is that I am trying to find the number of residential swimming pools in Texas, I could place this into a broader category by deciding that this is a form of industry information that is statistical in nature.  An intermediate category might be the specific industry: Pool & Building Cleaning Services.

Example #2:  I am specifically looking for supply chain information on Pepsico.  I could put this into the broader category of Company information.

Example #3: I specifically want information on the number of people in Dallas that dine out, where they dine out, and how often.  I would put this into the broader category of Consumer Behavior and/or Demographics.

Why Categorize?  Sometimes being aware of the Category my question falls within, helps me to choose a better or the best starting place for my research.  For instance, if I were looking for industry information (within the United States), I would probably start with the TCU database, IBISWorld.   If I were looking for demographics, I might start with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In other words, quickly determining a broad category may save you research time.

My next few posts will be expounding further upon this concept, so check back for more!  In the meantime, feel free to IM me or post a comment.