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Research Guides

WRR300: Strategic Writing in Business and the Professions

Use Article Databases and their Search Filters

Use the menu on the left to jump to sections: 

  • Look for Keywords in Newspaper Articles (remember this type of article are not academic secondary resources). 
  • Search for Articles in Scholarly Journals
    • Search Databases for Scholarly Business Journals 
      • Business Source Premier
      • ProQuest 
      • JSTOR
  • Learn Search Tips for: 
    • Business Source Premier 
    • ProQuest 
  • Check if Journal is Peer-Reviewed (external page with links and tips for Ulrich's Periodical Directory)

Newspaper Articles

Find Keywords 

For current topics, take a look at newspapers and magazines to identify who is being interviewed or quoted in recent articles and identify keywords to search for scholarly articles or ebooks (e.g., names of researchers, organizations, key dates, topics).
Please be aware that Newspaper and Magazine Articles are not scholarly or academic resources, but they can be great sources for names, companies, and industry terminology. 
Keep in mind that terminology can be different in newspapers and magazines than scholarly research. 

Browse Business Publications through UofT Libraries

Explore UofT's Milt Harris Library's linked list of Business Periodicals. Browse newspapers, journals and magazines, including Harvard Business Review, The Economist, Toronto Stock Exchange Review and more. 

Instructions on how to access newspapers and journals from home

Here are direct links to newspapers and magazines that are popular amongst business students.  If you are off-campus, you will have to log in with your UTORID to read them.  With the exception of the Financial Times, all subscriptions are up to date.

https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/faculty-and-research/milt-harris-library/newspapers-and-magazines

Business Journals Databases

Look for the term "Scholarly Journals" and check that your articles have in-text citations and bibliographies.

Business Source Premier

  • Includes news and journal articles.
  • Narrow results to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals.

ProQuest Platform 

  • Multidisciplinary search engine of academic journals, newspapers, ebooks, and more.
  • See below for search tips using ProQuest Filters 
  • Be sure to narrow your search result, check off the Peer-Review option
  • Specific Business Databases available in ProQuest 
  • ABI/INFORM Collection‎  (1971 - current)  
    • Information Business, Management and Trade - scholarly and trade journal articles, dissertations, market reports, industry reports, business cases and global and trade news
  • Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database‎  
    • information Canada's reference and current events - scholarly journal articles, trade publications, dissertations, books, newspapers and magazines

JSTOR

  • Includes business and economics journals.

  • Do not search by abstract, it limits the number of articles searched as a large number of articles do not have abstracts.

  • Most of the content on JSTOR is peer-reviewed, but there are some exceptions so please visit "Check if your article is in a Peer Review Journal"

 Summon - UTL Catalogue Article Search

Business Source Premier Tips

Business Source Premier is a database containing full text articles  for magazines and scholarly and peer-reviewed journals covering a variety of business disciplines. 

1) Quotation marks searches for exact terms but try to search without the quotation marks to see what pulls in the best results.  
screenshot - Business Premiere Source - Advanced search with "restaurant industry"

2) Look at Subject Headings to identify search terms for this database. Click on the "Show More" link at the bottom to see all the results. 

screenshot - Business Premiere Source - Subject search filter with word-of-mouth communication and restaurant reviews highlighted

3) Launch a new search using those term. The Select a Field option instructs the database to search all fields - title, author, abstract, subject headings, etc. OR limit search by SU Subject Terms. Use OR instructs the database to look for results with either or both terms. 

screenshot - Business Premiere Source - search terms and use of OR between search terms

4) Narrow the search results with Filters on the left side:

  • Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals click the check box. 
  • Date range 
  • Source Types - select Academic Journals

screenshot - Business Premiere Source - selected Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals, Publication Date, Source type Academic Journal

5) Track filters that you use. You can see the searches under Search History/Alerts

ProQuest - Search Tips

ProQuest is a platform containing over a 100 databases that hold an array of publications (i.e., newspaper, magazines, journals, and book titles) in different subjects areas including business, sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. This search platform also holds a key collection of PhD Dissertations and Masters Theses. 

Learn more about ProQuest Search Tips

1) Choosing your Search Terms

Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request. Use Boolean Operators to improve your seach:

  • AND - narrows your search (e.g., Procrastination AND Instagram)
  • OR - widens your search (e.g., film OR movies OR cinema, youth OR teen OR "young adult",  “ebook” OR "e-Book")
  • Quotations marks - search for specific phrases (e.g., "Great Lakes", "First Nations", "speed-networking")
  • Wildcard * - search for root word with different endings  (e.g. enviro* = environment, environments, environmentalism)

2) Sort your Results 

Sort your results (relevance, date) 

  • Sort by Date: It may be useful to arrange the results chronologically (oldest first) in order to follow the entire production process of a particular film, from gossip about potential stars to reviews and box-office grosses.

3) Using ProQuest Search Filters

Narrow your search results using filters on left sidebar

  • Peer Review - click the check box
  • Source Type (e.g., Scholarly Journals)
  • Date Range 
  • Document Type (e.g., Feature, Front Page/Cover Story, Article, Literature Review)

3) Mark relevant records

If you find interesting articles, be sure to . 

  • Go to the results page and click the check box to the left of the article title  
  • When you are ready to email the articles to yourself, scroll to the top of the results list and click on Email link (on right side)
  • Email the marked records to yourself 

 

Another option is to create a free ProQuest MyResearch account.

JSTOR

Check if Journal is Peer Reviewed

You can search for articles anywhere and check if the article is published in a Peer Review Journal or Conference using the instructions in:

 "How can I tell if an article is peer reviewed" 

Quick link -  Ulrich's Periodical Directory (be sure to read instructions first!)