As with much of society, we are slowly -- and very, very carefully -- starting to take some steps toward relaunching access to some of our physical resources.

I hope you all know that our many online resources and services have remained available throughout the COVID disruption. That is, the loss of access to our library buildings and print items, though certainly frustrating at times, has also highlighted the incredible growth of the many ways we support research beyond our walls. 

Nevertheless, it will still be wonderful to start allowing at least mediated access to some of the thousands of print items in our huge collection: as of this week, we are now offering...

<Click here for details!>

We have a trial in progress for Mintel Reports -- a database of market reports and data focused largely on consumer goods, such as Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements in Canada.

This trial will end on July 31, 2020 -- we'd love to hear your opinions about it!

<Click here for more details before you start exploring this valuable resource!>

Another video on business research skills & resources! 

As you can probably figure out from the title, this one is about using news sources to gather information about what a company has been doing so that you can infer the company's strategy, rather than relying solely on the company's explicit statements or third-party analysis. That is, focusing on actions vs. words.  

And it includes a brief demonstration of one of our main news article databases here at SFU: Factiva.

<Read on for details.>

What do a game of darts, a master spy, and a literature review assignment have in common? Check out my new video for the answer!  

<Click here for more on "Spying on a Conversation: Lit Review Assignments in Business">

Happy Monday, all — and Happy "First Day of Classes!"

In our current remote-only world, many instructors and students are looking for streaming videos to liven up classes. With that in mind, the SFU Library has started a short-term subscription to a collection of over 34,000 videos in all subject areas: the Films on Demand: Master Academic Collection.

A few examples of Business/Economics videos from this collection: 

• 3 Steps to Critical Thinking 
• Vice Special Report: The Future of Work
• Ecological Economics
• Beyond Innovation - A 30-part series

<Click here for more!>

 

Anyone who has taken such courses as BUS 343 (Introduction to Marketing) and BUS 360W (Business Communication) knows that being able to find and evaluate published information to support a decision is a core skill in all areas of Business.  (And, frankly, in most other subjects... and in life in general!)

However, before you can focus on finding and evaluating information, it's important to have a clear understanding of the definition of secondary research -- especially of its built-in flaws and how they might influence how you plan your search and evaluate your results.

With that in mind, I've created a video...

<Read on for more!>

As we all settle into a work-from-home routine, I'm pleased to announce that there is a new tool -- LibKey Nomad -- to help you with (almost) seamless off-campus access to many of our library's journal article subscriptions.

This Chrome Browser extension can be installed with just a couple clicks. Once you have it equipped, it will scan for scholarly content as you browse the Internet. When it detects that you've landed on the page of a journal article available in our online collection, it will drop a little Download PDF button onto the page. Click, authenticate as an SFU researcher, and you're in! 

<Read on for details about LibKey Nomad, the SFU Library Bookmarklet, secret Google Scholar settings, and more!>

I'm very pleased to announce that SFU researchers have access to the Thomson Reuters DealScan datatset via WRDS for one year (to March 31, 2021)!

DealScan provides data on deals in the global commercial loan market, with detailed coverage of loan terms & conditions back to 1988, and selected coverage to 1981.

<Read on for details!>

Hi all -- I hope you are doing okay in these difficult times.

I recently wrote a post about the wealth of resources available remotely for SFU researchers, with a focus on our top business & economics resources.  I ended that post with some tips on ways to get help choosing and using those resources.  

Since then many students and faculty members have sent me questions, so it's clear that at least some people are aware that when the physical library is closed, our remote research assistance is still available! 

To ensure everyone knows they can still contact me with their business & economics questions, I've made a short "Doodly" video...

<Click for details!>

As I'm sure you heard, SFU is moving away from in-person instruction starting tomorrow (March 16). For now, the library and other university facilities remain open, but even if our library buildings weren't open, you'd still be able to access many of our resources and services. 

**[Update (March 20]: Our Fraser and Belzberg Libraries are now closed and our Bennett (Burnaby) library will close as of 5pm tonight.  However, our online resources and services remain available. Read on for details... 

Need some statistics to support your argument?
How about time series data from a wide range of sources?
Company & market financials? 
Market & industry analysis?
News articles? Streaming video? Online journals & books?

<Click for a list of key online business/economics resources to help you study from home.>