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A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics


New! GFDatabase for economic & financial data spanning centuries

Published by Mark Bodnar

Partial screen capture of a GFDatabase chart showing the price of UK gold and the level of inflation since the 1200s. Click on it to view an enlarged/full version of the chart.
The wealth of online data published in and about the last few decades is, of course, wonderful and has deeply changed the type and amount of research we can do.

However, that flood of data about the recent past can result in myopic research: if information is not online and in a form that's easy to integrate and analyse with other data, then it may not even be seen, producing research conclusions that miss long-term trends. We are constantly seeking ways to fill this gap in older online information.

I am very pleased to announce that SFU researchers now have access to economic and financial time series data that spans decades — centuries in many cases: GFDatabase!

<Read on for details if you need centuries of data on things like inflation and gold prices...>

Extended to Dec. 31, 2021: Films on Demand: Streaming video for SFU courses

Published by Mark Bodnar

Logo of the Films on Demand streaming video collection.
Just a quick note to let you know that our special, short-term access to the Films on Demand: Master Academic Collection has been extended for another year.  You can continue relying on FoD's thousands of streaming videos remaining available for integration into your remote classes throughout 2021.

See my initial post from May 2020 about Films on Demand for its full description, as well as... 

<Read on for sample film titles and links to other streaming video resources...>

A feast of resources for those researching alternative protein markets! (redux)

Published by Mark Bodnar

One of our marketing classes (BUS 345 E100) is going to be doing some primary research on alternative protein products & consumers again this semester.

In support of that class, I've listed some key resources, but students in other classes may also want to use this post as a case study to learn about some of the powerful market research tools available to SFU researchers.  Bon appetite!

<Read on for a menu of delicious databases>

Basic income & beyond: Researching economic policy topics

Published by Mark Bodnar

If I were to ask you to do some research for an essay, you'd probably assume I was referring to digging up some academic journal articles, right?  The connection between scholarly articles and essays is undeniably strong, and with good reason: the peer review process involved in publishing such articles ensures their high quality.

Nevertheless, there is a vast world of information beyond journals. For many assignments it may be acceptable to cite government reports, think tank analysis, ebook chapters, and even news articles...

Title banner from OECD Policy Brief: Basic income as a policy option: Can it add up?

<Click here to learn about non-journal info sources using Universal Basic Income as a search example...>

 

Expiring soon: DealScan & CSMAR

Published by Mark Bodnar

Logo of CSMAR
Are you contemplating a research project that involves data on Chinese publicly traded firms?  Or how about global commercial loan data

If so, don't procrastinate!  We have grant-funded, short-term dataset subscriptions that are perfect for both topics, and both are set to expire soon...

<Read on for info about CSMAR and DealScan!>

Marketing Tanzanian tourism

Published by Mark Bodnar

flag of Tanzania

Our BUS 447 (Global Marketing Management) students will be working on projects that involve the amazing United Republic of Tanzania this term, with a focus on Tanzania's tourism industry.

I've compiled a brief list of relevant sources to support that class... and I thought I'd share it here in case others are interested in such topics.

<Read on!>

Renewed and ready for research: Frost & Sullivan emerging tech reports

Published by Mark Bodnar

logo of Frost & Sullivan
I'm very pleased to announce that we've renewed our subscription to the Frost & Sullivan database for another year. 

For those who are new to it, F&S is our main source for market research focused on emerging technology products, markets, and strategies.  

To give you a sense of the type of content you'll find in F&S, consider these recent additions to the collection of over 50,000 reports, grouped by industry...

<Read on for examples of the great reports in this valuable database!>

Researching Indigenous business topics: New guide to save you time!

Published by Mark Bodnar

Screen capture showing the table of contents of the new guide: background info, books & ebooks, articles, company directories, associations & industry organizations, government, miscellaneous, and additional research guides
I'm very pleased to announce that SFU researchers now have a detailed research guide available on Indigenous business resources!

An increasing number of SFU assignments, courses, and programs in Business (and beyond!) are focusing on ways to work with and for Indigenous communities on business and economic development projects. Our new guide is intended to save you time and effort... 

<Click to learn more... including about some hidden treasures!>

One step forward: Contactless hold pick-up & scanning of book chapters

Published by Mark Bodnar

Drawing of a small stack of books
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!>