Library guide for Executive MBA Americas

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This guide provides assistance to the students in the Executive MBA Americas program at the four partner institutions: FIA (Brazil), ITAM (Mexico), Simon Fraser University (Canada), and Vanderbilt (USA).  Please note that due to license agreements and restrictions, students can only access electronic resources available through their own institution.  While this guide will provide a starting point for your research there may be additional resources available from your library.

Business librarians

Your business librarian(s) would be happy to assist you.  Simply email them to set up an appointment via Zoom.

Access to electronic sources

Each of the partner institutions provide access to print and electronic resources (books, journal articles, reports, and databases) to the "current" users of that institution.  An “authentication” process is done (going through a proxy server and by adding your Computing ID/Password) for access to the electronic sources.

Research guides and tutorials for partner institutions

These guides and tutorials can save you valuable time so check them out before starting your literature search.

ITAM Library guide

How to cite documents

SFU Library's guides and tutorials

Guides

Tutorials

Database specific tutorials

Vanderbilt University. Walker Management Library guide

  • EMBA Research Guide (we have this embedded within our Brightspace LMS system for the EMBA classes)

Sources by category

Articles from academic journals and industry sources

Business Source (Premier or Complete) available through FIA, ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

FIA students: 
Go to student portal and
   1. Left sidebar, click on "Biblioteca" (you will be redirected to the FIA's library website).
   2. On the library's website, click on "Ebsco Databases" (on the left side menu). 

SFU students access the EBSCOhost version of Business Source Complete (EBSCOhost) - useful for doing multiple-database searches
ITAM students use an equivalent database: Proquest One Business ITAM (details in this guide, below)

Key source for all business topics. 
- Search for articles from academic journals and industry sources
- Find information on companies, market research, products, consumers, SWOT analysis, country information, etc. 
- Database uses a thesaurus of business terms, which can be useful for making your search results more relevant

Use keywords to search for your topic.  

Try the following in the search box:

 subjects Industrywide conditions OR Business conditions OR Trends OR Earning trends
   AND
 name of your industry 

Example of a publisher, MarketLine

  • MarketLine Industry Profiles (through Business Source) 
  • Sample search strategies:
    • (TI "industry profile") AND (TX marketline) AND [your topic words]
      • (TI "industry profile") AND (TX marketline) AND Mexico* AND (restaurant* OR “fine dining” OR “fast food” OR “take out” OR meat OR steak)
        • Report: MarketLine Industry Profile: Foodservice in Mexico 2021
      • (TI "industry profile") AND (TX marketline) AND ("Latin America*" OR Brazil OR Mexico) AND (insurance OR reinsurance)
        • Report: MarketLine Industry Profile: Insurance Industry in Brazil 2021
           

Proquest One Business available through ITAM

Information includes: company and industry performance, main competitors, financial situation and SWOT analysis; country risk reports. Some of the sources of information are: D&B Hoover's, BCG Insights, The Economist, MIT Sloan, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and other business literature sources.

Google Scholar available through FIA, ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

   SFU: steps to set up Google Scholar library links and button ("Get@SFU link") within Google Scholar
     This link searches to see if the Library owns a particular resource, and if not owned, then to initiate the inter-library-loans service (free). 

A useful resource for finding scholarly articles in the social sciences. A very useful device is to search to see if a relevant citation (book or article) has been "cited" by others. 

SFU guide: Search tips for Google, Google Scholar, DuckDuckGo, and other search engines

Examples:

  • The essential Peter Drucker (see the "cited by" beneath the title of the book)
  • Garcia-Fuentes, P. A., Kennedy, P. L., & Ferreira, G. F. C. (2016). U.S. foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean: a case of remittances and market size. Applied Economics, 48(51), 5008–5021.
    • Google Scholar's, cited by (14 sources) - see the link beneath the citation

Google

Use Google (or other web browsers) to search for "grey literature" (government information, publications by research institutes, NGOs, etc.) as well as publications by industry associations

Google or Advanced Search (provides more search options)

Google's specialized search engines 

Search publications by international governmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

NGO Search is a Google Custom Search that searches across hundreds non-governmental organization (NGO) websites. 

International governmental organizations (IGOs) are organizations made up of more than one national government—examples include NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the WHO (World Heath Organization). The governments are the members. IGO Search is a Google Custom Search that searches across IGO websites. 

Business News

Factiva available through SFU, Vanderbilt

Over 35,000 sources (newspapers, newswires, industry publications, websites, company reports, and more) from 200 countries, in 26 languages. Includes the Wall Street Journal.
A good demo is included in the tutorial - Actions vs Words: Understanding a Company's Strategies Using News Sources 

Operators: “AND”, “OR”, and proximity operator: w/5 (within 5 words)

Sample search strategies:

  • “industry” (agriculture -> livestock farming -> poultry farming OR Consumer goods -> Food/beverages -> Food products -> Bread/bakery products) 
      AND
    “region”: Caribbean -> Haiti
     
  • “industry”: (leisure/arts/hospitality -> lodgings/restaurants/bars -> restaurants/cafes/fast food places
      AND
    “region”: United States (could also choose specific states in the USA)
      AND
    “keywords”: steak*

Two sets of specialized reports within this database, from Fitch Solutions (Fitch Solutions Industry Research Report and Fitch Solutions Country Risk Reports)

  •  “source”: Fitch Solutions Industry Research Reports
     AND [topic keywords]
     AND “industry”: Insurance
     AND “region”: Latin America OR South America
     
  • “source”: Fitch Solutions Country Risk Reports 
    AND “region”: Haiti

          Report:  Haiti Country Risk Report 2022

Tutorial:

Nexis Uni (news and legal) available through ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

Includes the fulltext of a large number of very current industry magazines, international news coverage, business news, company information, market research reports, country reports, patents, and legislation, cases and articles from law journals from a few jurisdictions. 
 
TIP: Look for "Country Risk Reports", BMI Market reports on different industries and regions, Latin America Monitor.

Search Tip: Use “AND”, “OR”, or the “proximity” operators: w/5 (meaning that the two words occur within 5 words of each other)

Sample search strategies:

  • Haiti w/5 (poultry or baking)
  • "Latin America" w/5 (insurance OR reinsurance)
  • "Mexican food" w/5 steak

Industry information

Emerging Markets Information Service (ISI EMIS Pro) available through ITAM

System that allows the consultation of journalistic and news information of companies, mainly those that are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It also provides information on the industry, macroeconomic indicators and financial markets.  

IBISWorld available through SFU, Vanderbilt

Analysis of US, Canada, China and global industries providing insight into current and future industry performance, changing trends, operating conditions and supply chain linkages. 

The database has a very simple search engine.  The Boolean operators (OR, AND) do not work so try several alternate search terms, including broader and narrower terms for your topic.
E.g.
- pharmaceuticals
- drugs
- vitamins
- supplements
etc. 

Tutorial:

Mergent Intellect Industry Profiles available through SFU, Vanderbilt

American and other international surveys may be relevant to Canada as well since trends, products, and other developments are sometimes similar across borders.

Sample search strategies:

  • Industry search -> Services Restaurants, bars, and food services
  • Industry search -> Finance and Insurance Finance & Insurance sector
  • Top tab, "International, global context",  middle of the page, "Countries" (profile by country) "Brazil
     

Plunkett Research Online available through SFU

 A collection of online almanacs covering broad industries such as Games, Apps, and Social Media and Green Technology. The reports are global in scope, but tend to focus on the US.

Examples:

  • 2019 Food, Beverage & Tobacco Industry Almanac 
  • 2022 Insurance Industry Almanac (USA focus, but some of the companies are global players) 
     

Company information & peer comparisons

Hoover's available through (SFU-see note, below) available through Vanderbilt

Details on US and international companies, executives, market research reports, and trade publications. Includes financials, subsidiaries, and trade and business news.

SFU students access to Hoovers

Hoover's Company Reports (via Nexis Uni)
Note: Ignore the coverage dates listed (2006-2006) in our access point. We actually have current records from Hoovers via Nexis Uni.
Information for more than 40,000 major public and private companies worldwide, including overviews and histories, up to 10 years of key financial and employment data, lists of products and key competitors, names of key officers, addresses, and phone and fax numbers. Basic records cover major US companies and include executive names, as well as company name, address, phone and fax numbers, Web site address, names of key executives, sales and one-year sales change, year-end, stock exchange and symbol, industry, and a brief overview of operations.

Refinitiv Workspace (EIKON) available through SFU, Vanderbilt

Source of financial and economic data, news, and information. Provides access to analyst reports and SDC platinum.

Note: 

  • Vanderbilt users must register for a personal account, which will be reset each semester.    
  • SFU users: Available in selected locations at each SFU campus. Click here for details (restricted to current SFU students, faculty and staff)
     

S&P Capital IQ Available through SFU, Vanderbilt

Global financial intelligence with an array of tools for analysis. Access deep company and industry research, view market snapshots for indices, mutual funds, futures, options, currencies, and commodities, and view profiles on private and public company executives, board members and investment professionals. 

Search tip:

  • Search for your target company, then navigate to Financials/Valuation > Ratios. 
  • Also look for Peer Analysis > Quick Comps to gather and average ratios from peer companies. 
  • To get pre-calculated industry ratios, select Markets (top navigation bar) and choose a broad industry, then go to Industry Profile > Key Stats & Ratios.

Tutorials:

Consumers, markets, companies, countries, and statistics 

Fitch Connect available through ITAM

Service that presents daily news on macroeconomics, finances and companies; analysis on the main markets and emerging markets, information of greater impact in the political, economic or financial order; research, new projects, links with suppliers and subsidiaries of multinational companies; strategic review of some markets (raw materials, currencies, financial, etc.). Macroeconomic projections for 60 countries.

Tutorials on YouTube: 

Mintel available through Vanderbilt

Market research reports focused on consumers in the U.S., U.K., European, and some Asian markets. Market drivers, size & trends and segmentation; supply structure, advertising & promotion, retail distribution, consumer characteristics & forecasts. 

Passport available through ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

Includes market reports offering strategic analysis of consumer lifestyles, service and retail markets, global industry overviews, and in-depth consumer markets, in addition to data on specific products, companies, and countries. Its main focus is on fast moving consumer goods (food, apparel, etc.).  

 Sample reports:

  • PEST Analysis Haiti – Oct 2021
  • Meat in Mexico – 2022 January 
  • Country Report for Mexico
  • Global Overview of Finance and Insurance Industry - 2021
     

Statista available through ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

Covers many market share topics and other statistical data on countries, consumers, industries, etc. 

 Search tip: “market share” and [your topic words] 

 Sample reports: 

  • Country Outlook report - Country Report- Haiti 2021
  • Country Outlook report – Mexico 2121, restaurants, food industry in Mexico, beef & veal meat production, etc.
  • Insurance industry in Latin America 2021, Leading Re-insurers in Latin America 2016, country outlooks – searched by name of country

Tutorial:

Country information, economic Indicators   

OECD iLibrary available through ITAM, SFU, Vanderbilt

Publications from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including country studies, forecasting publications, reports, periodicals, and socio-economic databases. Topics covered include agriculture, developing economies, education, employment, energy, environment, migration, social issues, and sustainable development. 

Evaluating information

Citing your sources

SFU tutorials:

  • Part 1: Why cite? (3:40 mins) - to improve the quality of your reports and the acceptability of your recommendations
  • Part 2: Predictable patterns (3:00 mins) for citing your sources
  • Part 3: Getting help (5:07) with APA citations

SFU guide: Citation Guide for Business Sources

ITAM guide: How to cite how to cite reference documents

Inter-Library Loans Service

If the SFU Library does not have a particular book or journal article, please use the Inter-Library Loans service to request a copy (free).

Making presentations

Writing

Resources

Writing help for SFU gradute students