MBA 

This guide will help you decide how to approach sources of information for MBA research assignments and projects.

For help in citing sources, you might like to consult one or more of the following:

• Our library's MLA LibGuide. It includes quizzes to test your knowledge of MLA style.
• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing 3rd Edition REF PN147 .G444 2008
• The link on the MBA  6070 class web page to making sense of legal citations. 
• Citation generators work too; but be sure to give them a quick check for completeness and accuracy. Example:   Noodlebib   

Please note: The Citations and Bibliography tools in MS Word 2007 will not produce  citations or bibliographies that are correct according to the latest (2008) MLA style guidelines.

Some MBA courses will be more research-intensive than others. The library has books, articles, and reports covering a number of the following kinds of questions and issues:

Different perspectives on POLICY QUESTIONS such as  How much protection do consumers need? or Should growth be curbed or regulated before businesses become 'too big to fail"?

CASE LAW AND STATUTES:   The Cadillac of legal databases, LEXIS NEXIS Academic, is the best source of legal information, including law review articles as well as statutes and case law.  See the MBA 6070 research guide for a primer on finding primary sources of law and other strategy tips.

CURRENT NEWS from blogs, newswires, journal articles, and more about anything related to business and the economy.

Authoritative, timely COMPANY REPORTS for most publicly-traded and some private companies with company history, key competitors, stock prices, market shares, SWOT analyses and more to round out your analysis of a case study or help articulate strategies for a marketing analysis project.

Both APPLIED articles and books meant for practitioners and THEORETICAL discussions about managing a sales force, motivating subordinates, best practices in customer relations management, supply chain management, doing business in the global environment or in a specific region or country, and more.

Click on the following link and scroll down to see the full array of business databases available via library licensing agreements and contracts. Or try the BGSU and OhioLink catalogs to identify books and other media.

A big part of the challenge in doing productive research is NOT gathering as much information as possible but fine-tuning your search strategy to focus on current and pertinent facts, advice, and information. If you cast too wide a net, you could end up overwhelmed and drowning in information when the intent of your course work is to demonstrate that you can analyze information, distill it, and apply it to a real world situation. 

This guide aims to point you toward helpful sources and to drop a few hints about how to fine-tune your search strategy as well.

Use IM to chat with staff at the Research & Information Desk. For information about how to visit us, phone us, or email us, visit the Ask Us! page.

Immediate help to get you started is available on a walk-in basis at the Research & Information Desk for most of the day or via our chat service as explained in the Ask Us link in the Meebo box at the right side of this page. 

For an Individual Research Appointment (IRA) which is an hour-long, one-on-one consultation, contact Professor Wood to make an appointment. If she doesn't have an urgent conflicting obligation, she'll give quick help via phone, email, or walk-in consultation as well.