Databases are simply collections of journals searchable from one search box. They enable you to find good quality subject-specific research and journal articles on a topic. Listed below are some useful business databases (you will need your Single Sign On username and password to access them).
A guide is also available for you to view/download that illustrates how to search databases effectively.
You can use Library Search to find journal articles as this will search the vast majority of the content we subscribe to. If you find that this method produces too much information, you may wish to use the subject-specific databases to perform a more targeted literature search.
Below are some more databases that you may find useful in your research
Undergraduate students in their 3rd/4th year and all postgraduate students and staff can request journal articles that DMU does not have access to through our inter-library loan (ILL) service (subject to copyright/publisher permissions). Click on the link below to access the ILL guide:
Bibliographic databases are used to find research in top ranking journals. They do not have full text articles as part of their content but it is easy to check if the article is held elsewhere in DMU library collections. They are particularly useful as they detail which other articles have cited a particular piece of research.
The term journal can mean either:
Peer-reviewed: articles in these journals are assessed by a panel of experts and subject specialists before the article is allowed to be published. Most research published in peer-reviewed journals is highly referenced allowing you to judge the quality of the research yourself. They are very thorough taking a long time to research, write and review; so whilst they may not mention the most current developments they will look at a subject in very specific detail.
Professional/Trade: articles are written by experts in a particular profession or trade and will cover current topics and trends within that field. Content will be catered to other professionals so will assume inside knowledge. Articles may have a reference list.
Popular magazines: examples include the Economist and Spectator and their articles are written by reporters for a general audience. They are published on a more regular basis so the articles will not be as well researched as articles in peer-reviewed journals but they will be more current, reporting on recent events. They are rarely referenced making a judgment on quality difficult.
Use journals to find:
useful information, research and discussions
different viewpoints from different authors
relatively current information, journals are published quicker than books.
Popular magazines are a great way to develop your commercial awareness. You should be using peer-reviewed journals in your assignments to build on knowledge gathered from books