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MGMT 192: Finding information for the research report | 2017 Fall ; L. Gover

Library Class

Guiding questions:

  • What do we need information about?
  • What kind of info will help to answer the question?
  • How do we know the right kind of info when we see it?
  • Where and how do we find the right kind of info?
  • How do we know that the info we've found fits our purpose?

Information-related learning outcomes for MGMT 192 and beyond:

  • Define nature and extent of the information needed
  • Access information effectively and efficiently
  • Evaluate information and its sources critically; Incorporate selected information into your knowledge base
  • Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
  • Understand economic, legal, and social issues related to the use of information; access and use information ethically and legally

Task:

Example: motivating millenial workers


Key words & concepts? Consider:

  • broader...
  • narrower...
  • related...

Field guide to articles

(...what's an article? A journal? Example.)

  Academic article Popular article Trade / Industry article
Author expert in subject / discipline
often affiliated with a university or research centre
often a journalist or staff writer often a staff writer or practitioner
Length lengthy (10-30 pages) usually short, up to 10 pages usually short, up to 10 pages
Audience for readers who work / study in the same discipline or field for general readership for practitioner / industry audience
Content specialized language / vocabulary
reports outcomes of original scholarship / research
topical or general content
may refer to other people's research
topical content
may refer to other people's research
may use technical language
Illustrations often includes data tables, graphs, charts
visual material elaborates what is discussed in the text
production quality may be high (glossy, white space)
often contains photos, ads
production quality may be high (glossy, white space)
often contains photos, ads
References yes, including in-text citations, or foot / endnotes, as well as reference list or bibliography no
may suggest further reading
no
may suggest further reading
Publisher often a university, or professional or scholarly association trade publishers, news & media companies industry associations
Distribution available by subscription or open access online, membership in scholarly societies often available at newsstands
popular subscriptions
available in all types of libraries
personal or organizational subscription, or by membership
Examples Canadian Literature
Sloan Management Review
Macleans Restaurant Business

 

...


...


Vanthournout, G., Noyens, D., Gijbels, D., & Van den Bossche, P. (2014). The relationship between workplace climate, motivation and learning approaches for knowledge workers. Vocations and learning, 7(2), 191-214.

The In Crowd. (2009). PM Network, 23(6), 18-19.

Specialized databases offer discipline-focused content and may offer specialized limiters, for example:

More information? Try LibrarySearch

  • look for limiters, for example:
    • discipline = business
    • refine = scholarly / peer review
    • publication type = newspapers / trade publication...


Some database search tips & examples:

Phrase Searching

Most databases allow for phrase searching with the use of " ". The query "employee satisfaction" will find results with that phrase.

Search (Boolean) Operators

Most databases support use of: AND, OR and NOT. Usually, operators must be written in ALL CAPS.

By default, all terms in a search are usually combined with the AND operator. To expand results (often to include synonyms), use  OR. For example, (motivation OR incentive) will return items that contain either one term OR the other.

To exclude items, use NOT or the - character before a term. For example, in the query amazon NOT river, the results will not include the term "river."

Wildcards

Searches can be performed using the wildcards ? and/or *, where the question mark (?) may match any one character and can be used to find woman or women by searching for wom?n.

The asterisk (*) often matches zero or more characters. When used at the end of a word, such as motivat*, it will match all variant endings: motivate, motivating, motivator, motivation, etc.

For additional information, consult help resources in each database that you search, and don't hesitate to contact the Library!

Check bibliographies / reference lists of useful articles or books to trace their sources.

Check Google Scholar to see if a useful book or article has been cited by others, writing more recently.


Library > find > Google Scholar (VIU access)

Google Scholar Search

Finding a "known item" - you may start with a complete citation, but often you may have a partial one or a fragment.

What are these and where would you look for them?

  1. Schmidt, G. (2015). Fifty days an MTurk worker: The social and motivational context for Amazon mechanical turk workers. Industrial and Organizational Psychology-Perspectives on Science and Practice, 8(2), 165-U225. doi:10.1017/iop.2015.20
  2. Ellet, W. (2007). The case study handbook: How to read, discuss, and write persuasively about cases. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.
  3. Kyndt (2012). Approaches to learning at work: investigating work motivation, perceived workload, and choice independence.

 

Citation Help

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