Novice business researchers often turn to Google or other internet search tools to find information. Yet, value-added business information such as industry reports are not usually freely available on the internet.
More experienced business researchers turn to resources that provide access to fee-based information. The CSUMB Library website gives you access (thanks to your tuition fee) to a variety of business information such as First Research Industry Reports—resources that others usually will have to pay for.
Many experienced business researchers are born skeptics; it's useful to use a critical eye when evaluating information. Questions to ask include:
Right from the start of your research, you should be keeping track of what information you find and where you get your information from. Some find it useful to create one dedicated project folder to store information. Good organization and storage practices will ease the process of creating papers and presentations.
Reasons to cite your sources include:
For help on citing business sources, see the pdf document Citing Business Information Sources APA Style, 7th ed.
Trade association websites can provide information about best practices, ethical guidelines, legislative issues, trends, and other industry-related issues.
Sometimes called trade journals, these publications cover trends, news, and other information focused on one industry.