Welcome

This guide has been created to help you with your research for MGT340. 

Each section introduces the steps you should take when researching for an assessment. You'll find links to videos and resources that will give you the tools to find great information. Use the activities on the test your knowledge tab to see what you need to revise.

If you would like a refresher on Library website and services, check out: 

Getting started with your assessment

The first thing is to make sure you clearly understand the task and what topic you are seeking information for, this is called topic analysis. Check your assessment task details in your Subject Outline.

With an understanding of your task, you then need to plan how you will search for information. This starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.

Some keywords from your assessment tasks:

Keywords Synonyms or related terms
corporate social responsibility (CSR)
corporate sustainability, sustainable business, corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, responsible business, business ethics...
business strategy business planning, strategic planning
international management global management, transnational management...

Does your task place any limits, for example, target country? Is there a limit placed on the source of information, i.e., government source(s)?

For guidance in topic analysis check out:

Choose the right place to search

Before you start searching, think about what types of information you need and where you can search to find those types of resources.

Primo Search

Primo Search is a good place to start as it allows you to use one search box to bring back results from most of our Library collection including books, eBooks, journal articles, newspaper articles and more. You may get a large number of results and some of these will be from outside your subject/discipline area. Check the content is relevant to your assessment task before you use it.

Library databases

Databases will help you find academic resources and are often subject specific. You will get fewer results than Primo, but they will be more relevant to your subject/discipline. 

I recommend trying the following database:

The Business, Management, Marketing & WHS databases list has more databases you can search.

 

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

Company and industry information

To see recommended databases and search tips for finding company and industry reports, check out: 

Country information: databases

In this subject you are expected to find information about different countries. There is a range of authoritative country information available in our library databases.

 

Database About Search tips
Business Source Complete

An EBSCOhost database which includes the full-text of more than 1600 full-text journals and of more than 1500 trade journals and general business magazines, plus other non-journal content.

This database not only provides a range of academic research and media articles about your country but also a range of country reports and economic information.

Country Reports: Enter the country name into search box and select GE Geographic Terms from the drop down Select a Field menu. Select 'Country Report' from the Publication Type box below.
ABI/INFORM Collection

A ProQuest database that includes thousands of scholarly and trade journals, plus other related content, with most in full-text, covering business, management, and finance.

This database not only provides a range of academic research and media articles about your country but also a range of country reports and economic information.

Country Information: Go to the Advanced Search option. Enter the country name into the first search box and  select LOCATION from the "in" drop down menu. Enter the term "country report" into the second search box.  Select the checkbox Reports from the Source type box below.
WARC

Covering marketing and advertising, WARC is an online marketing information service, with a range of full-text resources including forecasts, case studies, best practice guides, industry trends, news, conference proceedings, and journal articles.

WARC also provides research articles, marketing analysis and case studies on products that can be limited to different geographical regions around the world.

Open the Topics page by selecting the menu button in the top right, then selecting Browse by interest > Topics. From here you can browse content by Topic, Category or Geographies. Select Geographies and chose your target country or region to find the latest case studies and articles.

You could also enter into the search box the product or service you are interested in and then limit the results by Country.

Country information: websites

You can also find country information on government and organisation websites. Your subject outline recommends starting with the Countries, economies and regions page of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website. See further suggestions below.

Create a search strategy

When you search using Primo Search or a library database use the keywords and limits you identified above to create your search. Combine the keywords with "search operators", rather than searching with a whole sentence or question. Search operators tell Primo or the database how to search with your keywords.

For your assessment topic potential search strings could include:

  • cross-culture AND management
  • "cross-cultural communication" AND management
  • (leadership OR management) AND cross-culture
  • ("corporate social sustainability" OR CSR) AND (management OR leadership)

Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one.

To understand how search operators work check out:

Evaluate

Using credible information will improve the quality of your assessment and may result in better marks, but how can you tell whether the resources you've found are credible and suitable for your assessment? Have you been asked to use peer reviewed, academic or refereed articles? Are you using authoritative websites?

The information below will help you evaluate the information you find, in books, journal articles, or online to make sure it’s reliable.

Keen for more?

If you're interested in finding out more, check out the following:

Reading, writing and referencing

The Academic Skills team can help you to build your writing, referencing and reading skills to be successful at Charles Sturt.

Explore resources from the Academic Skills team in the Learning Skills section of the Student Portal.

Here are some pages to get you started:

Your textbook

Good news!

Your textbook is available online through the library!

However access to your textbook is limited. Follow the best practice in the video below to ensure you have access to what you need without disadvantaging other students in your subject.