Finding Business
Information
Getting started
Before you start searching for information for your assignments and projects you are advised to look at Skills Plus on
the University Library online. Here you will find a series of tutorials and helpguides to help you to understand how to
plan your search, carry out an effective search, evaluate the information you have found, reference your sources and
also help you with study skills.
You will need your computer username and password to access most of our electronic databases via NORA, for
further password information see www.northumbria.ac.uk/passwords. If you have any difficulty accessing any of our
resources please email [email protected] or ask for assistance in the Library.
You can also access electronic information sources off-campus by using the Simplyweb facility.
Library Catalogue
The Library Catalogue www.northumbria.ac.uk/librarycat lists the Library’s books, eBooks, journals, eJournals, DVDs
and theses.
It is the best place to start when searching for books from your reading lists or for books to read around your subject.
Undergraduates (starting from the 2nd semester of their 2nd year) and postgraduate students can obtain material
from other libraries by using the electronic Inter Library Loan forms available via MyNorthumbria. Further information
is available at www.northumbria.ac.uk/ill.
You can search the British Library Catalogue and other university library catalogues by looking under Browse
Resources by Subject on NORA. For more on using the Library Catalogue go to www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus
(Look in the Searching tools section) or click on the Help link for Library Catalogue Search Tips.
NORA
NORA is the Library’s gateway to quality information for your studies. NORA allows you to quickly search for subject
information from a huge range of information sources. Individual databases can also be accessed and searched.
As part of your research you will need to read articles from academic and professional journals. After you have
searched NORA you can tick the options under Refine your search to refine your results to Items with full text
online. If you wish you can also restrict your results to Limit articles from scholarly publications, including
peer-review to ensure academic quality resources.
NORA is available at: www.northumbria.ac.uk/nora
You can find help with how to use NORA effectively at: www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus (See Searching tools
section) or alternatively click on the NORA help link.
There are several key databases which you may choose to search in addition to NORA. Some will provide full text others will provide abstracts (description of the articles) and references where you can locate the articles in other
databases or by making an Inter Library Loan request (if you are eligible, see www.northumbria.ac.uk/ill)
If you have difficulty finding the information you need please email [email protected] or ask for
assistance at the Library.
December 2014
This leaflet is available in other formats on request.
The following resources are only a selection. More comprehensive lists are available on NORA under Browse
Resources by Subject.
The subjects on NORA most relevant to Newcastle Business School (NBS) are:
Business & Management, Accountancy & Finance, Company Information, Economics, Marketing and
Tourism. Further information on all resources can be found in the information icons on NORA.
For further information about passwords click on the link via the Library homepage.
If you have any difficulty accessing any of the resources contact [email protected].
Business and management databases
EBSCO Business Source Premier
This resource provides full text access to journals, many of which are peer-reviewed. The subjects covered are:
business, management, economics, accounting, marketing, knowledge management, law, and psychology.
Emerald
Contains many high quality management journals, all published in the UK. These are an excellent resource for all
Business students and contain both research papers and case studies.
Newspaper articles
Newspaper articles are also useful for up-to-date information about various business areas. The following databases
contain full text newspaper articles. For a full list of news related databases, please see the News Services &
Newspapers subject list in NORA.
Nexis UK
Contains news articles for worldwide companies, industries and products. Covers major worldwide newspapers
including the Financial Times, trade press and business journals.
FT.com
Website of the Financial Times newspaper and also provides access to business news. Stock and financial data is
available in the Market area of the website. The Financial Times print newspaper is also available, search by the
journal title using the Library Catalogue. You can register with FT.Com as Northumbria University Library has
Premium access—to find out more use the guide Registering with www.FT.com: www.northumbria.ac.uk/
static/5007/llspdf/skills/registerwithft.pdf
For more information about newspapers and news services including Nexis UK and FT.com go to Skills Plus
www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus. Look in the I Need Help With... section and select Searching for Information.
Company information
The following resources are useful for the financial analysis of a company: its products, its competitors and
information regarding its directors. For the full list of company related resources, please see the Company
Information subject list on NORA. There is also a guide called Finding Company Information on Skills Plus. Look in
the I Need Help With... section and select Searching for Information.
FAME
Financial Analysis Made Easy (FAME) contains annual returns for all UK registered companies and up to 10 years
of reports for the top 100,000. Peer groups of companies can be compared using graphs and tables.
OSIRIS
Similar to FAME but this database provides financial information on around 55,000 listed and major unlisted/delisted
companies worldwide. The information includes standardised and "as reported" financials, SEC filings, detailed
earnings estimates including recommendations, ownership, stock data, news and ratings.
Nexis UK
Select the Companies tab and you can search by keywords or type in the company name. Your results will give you
a range of information about the profile of the company, financial analysis, annual reports and director details.
December 2014
This leaflet is available in other formats on request.
Market research reports
The following databases are useful even if you are not studying marketing as they contain useful data about
companies, industries and countries. The full list of marketing related resources is available on NORA.
MINTEL
One of the most detailed market research resources available, providing in-depth analysis of UK products and
markets. Key companies in each market are analysed and compared.
Passport (Euromonitor)
Provides access to reports and statistics on industries, consumers, companies and countries worldwide on this
comprehensive database. This includes detailed analysis of international markets for consumer products.
WARC (World Advertising Research Centre)
Full text articles and abstracts from advertising journals around the world, as well as brand information, case
studies, news and best practice guides.
Indexes to journal articles and conference proceedings
If you are writing a dissertation or thesis, you may wish to use extra databases to locate a broader range of
information. You will not be able to access the full text from these databases, however, you can check the Library
Catalogue to see whether the journal title is available elsewhere or apply for an Inter Library Loan (if you are eligible,
see www.northumbria.ac.uk/ill)
WEB OF SCIENCE (previously Web of Knowledge)
This database is very useful for research, as it indexes articles from conference proceedings and from many
thousands of journal titles across all subjects although it does have a predominant focus in the social sciences and
management areas.
ZETOC
ZETOC indexes the table of contents of the most important international research journal titles and conference
proceedings in all subjects.
Dissertations and theses
Dissertations/Projects
Exemplar Dissertations and Projects are available in the relevant NBS eLearning Portal (Blackboard) modules.
EThOS (Electronic Theses Online System)*
A digital collection of UK Doctoral Theses. A Single point of access, where researchers the world over can access a
digital collection of UK Doctoral Theses. Individual user registration required. Access the Guide to Ethos to learn
more: www.northumbria.ac.uk/static/5007/llspdf/skills/Ethoshelpsheet.pdf
Index to Theses*
A database to search for PhD, MPhil and some MA and MSc theses published in the UK. You can type single words
or phases or you can use the boolean operators AND, OR, or AND NOT . Phrases should be enclosed in “quotes”
*Both these databases and more are available in the Theses & Dissertations subject collection on NORA.
Keeping up-to-date
For methods of keeping up-to-date with new journal articles, new Internet resources, forthcoming conferences, etc.
see the Research skills area in the I Would Like Help With A Specific Topic menu option on Skills Plus.
December 2014
This leaflet is available in other formats on request.
Skills Plus
Northumbria Skills Plus is a collection of training materials and helpguides that you can use to help you develop your
Library, IT and study skills. You can choose the format or style of help that you want. Help is included on how to find
information for your assignments, how to write assignments, how to reference and more.
www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus
December 2014
This leaflet is available in other formats on request.