Research does not have to be an odious task. Think of it as an opportunity to explore ideas that you've been wondering about. In fact, according to the APA (American Psychological Association), research is defined as "the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings."
For your final project, you'll explore an HR topic that interests you by reading what experts and scholars have to say about it, then you'll decide what you want to say about it and you'll tell your story within your paper.
Research is a process that has steps you can follow to get your work done!
For most BUSAD 274 classes, you will be writing a research paper that will be due in Week 16 of your class. Your teacher lets you chose a topic.
The paper is to be written using APA (American Psychological Association) Style.
General Project Requirements are as follows. For specifics, see your Final Project instructions in Week 16 of your class.
If you do not understand any aspect of your assignment, ask your teacher. They are here to help you!
You want to choose a topic that interests you. What topics have you talked about in class that sound interesting? What have you heard about in the news that puzzles or excites you? If necessary, do some basic web searches or use the databases below to learn a little more about potential topics before you select one. Librarians are happy to help you brainstorm potential topics. Have your assignment description ready when you meet with a librarian to facilitate the experience.
You can use the databases below to begin learning a little about your topic options if that will help you select one.
Why search here? Use this database to get topic ideas and find initial information to begin your research.
What's included: Browse this extensive list of research reports arranged by topics such as Business and Economics, Education, Employment and Labor, Health, and many more.
Why search here? Use this database to help you find a topic and begin your research on it.
What's included: Browse the list of issues or filter by topic to pick your topic. Then find pro/con articles, court cases, primary sources, videos, media, editorials, and news on more than 800 hot topics in business, politics, government, education, and popular culture.
Why search here? Use this database to get topic ideas and find initial information to begin your research. For more than 75 years, World News Digest has been a go-to resource for context and background on key issues and events in the news.
What's included: Browse the list of research topics to find all related articles on important topics found in World News Digest.
Why search here? Use this database to help you select a research topic and begin your background reading on that topic.
What's included: Current research topics covering key global issues, and people about business, economics, crime, politics, science, health, sports, the arts and more.
Once you've decided on a topic option, do some background reading to get better acquainted with it. How are other researchers and writers discussing your topic? What seems to be the most important and/or controversial aspects of your topic? What arguments are being presented?
Preliminary reading is a great help in developing your main points (definitions, background, causes, effects, etc.). It will also help you identify useful search terms for future database searching.
The point is not necessarily to start gathering your actual sources -- though you may very well find some along the way -- but to get comfortable with your topic by consulting engaging, easy to understand sources.
Here are some great databases for background readng:
Why search here? Use this database for preliminary reading as you start your research. You'll learn about your topic by reading authoritative topic overviews on a wide variety of subjects.
What's included: Gale eBooks is comprised of subject, specialized encyclopedias with articles written by scholars and experts.
Why search here? Use this database to search our collection of thousands of eBooks the MJC Library owns through EBSCOhost. These books can be a great place to start your research.
What's included: Thousands of eBooks covering a wide variety of topics.
Why search here? Use this database when you want to find comprehensive, unbiased reporting and analysis to get background information on issues in the news.
What's included: Overview reports of topics related to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy in America.
Why search here? This is a great database to use when you want to explore different viewpoints on controversial or hot-button issues.
What's included: It includes pro/con articles, court cases, primary sources, videos, media, editorials, and news on more than 800 hot topics in business, politics, government, education, and popular culture. Use the search or browse topics by subject or A to Z.
Create some basic questions to guide your inquiry and get you to start thinking about the structure of your paper. As you start to answer basic questions like "How have Gen Z employees impacted the workplace?" or "How will artificial intelligence affect the workplace?" You'll likely revise or add questions. This is a normal part of the research process.
The MJC Library & Learning Center subscribes to roughly 100 databases. Listed below are some of our most popular databases; an MJC research librarian will be happy to point you toward the best database(s) for your given topic. You can see a complete list of MJC Databases under Articles and Databases on the MJC Library & Learning Center home page.
I've listed some databases below that I've found particularly useful for this assignment.
Why search here? Use this database to find a wide variety of information on business topics and company profiles.
What's included: Articles from over 1,000 business publications dating back to 1985 and more than 10,100 substantial company profiles from Datamonitor
Why search here? Use this database to find credible sources for topics in law, political science, and business. This is your source for law review articles and court cases.
What's included: Print and online journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs; local, regional, national and international newspapers with deep archives; extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and
statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790; and unparalleled business information on more than 80 million U.S. and international companies and more than 75 million executives
Why search here? Use this database when you want to focus your business research on a particular region of the United States or Canadian Provinces.
What's included: Key resources include newspapers, radio and television news transcripts, trade publications, magazines and newswires provided by leading publishers in business news including The Washington Post, PR Newswire US and more.
Why search here? Search 29 databases at the same time that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. This is a good resource to use when you want to delve deeper into your subject.
What's included: EBSCO databases include articles previously published in academic journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
Why search here? When you want to find broad coverage on almost any topic you need to research at MJC, use Gale databases to search over 35 databases simultaneously.
What's included: Gale databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
Why search here? Use Access World News when you need to find current news stories. It's especially useful for local and California news. This is your source for The Modesto Bee from January 1989 to the present.
What's included: Articles from of local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers as well as full-text content of key international sources. It includes in-depth special reports and hot topics from around the country.
Watch this short video to learn how to find The Modesto Bee.
If you need materials (books, articles, recordings, videos, etc.) that you cannot find either in OneSearch or in our databases, we can get it for you. Check out our Interlibrary Loan page below.
Before you jump into hunting and gathering your information, be sure you know how not to be fooled by unreliable, false, or misleading information. It's not hard if you train yourself to ask some simple questions based on the CRAAP Test.
While applying the CRAAP Test to a Web site, that Web site isn't always the best place to answer questions concerning authority, accuracy, and point of view. You can not always trust what an author or organization says about themselves, and there are sites that may look very professional and credible that are actually promoting a certain agenda or viewpoint.
If you are unfamiliar with a online source, it is good practice to open a new tab and perform a search on the author/organization providing the source. This process is called Lateral Reading. In addition to reading "down" the Web page in order to evaluate it, you open additional tabs and read "across" multiple pages to determine what others are saying about your potential source.
To learn more about lateral reading, check out our Lateral Reading - Consult Other Sources and our Tools to Use for Lateral Reading pages.
For most BUSAD 218 classes, you will be using APA Style to format your paper and cite your sources. APA style is a set of rules created by the American Psychological Association.
APA style was created by social and behavioral scientists to standardize scientific writing. APA style is most often used in psychology, social sciences (sociology, business), and nursing.
Use the pages below to learn APA Style.
Schedule an appointment with a librarian
Phone:
Text: (209) 710-5270