IDS 4044 Professional practice and entrepreneurship
Using the University Libraries
The University Libraries website will serve as the main portal for most of your research. Fram the main website, you'll be able to:
- Access Addison, the library catalog
- Sign in from off campus to use restricted resources
- Get research help
- Locate the Industrial design subject guide, as well as general research help
- Find more helpful tutorials for conducting research
- See hours of operation for Newman Library and the Art + Architecture Library
Frequently used industrial design/PP+E databases
DAAI: Design and Applied Arts Index from ProQuest
DAAI: Design and Applied Arts Index from ProQuest
DAAI indexes citations and abstracts from journal articles, news reports, and reviews on design and applied arts (including performing arts-related design). You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. 1973-present.
ABI/INFORM from ProQuest
ABI/INFORM from ProQuest
ABI/Inform indexes citations, abstracts, and full text news articles, market and SWOT analyses, industry reports, country reports, downloadable data sets, dissertations, business cases, working papers, annual reports from North American companies, and company profiles and histories. You can limit searches to peer-reviewed journals. Full text provided in HTML and PDF. 1971-present.
MarketLine
MarketLine
MarketLine provides searchable company, industry, and country information. Includes industry profiles (with size, segmentation, and competitive analysis); company profiles of 50,000 public and private companies; country profiles; three databases (base drivers, consumer markets, financial deals); as well as news, comment, and analysis.
Mintel Oxygen Academic
Mintel Oxygen Academic
Mintel offers over 900 market research reports focused on the broad categories of: beauty and personal, drink, electronics, food and foodservice, health and medical, health and wellness, household, lifestyles, retailing and travel. The reports can be searched for product, brand name or keyword. Mintel also offers news articles related to marketing, reports of company management changes, and company profiles.
When logging into the database, you must accept conditions of use and login with your email and a password that you create. You must use your Virginia Tech email for this system. Limited to simultaneous users.
Business Reference Suite
Business Reference Suite
Search any combination of these three databases:
- Business & Industry from RDS : company, industry, product and market information.
- Business & Management Practices from RDS : the practical side of business and management including case studies and "how-to" guidelines.
- TableBase from RDS : business information in tabular format.
1992-present.
Factiva
Factiva
Factiva provides full-text news articles and business/industry information from newswires, newspapers, business and industry magazines, television and radio transcripts, financial reports, and photos from news services. Most content is HTML, though other formats are available for export. News sources 1979-present; financial data 1960s-present.
Mergent Online
Mergent Online
Provides company, industry, and country reports for active and inactive, public and some private companies. Reports provided in PDF and can be exported as Word or Excel files. It includes 15 years of financial statement.
IBISWorld
IBISWorld
IBISWorld provides two types of business reports:
Industry Market Research: Reports (PDF) on over 700 US industries arranged by 5-digit NAICS code. Typically 25-50 pages in length with executive summaries, these reports are updated regularly.
Business Environment: Data and analysis (PDF and Word) on 200+ economic and demographic statistics, categorized in 7 'environments' that surround the economy. These 2-3 page reports are available on around 300 key business environment indicators.
Business Source Complete from EBSCOhost
Business Source Complete from EBSCOhost
Business Source Complete is a citation, abstracts, and full-text database that indexes journals; books; financial data; reference works; conference proceedings; company, industry, investment, marketing, and country reports; SWOT analyses; and case studies. Full text is provides as HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. 1886-present; most content is 1980s-present.
General/interdisciplinary databases
- Summon
- Academic Search Complete from EBSCOhost
- WorldCat from FirstSearch
- Dissertations & Theses from ProQuest
- LexisNexis Academic
- Web of Science: Citation Databases from Thomson Reuters
Many databases also provide interfaces compatible with your mobile. See our mobile databases page for a complete list.
Locating other information
Get VText and interlibrary loan
Some, but not all, of our databases will include full-text articles. When the article needed is not available in the database, look for the Get VText button or link to access the article elsewhere.
Use ILLiad, our interlibrary loaning system, to borrow materials and obtain copies of articles not owned by the University Libraries.
Keeping up with the latest research in environmental design
- Take advantage of alerting services
- Use RSS feeds
- Set up a personal profile in the databases you use often
Evaluating information
Regardless of the type of information that you are using, you always need to consider the authority, coverage, objectivity, accuracy, and currency of the information. University Libraries offers several guides on evaluating information:
- Evaluating information, in general
- Information Skills Modules: Evaluating information
- Evaluating Internet information
Citation and style guides
The University Libraries offers a comprehensive web page relating to citation and style manuals. This page will guide you to both print and electronic resources.
Managing your research
Get your bibliography under control quickly and easily! Citation, or reference, managers are very helpful when you are collecting, organizing, and retrieving large amounts of research. At University Libraries, we recommend the following tools for research management. Although we only "officially" support EndNote, I am happy to talk about other tools, as well.
Questions?
Schedule a one-on-one appointment with your subject librarian if you have any other questions or concerns. Also see our information for all College Librarians. If you have a question that needs immediate assistance, the reference desk at the Art + Architecture Library is staffed during all library hours. You can also use our Ask a Librarian system for chat service.
- Patrick Tomlin
- Head: Art + Architecture Library
- (540) 231-9272
- tomlin@vt.edu
-
100A Cowgill Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Legend
Resource is restricted to current Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff. Use Off Campus Sign In if not on the campus network.
Resource is licensed for Virginia Tech alumni access. Use Alumni Library Portal Sign In to access.
Freely accessible database, available to anyone without restriction Sponsored by VIVA, the Virtual Library of Virginia. Mobile interface available, see description for link. Screencast tutorial available, icon linked to list. Contents of this database are in Summon.
Resource provides Get VText links to access full text.
Resource provides open access publishing opportunities and open access publications.
Resource provides self archiving opportunities and open access documents.