Business and management: Databases

Recommended databases

Business Source Premier is the database I recommend using first when researching in business and management subject areas as, with the combination of many full text journals and bibliographic details of other journals, it covers most important journals within this subject area.

For a comprehensive literature search you should also search in other databases, including at least on of the Abstract databases Scopus and Web of Science.

For an overview and background of many business and management topics, with references to other relevant sources, search in the Oxford Handbooks Online: Business and Management Collection

Use abstract databases Scopus and Web of Knowledge to search within quality journals across many subject areas. This means that you may find relevant articles in journals in different subject areas. 

These databases show references and citations for each article, meaning that you can follow a chain of research forward and backwards in time, finding other relevant articles and identifying highly cited articles.

Nexis is our newspaper database. It can be used for searching with local, national and international newspapers and magazines. However access to the Financial Times in Nexis is limited and you should therefore use FT.com.

Database search tips

Word cloud of search-related terms

Split your topic into keywords: To find better and fewer results, think about your keywords. Make sure they accurately describe what you are looking for, and add more keywords to make your search more specific.

Think of alternative keywords: For example, 'young' could also be referred to as 'youth' or 'adolescent'. Or, think of the bigger picture. For example, instead of searching for 'boys' or 'girls', try searching for 'gender'.

Search for phrases in "double quotation marks": For example, "special educational needs". This will search for the phrase as a whole, instead of the individual words.

Select a data range: For example, you may only want literature published since 2010. Most databases have the option to select dates.

For more help see our Finding resources guide, or contact your Librarian.

Business Librarian updates on BlueSky

BlueSky is a fairly new, and expanding, social media platform. I'm trying out a work account to let people know about library things that might be relevant to business (and other) students and researchers at Brunel. Do set up an account and follow me if you're interested - ask questions too, about Brunel Library resources and services, and about BlueSky.

  • This link opens in a new windowMay 1, 2025
    I often recommend creating an account when using EBSCO databases, such as Business Source Premier. It's useful for saving searches to come back to, eg for Systematic Literature Reviews, or searching in selected journals. We've had issues lately with access to EBSCO accounts - here's a workaround. https://libanswers.brunel.ac.uk/faq/280401
  • This link opens in a new windowApr 1, 2025
    A new FAQ, with links to video sections libanswers.brunel.ac.uk/faq/280350 https://libanswers.brunel.ac.uk/faq/280350
  • This link opens in a new windowJan 21, 2025
    Did you know? In addition to all our wonderful Brunel resources, as a member of the University of London (which we are part of), you also have access to lots of online journals, books and databases via Senate House Library. See the recently created FAQ for more details, including how to sign up https://libanswers.brunel.ac.uk/faq/278706
  • This link opens in a new windowJan 6, 2025
    The next Systematic Literature Review workshops, for social sciences researchers, are now open for booking. There are 3 parts, on 24th & 25th February: 1 Structure & Planning 2 Scoping, Searching & Search Results 3 Screening, Following up, Reporting & Later stages (Links to parts 2 & 3 in part 1) https://libcalendar.brunel.ac.uk/event/4311331
  • This link opens in a new windowOct 10, 2024
    Business students and researchers can learn about effectively searching for books, journal articles, market research and secondary data in this new video on Business Specific Resources https://brunel.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=25ca15e1-9b22-489a-8ab7-b1f500ea1308

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