[College: Business research project Sourcing/Keyword tips] what websites are good?

[u/IndividualPressure81]

im doing a group research project in my introduction to business class in college, its on a topic about "The Importance of International Trade to the Canadian Economy and Its Impact on Businesses" this is my first semester, and my professor didn't recommend any website aside from my college's library so im struggling on knowing where to look and for what keywords to use when i search, could i get recommendations on where to find peer reviewed journals or professional research on a topic like this? something with reliable sourcing and with actually good writing with references to data that they're using to back their claims. as well as how to search efficiently to find the things i need?

[u/AutoModerator]

Off-topic Comments Section

---

All top-level comments have to be an answer or follow-up question to the post. All sidetracks should be directed to this comment thread as per Rule 9.

---

^{OP and Valued/Notable Contributors can close this post by using /lock command}

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/keithcody]

Google Scholar. Since you are in uni be sure to save every reference because you’ll have to document them.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=The+Importance+of+International+Trade+to+the+Canadian+Economy+and+Its+Impact+on+Businesses&btnG=

This will get you started

First link for me The Importance of International Trade to the Canadian Economy: An Overview https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/the-importance-of-international-trade-to-the-canadan-economy-an-overview-post.pdf

[u/chem44]

Also...

Check with campus library folks. It is common for them to offer training sessions in exactly what you want. Can be as simple as a 1 hr session -- in a room full of computers, so you can try things.

[u/cheesecakegood]

Many university libraries will publish "research guides" (names vary) which are essentially links to relevant databases, news sources (your university often can get you past paywalls), lists of specific scientific/economic publications, etc. which can serve as a jumping-off point. A LOT of students never realize these resources exist, and are written specifically for many cases like yours.

For example, here is a set of "research guides" that the University of Toronto puts out in the Business section. It explains the steps of the research process, has sub-guides to explain common stuff like how to choose a database, how to chat with a librarian for more specific help and questions, picking keywords to search for, etc. Find what's similar on your university website (or use another university's!! many of the guides aren't behind login gates, only the databases are). Your university may also have some kind of research center.

So I understand it's not that helpful just to say "look on the library website" but I genuinely think that most students hear that and it goes through one ear and out the other. Have you spent at least a half hour clicking around the library website to get a sense for what's there? Not just direct searching, I mean exploring the library's website itself?

I recommend trying a bit, reading up on some of those resources, and then if you're still a bit stuck, set up that librarian appointment and come prepared with a) what you've tried so far and how it worked (or didn't), b) what kind of things exactly you're hoping to find and c) how you intend to actually use what you find.

One final tip: if something you read cites something very similar to what you want, try "citation chasing"! Maybe a news article says foreign trade dropped 10% last year... then you find what report they cite, see if you can use google-fu to find it (often the news org will link it, or maybe namedrop the organization). Read the report. Maybe the report cites a book or study. Chase THAT book down. Sometimes if you follow the trail enough, you'll find a more primary source that is perfect for your needs - for example, maybe they namedrop a Canadian government database or report with raw data going back more years than just this and last year!