1. By Breezy Silver September 6, 2019
Library Research EC 499
By Breezy Silver
September 6, 2019

2. https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/EC499
Course Guide
Use links on library website to access library resources

3. Evaluating Information
Criteria for Evaluating Information that applies to all types whether print, electronic or data.
Authority – Who Wrote It?
Objectivity – Any possible biases?
Quality – How well is it written?
Coverage – Is it relevant and corroborate your resources?
Currency – Is it current?
Relevance – Does it match your research needs?

4. Searching with a purpose
Defining your topic
Not too broad or not too narrow
Using Keywords
Can be the most difficult part
Think of alternative words ex. instead of Facebook use social networking. Or what about social media?
Be flexible and allow your research to direct you.

5. Library Web Site

6. Finding Books
Search the catalog: (Also linked on the library website under Books & Media)
What’s in the catalog?
Find the books and other material we own including journals, newspapers, CDs, electronic material, and more
E-Books
What’s not in the catalog?
Articles
But you can search the journal titles for a link to the journal and all its articles we may have available
Typically for topics that are a bit broader in nature.

7. Finding Articles Popular vs Scholarly vs Trade vs Newspapers Examples:
Popular – The Economist
Scholarly – American Economic Review
Trade/Industry – NBER Reporter
Newspapers – The Wall Street Journal

8. SearchPlus Searches across catalog and databases
Good for interdisciplinary or unknown searching
Bad because you have to sift through a lot of information and the best resources may not be at the top
Known subject databases will be more focused
You can also search an article title as a quick way to find a link to the article, but if it doesn’t work, you may need to go back to the catalog for a journal title search.
Default search on the library website. Advanced search can also be found here:

9. Finding Economics Articles
Use general article databases:
ProQuest (All databases)
EBSCOHost 
Economics/Business related databases
EconLit – note that some articles are full text, but many are not (click Find
ABI/INFORM
Business Source Complete
These and more linked here:
Economic Specific Journals Examples
American economic review
Journal of Development Economics
Additional electronic journals
(may not be in article databases)

10. For material we don’t have
We do not have every article or publication. Some are freely available government or academic publications. So you can try using a search browser (i.e. Google) first. However, if you can’t find it or it is from a publication that requires payment, we can get it for you.
Get (Interlibrary Services):
Also ask me if you can’t find something.

11. Finding Data
You can find some data available through the library here:
Be sure to try multiple subject areas. For example, look in business and economics.
See me if you’re having trouble finding what you need.

12. A Few Notes About Electronic Resources
Use links on library website
Academic use ONLY
Use NetID and password to access off-campus
Help available if trouble accessing
No access after graduation
If you do use Google Scholar, you can set it up so it accesses MSU resources through it. See here: access/

13. Citing Your Sources
Citation Guides
Purdue OWL
How to Cite Data

14. Need more help? Contact me for research assistance.
Breezy Silver – or
(when sending include course number in subject heading)
Office Hours most Mondays Noon-3pm (not Sept 16)
Tech help: Call Discovery Services at or send an