Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Link of the Week: CSEP's Codes of Ethics Online


Business Ethics, Corporate Responsibility, Fair Trade, Whistle-Blowing, Fiduciary Obligation, Product Safety--Terms like these are bandied about a great deal....especially since scandals like Enron and WorldCom and Mattel's lead toys have come to light in recent years. But how do you codify what a professional or a corporation owes to their clients, customers, workers, or shareholders?

Codes of Ethics are designed to help, before it reaches the point of legislation and litigation.

In June 1996, the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (located at the Illinois Institute of Technology) received a grant from the National Science Foundation to put their extensive collection of codes of ethics on the web. This web collection includes over 850 codes of ethics of professional societies, corporations, government, and academic institutions. Earlier versions of some codes of ethics of some organizations represented are also available so researchers can study the development of codes. A literature review, an introduction to the codes, and a User Guide are also available at the site. And the Center maintains links to other web resources, too.

You can either browse the "Index of Codes," which is organized by professional category, or you can use a customized Google to search across all the content at the website.

Whether you are a philosophy student, a management or business law major, or merely an interested consumer, this website might be worth a look.

CSEP's Codes of Ethics Online is but one of many websites that we have included in our Business Ethics Resource Guide, which lists database, web, and print resources that would helpful for anyone interested in business ethics. Consult this guide, or browse through our other guides for research guidance on other disciplines and topics. And remember, you can always come and talk to us about your latest research project at the Reference Desk!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

New Database: Massachusetts Newsstand

When searching for newspaper articles on a topic, most of us look to LexisNexis Academic as our primary resource. And in most cases, this would still be your best research tool for wide-ranging access to daily newspaper content from around the world....Despite its new and harder-to-use interface!

However, if you are researching a local story or issue in Massachusetts, then a new database-- just added this summer--called Massachusetts Newsstand, might be an easier and more efficient research tool. A product of ProQuest, the same company that provides us with our Wall Street Journal database, Massachusetts Newsstand provides full-text coverage of most of the major newspapers of the Bay State. Here is what is available:

The Berkshire Eagle; Pittsfield, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current
Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1987 - current
Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext); Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1980 - 1996
Boston Herald; Boston, Mass. Full Text: 1991 - current
BusinessWest; Chicopee Full Text: 1992 - current
Gazette; Haverhill, Mass. Full Text: 1992 - 1997, with some exceptions
New England Business; Dublin Full Text: 1975 - 1992
North Adams Transcript; North Adams, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current
The Patriot Ledger; Quincy, Mass. Full Text: 1991 - current
Plymouth County Business Review; Pembroke Full Text: 1991 - current
Sentinel & Enterprise; Fitchburg, Mass. Full Text: 2005 - current
Standard Times; New Bedford, Mass. Full Text: 1992 - 1997
The Sun; Lowell, Mass. Full Text: 2004 - current
Telegram & Gazette; Worcester, Mass. Full Text: 1989 - current

To search across all content, simply put your search terms in the Basic Search box on the opening screen. Click the grey tab below the box for "More Search Options" whether its to pinpoint a specific field like Author or to look for specific Document Types like Editiorials. And look at the tabs near the top for other approaches. For example, click the "Publications" tab to easily select a single newspaper to search.


[FIND Massachusetts Newsstand on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "General Resources" category.]