New Database: First Research

Sawyer Library has added another database that will make it easier for students and faculty to get quick snapshots of U.S. industries. Called First Research (alas, not the most descriptive name in the world!), it is owned by Dun & Bradstreet, aka D&B, and is a companion product to the company profile database, Hoover's.

When you enter the database you will notice that you can either browse and "expand" major industry sectors (in the blue bars), or use the search box just above. The default is to search by key word, and this works well. However, you will see tabs just above the search box that allow you to switch the search to SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) or NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code, which is a more precise way to search, especially when you are trying to put a real company in the context of their industry. (Check the company's profile in any number of resources and look for their "Primary SIC" to get a four digit code to use as their industry grouping.)

However, as indicated, the keyword search works well, usually ranking several industries by relevance. For example, if I type pizza, I am offered reports on Fast Food and Quickservice Restaurants, Restaurants, Food Distributors, Convenience Stores, and several other options. The reports offer a basic Overview and an additional section on Specific Issues and Trends. Usually there are also links to the websites of industry groups and trade magazines (however, these are not as useful as the materials you would get out of our high quality databases like Business Source Complete). Many reports also include a Quarterly Industry Update, a few data tables of things like employment figures, or links to specific Monthly News stories.

Another handy feature--look for the light blue tab in the top border--are the State (and Canadian Province) profiles which provide a "Big Picture" overview of the business and economic climate of specific locales.

Please note, First Research does not provide extensive or exhaustive information, but it is a useful snapshot for student researchers, or even for job seekers. You will want to combine First Research with a wide variety of other electronic resources. When doing industry research, do take a look at our very useful Industry Information Resource Guide that details other library databases and web and print resources that help fill in the picture.

One final note about the relationship between First Research and Hoover's. At this point, they do not adequately link between one another. If you are in Hoover's and click on the Industries tab, it does eventually search First Research content, but the search results are not an exact match nor are the First Research reports that you pull up in Hoover's exactly the same as those in the separate database. (They are usually briefer, without the add-on tables, links and updates.) Therefore, you are better served by searching both files if you are trying to find information on both companies and industries.

As with all of our databases, First Research is available to any current Suffolk student or faculty from anywhere you have an internet connection.


[FIND First Research on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Business and Management" category.]

Notable E-book: Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences

Sawyer Library is happy to add another valuable electronic encyclopedia to our online reference options. It is the newly available internet version of Academic Press/Elsevier's Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. The equivalent of a six volume set, this encyclopedia provides a solid, academic overview of many topics related to ocean studies.

The content includes, according to the publisher, 402 original articles covering all the physical, chemical and biological aspects of ocean science. Those articles present "classic scientific theories" as well as the "the newest discoveries, technologies, and applications." Entry authors are "the world's leading researchers" working under "a prestigious editorial board." And the six volumes also feature more than 1900 figures and full color illustrations.

The review that greeted the original paper publication in Choice : Publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries offered a more impartial but equally enthusiastic response. It said, in part: "Destined to become a classic in oceanographic studies, this work achieves its intention to be the most comprehensive, current work in its field. The signed articles, by leading experts in the field, are extensive, well written, and highly informative. Topics covered range from the study of atmospheric input of pollution to the effects of waves on beaches. Many of the articles will not be found in briefer general encyclopedias on this topic. Entries are well indexed and cross-referenced; many list additional citations for further reading. The volumes are well illustrated with graphs, charts, formulas, drawings, and pictures. This will be an extremely useful reference tool for students, educators, or researchers looking for information in oceanographic studies."

When you open the ScienceDirect electronic version, you will see that the entries are delivered in both HTML and PDF form. You may browse through entries alphabetically or by author name. You may also consult the Subject Index--see the link to the left. An even easier approach is to use the quick search in the upper frame to search the content of this particular title.

If I search for Cephalopods, I get a wide variety of entries ranging from a solid overview specifically of the Cephalopoda class to entries on everything from Bioluminescence to Deep-sea Fishes to Ocean Gyre Ecosystems.

Although this encyclopedia is no substitute for the kind of primary research articles you would find in databases like BioOne and Wiley Interscience, it provides useful scholarly introductions to a great many ocean science topics. And unlike our paper reference books, this content would be available to Suffolk students and faculty 24/7, even "Downeast" at the Friedman Field Station!

[FIND the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences by searching the title in our Online Catalog or through the link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

New Database: Morningstar Investment Research Center

After surviving the financial crash (aka "recession") of 2008, many people are trying to figure what investments, outside of stashing dollar bills in mattresses, make the most sense. One tool that might help Sawyer Library users interested in equities, funds and etfs (exchange-traded funds) is our new database, the Morningstar Investment Research Center.

Anyone who has done general web research into mutual funds has probably seen the basic Morningstar snapshot report with its (1 to 5) star rating system. The short snapshot is freely available--if you don't mind obscuring pop-up boxes and relentless video ads--on the free web version of Morningstar. However, our higher-quality "Library Version" of the resource is much more extensive and much less frustrating.

First of all, our subscription version makes available all of those value-added supplementary reports that Morningstar produces. This content includes the mutual fund Analyst Reports and Stewardship Grades that the free version teases you with, but refuses to show you. The stock evaluation is equally detailed with Analyst Research, the Data Interpreter (Snapshot equivalent), as well as nice presentations of valuation and key ratios. And like many of our financial databases (like S & P NetAdvantage and MergentOnline), Morningstar also provides easy access to company financials and SEC filings.

Morningstar also features (stock-oriented) reports on selected industries, as well as a handy-dandy tool called Portfolio X-Ray that helps you discover how diversified you really are by exposing how much stock and sector overlap you have in your various mutual funds. One downside of tools like Portfolio X-Ray is that you might want to store your information in a personal "account" or folder so that you don't have to re-enter all your funds every time you want to check on your portfolio. That personalization is not yet available, unfortunately. But when Sawyer Library was pricing out the product, I pointed out to the company that this was an important and needed enhancement and they told me that they understood this need and were actually working on developing personalized functionality for their Library Version of the product.

In the meantime, Morningstar Investment Research Center has plenty to offer. And when combined with the the stock and mutual fund reports available through our Value Line Research Center, Suffolk SBS/CAS students and faculty can easily get good quality investment information from well-known and respected sources.

....Unfortunately, good research does not make the stock market go up. More's the pity!

Added Note: Because financial databases are so expensive, we have a limited contract (in terms of "simultaneous users") for most of these resources. So please, don't simply close your browser when you finish using a database like MergentOnline, Corporate Affiliations, or Morningstar. Look instead for the link, usually in or near the upper border, that allows you to "Log Out" or "End Session." This will make it more likely that the next user gets into the database easily.

[FIND Morningstar Investment Research Center on our "Databases by Subject" List in the "Business and Management" category.]

Notable E-Book: International Encyclopedia of Communication

Sawyer Library has recently added and electronic version of an impressive new encyclopedia called the International Encyclopedia of Communication.

Jointly published by Wiley-Blackwell and the International Communication Association (ICA), it represents, according to the publisher, "the definitive reference work in this interdisciplinary and dynamic field." This electronic resource is the equivalent of a 12-volume set containing 1,339 newly-commissioned A-Z entries, divided into 29 editorial areas representing major fields of inquiry, each of which is headed by a leading expert in their respective field. Spanning the breadth of communication studies, entries cover major theories, media and communication phenomena, research methods, problems, concepts, and geographical areas. Entries range from extended explorations of major topics to short descriptions of key concepts.

The International Encyclopedia of Communication was written and edited by an international team of well-respected scholars and teachers, representing the international character of the ICA. Editorial areas include: communication theory and philosophy, interpersonal communication, journalism, intercultural and intergroup communication, media effects, strategic communication/PR, communication and media law and policy, media systems in the world, and communication and technology.

There are multiple ways to use the online version. You may click on the "Explore" option in the upper border to see various subjects, places, periods, people or key topics to browse through. Or you can simply use the search box in the upper right.

If, for example, I search for the term dissonance, I get forty results (listed to the right), ranked for relevance. These start with "Cognitive Dissonance Theory," which is followed shortly thereafter by an entry on "Leon Festinger." Or I can explore other related subjects, topics, and so forth, from the offered options in the colorful left frame.

The ICA hopes that "this unique and inclusive work will strengthen the identity of the growing field of communication studies, support its institutions, and most of all, improve the study of communication problems and phenomena worldwide." And we here at Sawyer Library hope that the Suffolk community finds this a useful online reference source.

[FIND the International Encyclopedia of Communication by searching the title in our Online Catalog or through the link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

Recurring Reference Questions: What is a Journal's Impact Factor, and How Can I Find It?

An Impact Factor (IF) provides a quantitative assessment of a journal's influence or impact. Thomson Scientific (now Thomson Reuters Scientific) offers the Impact Factor via Journal Citation Reports (JCR). According to Thomson Reuters, the Journal Impact Factor is the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year. A journal’s Impact Factor is determined by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. A Journal Impact Factor of 4.0 means that, on average, the articles published in that journal within the past three years have been cited four times. There must be at least two years of data in order to calculate the Impact Factor.

Using Impact Factors (IF) Wisely:


As Thomson Reuters indicates on their Information About page, one should not depend entirely on JCR data to evaluate a journal because:

IF only includes journals indexed by Thomson Reuters Scientific (ISI).

IF does not evaluate individual researchers.

Journals can only be compared within the same discipline. Citation results vary widely across disciplines.

The number of articles found in journals include both research and review articles. "Citation counts in JCR do not distinguish between citations to letters, reviews, or original research articles, even though only original research and review articles are used in IF calculations."

Title changes or changes in format of a journal affects the IF.

Some Additional Methods for Constructing Impact Factors:

Google Scholar - From the Advanced Search screen, enter author and title information to obtain cited references. Publish or Perish may be used to track an author's impact using Google Scholar.

eigenfactor.org - Ranking and Mapping Scientific Journals

Journal Ranking - Center for Journal Ranking (CJR)

To Find Journal Citation Reports:

Go to the Mildred F. Sawyer's home page, and select "Databases by Subject." Choose "Business and Management" or "Social Sciences" and click on Journal Citation Reports in the list.


To Utilyze JCR:

From the opening screen, select an option.

View journals by Subject, Publisher, Country/Territory. The default option is subject categorySearch for a specific journal.

Search for a specific title.

View all journals in the JCR edition and year you selected. (The Sawyer Library has the Social Sciences edition from 1998 forward).

For example, if searching by Subject Category, select the subject from the second screen, and choose data sorted by journal title, total cites, impact factor, or other options provided from the drop-down menu. Use the Information for New Users button for more detailed information and instructions.

[FIND Journal Citation Reports in our "Databases by Subject" Lists for Business and Management and for Social Sciences]

Notable Ebook - Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture

We are happy to offer a new edition of a valuable 6 volume encyclopedia, via our easy-to-use electronic reference platform, Gale Virtual Reference Library. The set is the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (2008). This new edition adds nearly 600 entirely new topics over the award-winning first edition of 1996. It also replaces some 150 obsolete entries and provides substantial revisions to hundreds more. According to the publisher, Scribner's/Gale, Every one of the 5,700+ entries "has been reviewed for currency of content and bibliography. An entirely new illustration program features over 100 full-color photographs in addition to hundreds in black-and-white. National statistics have been conveniently tabulated for every one of Latin America's 37 countries. New content addresses research on prehistoric environments and cultures, U.S. Haitian interventions, the consequences of NAFTA and increased Mexican immigration, the troubled aftermaths of Pinochet's Chile and Fujimori's Peru, truth and reconciliation commissions, and the still-contested legacy of the Mexico City massacre of 1968. New leaders like Brazil's Lula da Silva and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez are profiled along with hundreds of other rising figures in politics, letters, and the arts. Newly commissioned master essays synthesize current knowledge on such major regional themes as Democracy in the Americas, Hemispheric Affairs, and the Hispanic Impact on the U.S."

Because the resource is cultural, too, you will find entries on film and festivals (like Carnival), and author profile entries (like the one on Jamaica Kincaid), in addition to the many on more social science and history-related topics like indigenous peoples, public health, and U.S. policies towards Latin America, like the "Big Stick Policy."

If you go directly to the page for the Encyclopedia, simply look for the yellow search box to the left of the page and enter the topic you are hoping to find. Then click the box below to search specifically "within this publication." And because the search delves into fulltext, if I search "samba," I get not only entries on Samba, and Samba Schools, but also related articles on Popular Music and Dance and on great Samba artists like Sinhô and Clara Nunes.

And remember, if I don't click that "within this publication" box on the opening screen, GVRL will actually check all of its other collections for my topic. In the case of "Samba," I get a variety of entries, including several from Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, as well.

We hope you find this new encyclopedia useful. And the great thing about eReference is that it is not only easy to search, but also available 24/7 to any current Suffolk student or faculty with an internet connection.

[FIND the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture by searching the title in our Online Catalog, or through the Gale Virtual Reference Library link in Databases by Subject, E-Books category.]

New Database: Cambridge Histories Online

Up in the stacks of Sawyer Library, we have many valuable (and heavy!) volumes in the history series published by the Cambridge University Press. Sadly, the scholarly content of these books hasn't gotten as much use as it deserves. But we hope that will now change with the purchase of an impressive, cross-searchable archive of all of the Cambridge History volumes published since 1960.

Cambridge Histories Online (CHO) self-describes as a "unique historical reference compendium" that "allows instant access to the renowned texts of the Cambridge Histories series. With access to the most up to date and authoritative scholarly content, Cambridge Histories Online is an invaluable resource, for undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and researchers alike.

All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research."

CHO currently contains over 250 volumes published since 1960, equating to around 196,000 pages of historical scholarship covering not just world history, but also histories of cultural fields like music and theatre, and even science. Over 15 different academic subjects are covered by the archive. And more electronic volumes will be added each year.

Users can search and browse content (basic & advanced search and a content specific browse), and the database provides options for personalization including saved & most recent searches, workspaces, bookmarks and citation export functionality.

We hope that the increased ease of access and searching will make these useful historical series a more attractive research option for students and faculty alike.

[FIND Cambridge Histories Online on our "Databases by Subject" lists for Social Sciences, Literature, Arts and Humanities, and the Sciences].