BA 385 Business Environment: Issue Identification

Research Tips

Scan the headlines:

  • Do a news search in Google (use Advanced Search or refine Web searches): e.g., search for company name in the article title and limit results to those published within the last 3-6 months or even shorter if you get too many hits.
  • Scan recent articles in key publications such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or Financial Times. Visit publication websites or use links through the Library (under Current Awareness on this page).

Brainstorm keywords. While broad keywords like scandal, failure, fraud, or violation may work, also think of different types of issues, such as: lawsuits (suggested keywords: sued, lawsuit, class action, investigation, litigation, court), labor/employee (sweat shop, discrimination, harassment, exploitation), environment (pollution, hazard), privacy (hacked, data breach), product issues (recall, injury). Consult the two encyclopedias on business ethics or your textbook to explore more categories of concerns and related keywords.

Current Awareness

Search for the name of the company in the article headline. Limit your search to the last twelve months (or shorter if you get too many results).

Corporate Accountability Watch

Business Articles

Search databases across multiple publications:

** Search for articles on a topic (e.g., economy, supply chain, marketing strategy, etc.) across multiple publications.

Direct access to key publications:

** This is only a short list of popular business publications. The Library provides access to a large number of other business publications. To find if we have a certain title, search in the library catalog or use the Journal search shortcut.