To begin your search for business information, write down one or more ideas for a topic in sentence form. Try to express your topic as a question. The topic should be narrow enough that what you are trying to investigate is clearly defined, but broad enough that you are likely to find sufficient information in published sources.

Topic statements generally have two or three discrete ideas or concepts, often including a subject term and a population, company or industry.

Browse management journals to learn what researchers are writing about, or scan news sources to identify business stories that interest you.

Conduct a preliminary search on a single concept or word in Academic Search Complete or Business Source Complete.

Consult your textbook. Its index or table contents may list related terms.

Consult a specialized dictionary or encyclopedia, such as the Economics and Business sources in Oxford Reference Online.

Ask a librarian to help you develop a topic.