BUS 360: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SPRING 2014 Andrea Cameron Business Librarian, SFU Surrey

THE RESEARCH PROCESS: a)Choose a research question b)Think of some sub-questions c)Identify likely publishers d)Search and cycle your search e)Evaluate your results f)Write your report

WHO MIGHT PUBLISH THE INFORMATION YOU WANT?

SCHOLARLY VS. POPULAR PUBLICATIONS REVIEW: What’s a scholarly article? What’s a popular article? How can you tell?

INFORMATION QUALITY For your report, you may have difficulty finding useful scholarly articles, so you will have to evaluate every fact and opinion that you find. What are some of the characteristics you will look for in any type of information?

INFORMATION QUALITY: THE “3 RS” Reliability Is the source credible? Recency How current is the information? Relevance Does it apply to your topic?

RELIABILITY When you cite a scholarly article, you seldom need to evaluate the article’s reliability. The peer review process does most of the work for you. All types of sources Documentation = Bibliography + methodology Authority = Author info Completeness = Length Purpose = Language + images

RELEVANCE Transferability: How well does the information you've found transfer to your case? Geography Example: Is the study you’ve found from Japan still relevant to your topic? Industry Example: Is the industry you have found information for relevant to the one you are focusing on? Scalability: How well does the scale of the information you’ve found apply to your case? Example: Is information about Starbucks relevant to a small coffee shop in Surrey?

INFORMATION QUALITY Remember: Decisions will be made based on the report and recommendations that you deliver. You might not find many facts/opinions that meet the 3Rs perfectly. Try to anticipate (and answer) the questions that your audience will have about the information you’ve included. If you notice something, assume that they will notice it. If it’s relevant, briefly explain your rationale for including it.

EVALUATING AN ARTICLE EXCERPT Evaluate the reliability, relevance and recency of the articles on your handout: 1.'E-Cigarettes' in the Workplace: Where There's No Smoke, There Still May Be Fire 2.How credibility affects eWOM reading: The influences of expertise, trustworthiness, and similarity on utilitarian and social functions Consider ….the authority of the author and publication; the documentation provided (e.g. bibliography); the audience and how relevant it might be to your research etc.

WHERE TO GET HELP

WRITE YOUR PAPER & CITE YOUR SOURCES

BUS 360 WIKI

GETTING HELP

Ask anyone at the reference desk in any of the three campus libraries Use our Ask a Librarian services (via the Library home page) to contact a librarian (by phone, IM, , text).Ask a Librarian Contact : Andrea Cameron Class? Due Date? Where have you searched? How have you searched? Found anything close to what you need?