Places to Start

Additional Resources

Web sites

Books & Reports

• netLibrary
  Read and/or download eBooks
• InfoTrac Onefile
  Great place to start. Some articles on all subjects
• ProQuest Newsstand
  Access articles from newspapers aross the country
• ABI-Inform
  The premier business database
• Reference USA
  Directory information for 12 million companies in the U.S. Companies can be searched for by name, business activity, size and location. (in-library only)
• Marketresearch.com
  Market research database. Email David the titles of reports you need.
• BNA Human Resource Library
  Great resource for employee related topics. Email David for access.
• Marcive WebDocs
  Government Documents at UAH

• Writing Skills in Business
  from: G. W. MAXWELL. Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. Ed. Burton S. Kaliski. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. p893-896.
• Business Source Premier
  Access Datamonitor Company Profiles and Industry Profiles
• Encyclopedia of Associations
• CollegeSource (College Course catalogs)
• USPTO Patent Database
• The Wall Street Journal

Some Business Writing Journals:

• Business Communication Quarterly
• Business Communications Review
• Journal of Business Communication
• Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Some Popular Business Magazines:

• Fortune
• Business Week
• Economist
• Forbes
• Wall Street Journal

Search for more e-journals

• Yahoo! Real Estate
  Provides profiles of U.S. communities. Resources include Demographics, Cost of Living, and Quality of Life
• Statistical Abstracts
  One of the best government resources available.
• MelissaData
  Offers numerous U.S. demographic look-ups.
• Community Info. by ZIP Code
  Links to data sources that sort information by ZIP Codes
• City-Data.com: Stats about all U.S. cities
  Compiles city statistics and other data from government and commercial sources.
• Alabama FactFinder
• Where is this ZIP Code?
• UAH CAS Library Resource Page
  
• ERI's Career Salary & Cost of Living Calculators
• Salary.com
  Find out what you will be worth!

• Buying a Home
• netLibrary
  Read and/or download eBooks
• WebCat
  Use keywords, author, title, or subject.

eBooks on Business Writing:

• Persuasive Business Writing
• Persuasive Business Proposals
• Writing Business Letters
• The Basics of Business Writing
• Writing Well At Work
• Business Writing for Results
• Write to the Point
• AMA Style Guide to Business Writing

Other eBooks:

• Better Resumes in 3 Easy Steps
• Choosing a College
• Smart Guide to Buying a Home
• Restaurant Start-up
• Conducting a Successful Fundraising Program

Additional Materials By Topic

Company Information

• Quick Guide to Company Research
  Shows what resources are available for Company information and a sample of what you get. Uses General Electric as an example.
• Business Research At the Salmon Library
  A tutorial that goes more in depth

Human Resource Management

The following resources can help when examining human resource topics such as employee retention, employee morale, employee evaluations

• ABI Inform
  Look for articles and case studies on human resource topics. For example: "employee motivation and case studies"
• Business & Management Practices
• BNA Human Resource Library
  Provides HR professionals, consultants, and attorneys with practical, comprehensive, and timely coverage of workplace issues. The HR Library explains federal and state compliance requirements and summarizes state laws and regulations; analyzes compensation and benefits, EEO, employee relations, organizational development, safety and health, and staffing issues; and gives tips on writing and implementing work rules and policies.

  Definitions:

• Employee Retention
  From: Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p406-408.
• Cross Training
  From: Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p289-291.
• Employee Motivation
  From: Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p395-398.
• Employee Theft
  From: DONALD N. M. HORNING. Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. Ed. Joshua Dressler. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. p613-616.
  From: Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p424-426.
• Employee Performance Appraisals
  From: Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p398-400.
• Outsourcing the Information Service: When, Why, and How?. Fred Hitchins. Business Information Handbook 2003. Ed. David Mort. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2003. p56-63.
• Outsourcing. Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p841-844.

Small Business Start-up/Expansion

The following resources can help when preparing a feasibility study (also see the PowerPoint presentation):

• Business Plans--see books on business plans in the library The Business Plans Handbook is a must see. Located in reference at HD30.28. See sample plans for a Bistro & Wine Bar, Business Development Firm, Dollar Store, Gourmet Food Company, Restaurant and an Online Software Company. See also the library guide from the University of Washington.
• Demographics USA County Ed. (CD-ROM)
  The Demographics USA directories contain a wealth of marketing statistics. Each directory contains the standard age, sex, and ethnicity demographic data and also covers EBI (Estimated Buying Power), BPI (Buying Power Index) and more for any given geography. The County edition includes 160 variables for 3,140 counties. Also contains data summaries by Metropolitan Areas (MSA), Television Markets (DMA) and States. Also available as a reference book. See sample pages. [HF5415.1 .D4631. Reference]
• Demographics USA ZIP Ed. (CD-ROM)
  Description: The Demographics USA directories contain a wealth of marketing statistics. Each directory contains the standard age, sex, and ethnicity demographic data and also covers EBI (Estimated Buying Power), BPI (Buying Power Index) and more for any given geography.The ZIP edition includes over 50 variables for over 40,000 ZIP Codes. Also available as a reference book. See sample pages. [HF5415.1 .D4631. Reference]
• MediaMark Reporter CD-ROM
  Description: A source of advertising media data. Gives detailed demographic and marketing segments of media audiences by illustrating cross tabulations of product/service data by demographic characteristics and media audiences. Available on library network. See a guide to Mediamark Reporter to see if it is for you.
• Lifestyle Market Analyst. Provides market analysis of potential local, regional and national audiences. Use this to obtain data compiled from more than 19 million households. Access to demographic, lifestyle and consumer segment profiles help you locate your best prospects. You can identify where certain consumers live and how they spend their money and free time. Find your ideal market easily. See sample pages. [HF5415.33 .U6 L54. Reference]
• MSA Profile 2003 (CD-ROM) This statistical compendium provides income, employment, and retail trade projects from every MSA in the United States, as well as U.S. totals. See sample pages. [HC106.8 .M47 Reference]
• The Standard Rate & Data Service (SRDS) publications provide media rates and data for the advertising industry, listing advertising rates, editorial or programming content, circulation and other basic information for a variety of advertising media, including radio, television, newspapers, in separate volumes with different call numbers. Most volumes are organized by state and by city, with demographic and market data for each state. For information on how to use and interpret SRDS publications, see the 4-page PDF guide from the libraries at Bowling Green State University. The UAH Library's SRDS publications are located in the Library Reference Collection on the first floor. The list below is what the library currently owns:
  • SRDS newspaper advertising source HF5905 .S73
  • SRDS radio advertising source HF5905 .S74
  • SRDS TV & cable source HF5905 .S745
• Starting a Small Business: The Feasibility Analysis
• Small Business Association
  A great place to start for general information on starting a small business, finance, planning, marketing, etc.
• ESRI Marketing Systems Free Demographic Data
  Provides basic demographic data by ZIP code, including population, income and housing figures.
• Huntsville Chamber of Commerce
• Alabama's Answers: Doing business in Alabama
• Government Information at UAH
• e-books: see Complete Guide to Starting and Running a Successful Business , The Restaurant Start-up Guide,
• Choosing a Small Business
• Starting Your Business (Small Business Administration): In addition to information about starting a business, this site offers links to relevant Web Resources. For information about the state of small business, and statistics about the small business economy, business failures, etc., see their Small Business Economic Indicators (in 29 PDF pages).
• Business Expansion. Encyclopedia of Small Business. Eds. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p123-127.
• Also see the excellent library guide at the University of Washington Foster Library. It is oriented to Washington state, but many equivalent resources should be available for Alabama.

Career Research

The following resources can help when examining a career outlook:

• Careers in MIS (library guide)
• Careers in Finance
• Careers in Management
• Careers in Marketing
• Careers in Accounting
• Careers in MIS
• Occupational Outlook Handbook (or web site)
• What Can I Do with a Major In..?
• Career Guide to Industries: This U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site, part of the online Occupational Outlook Handbook, offers a career-oriented description of many industries, with information on the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training, earnings and outlook, as well as sources of additional information.
• Vault.com--Vault is a database source of insider information about companies and industries, as well as hiring processes and selected information on workplace culture. Available for UAH students/faculty only. If you are a UAH student and have a demonstrated need for access, please contact the Business Librarian to set up an appointment.
  See sample company surveys for Apple Computer.
  

Other Business Writing Resources

• OWL Professional Writing Handouts and Resources This collection of handouts will provide you with information about various aspects of business, technical, and professional writing. We also have some PowerPoint presentations about aspects of professional writing and a resume workshop, a cover letter workshop, and a research report workshop that you may wish to visit.
• Writing that Works If you write, edit and manage business communications for a living, you've come to the right site -- WritingThatWorks.com.
• Business Communication from WritersWrite(R) Welcome to our specialty section for business communications. This section provides resources for business writing, copywriting, editing, marketing, public relations, proposal writing and other forms of business communications.
• Online Resources from the University of Washington Business Writing Center This page offers links to a number of useful writing and style guides, as well as many other online resources.
• Business Letters, from Colorado State University Writing Center When you write business letters in industry or for a class, knowing your purpose and audience will help determine what information to include.
• Style & Writing Guides Resources for proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing.
• Good Documents -- Intranet Business Writing A web-site that discusses how to create good business documents in the linked, on-screen environment of Intranets and the Internet.
• Online Supplements for Locker and Kaczmarek's "Business Communication: Building Critical Skills"
• Citing eBooks Using MLA style