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GB320: Hardware - Spring 2024 - Sections 13,14,15,16,17,18 (Gopalan, Kahana, LeDoux, Li)

Business Research and Trade Publications

Complete your research by conducting a thorough review of current journals, trade publications, magazines and newspapers.

The following databases contain articles from thousands of business related newspapers, magazines, journals, and trade publications and are excellent resources for retrieving articles and news related to real estate. 

Keys Words and Search Tips

Suggested Search Terms

  • ladder
  • step ladder
  • "portable ladder"
  • "telescopic ladder"
  • stool
  • hardware
  • "hardware stores"
  • "hardware retail"
  • "home improvement"
  • DIY
  • supplies
  • equipment
  • tools

Search Tips

The Library's databases may have different interfaces, but they do share basic search principles.  Some of these principles are listed below.   It is important to look for the "Advanced Search" option of the database as it offers you greater control over the construction of your search.  The advanced search interface for most library database will usually display options for the following:

 

Boolean Searching 

Boolean Searching is the cornerstone to an effective search strategy.  Boolean searching refers to searching using a combination of search terms connected by the three Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT.

  • AND will make your search smaller.  If you are retrieving too many records on your topic, try adding another search term with the operator AND.   
    • For example: "frozen food" and "consumers"
  • OR will make your search bigger. If you are retrieving too few records on your topic, try adding another search term with the operator OR.    
    • Examples: "supply chain" or "cold chain"
  • NOT will exclude a word from your search results.  If you are retrieving too many records on an unrelated topic, try eliminating a word with the operator NOT.

Phrase Searching 

To search for two or more words in the exact order in which they are entered you should enclose the phrase in quotation marks "  ".     

Examples: "social media"

Truncation 

Truncation allows you to search the "root" form of a word with all its different endings by adding a symbol to the end of a word.  Truncation symbols vary by database (check the help screens or ask a Librarian), but are usually one of the below:

* (asterisk)             ! (exclamation point)               ? (question mark)

For example: wom* will search for woman, women,....

Field Searching & Limiters

Each database has a variety of predefined fields or limiters that you can search within.  Some examples of fields and limiters are:

  • article title
  • article abstract
  • article text
  • author
  • publication title
  • geographical location
  • company name
  • product name
  • ticker symbol
  • NAICS/SIC Codes
  • date
  • document type
  • publication type
  • scholarly or peer-reviewed

Trade Journals