Skip to Main Content

Library Research for Business Students

Primary Sources

A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence. In business research, this could be an interview in a news article, financial statements from an annual report, images of company logos, census data collected by the government, a new law that affects businesses, and data collected by an academic researcher for a new research project.

Here are some examples of primary sources available via the Library:

Secondary Sources

A secondary source uses primary sources as a way to interpret and evaluate past events. In business research, this could be a news round-up in a trade journal, a market research report, an industry profile, an annotated bibliography, a peer-reviewed article that critiques existing research, and just about any book.

Below are some examples of secondary sources available via the Library:

Tertiary Sources

A tertiary source summarizes information from primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources are a good way to get a quick overview of any given topic. Most textbooks are tertiary sources.

Below are some examples of tertiary sources available via the Library: