Using the Discovery Tool and Other Databases

 

Using the Discovery Tool

The Discover Tool is considered "Google for Librarians".  Instead of searching the entirety of the Internet, the Discover Tool searches the contents of most of the databases that the Virginia Tech University Library pays money to access.  Since it is not restricted to business sources, it can be a good place to find outside perspectives on a topic.  For example, here is the same search of "minimum wage" AND increas* that we did in Business Source Complete in the Discovery Tool:

 

The Discovery Tool found 2,975,306 results, so you can see that it is searching a broader number of sources and time frame.  Some of the resources go back to the year 1212.  We can narrow down the results again by date range, from 2013-present and also by the subject "minimum wage--United States".  Here are the results of those limits:

 

Despite our narrowing of the time frame and picking our subject, the Discovery Tool still returns 805 sources.  The Discovery Tool is best used when you have a very narrow topic which will limit your retrieval of sources.  Most times, you would probably wish to use one of our many business focused databases.

Other Databases and Help

We have many more business databases that are focused on companies, industries, and specific business majors such as marketing.  To find out which would be useful to you, go to the subject guide for your department at:  http://guides.lib.vt.edu/subject-guides.  Besides showing appropriate databases, subject guides will also give you an overview of a specific topic or research area.  For further help, you can contact your librarian:  Ellen Krupar, kellen@vt.edu, 3073 Pamplin Hall, 231-4863.  She can help you explore different databases and aid you in searching for your assignments or your job search.