Tag: database of the month

Database of the Month: Global Insight

Lisa

Global Insight is an overlooked gem of a resource – providing access to expert economic, financial, and political analysis for 204 countries.

The information you’ll find in Global Insight is not available from any of our other databases.  If you were to log-in to Global Insight today you would find:

  • same-day analysis of the current economic situation in Greece
  • a special report on the political, social and economic implications of the history-making elections taking place in the Philippines next month
  • detailed country profiles for 204 countries written by experts who have analyzed recent political, economic, security, legal, tax and operational factors, and which also includes a country risk assessment and sovereign risk ratings
  • and much, much more…

You would be hard-pressed to find a better source for analysis of the risk and business environment of developed and emerging countries, regions, and industries. Global Insight also provides extensive historical data sets and forecasts for all countries.

Description & Key Features

Analysis:

The service’s analytical content consists of four core elements that are fully integrated and revised continuously.

  • Same-Day Analysis Articles & Special Reports: Daily articles track risk- and business-related developments worldwide, as well as economic data releases. Special Reports investigate key topics in greater depth.  Article topics range from cabinet reshuffles and policy initiatives to economic data releases and terrorist threats.
  • Country Reports: In-depth, consistently structured background reports covering the political, economic, security and general business environment in each country.
  • Country Risk Ratings: A unique six-factor system focusing on foreign direct investment-related risk, tightly integrated with Same-Day Analysis articles and Country Reports. For all 204 countries, Global Insight grades six different risk factors: political, economic, legal, tax, operational, and security. These are then weighted and combined to form the overall country risk rating.
  • Sovereign Risk Ratings: An assessment of the financial stability and credit-worthiness of all countries worldwide, plus side-by-side comparisons with the major ratings agencies.

Economic Data:

Global Insight includes a wealth of economic data for each country.  The datasets include historical data for some variables as far back as 1979, and long-term forecasts to 2040. Every quarter, Global Insight produces detailed forecasts for up to 150 key economic indicators. The most important concepts—GDP, exchange rate, consumer prices, etc.—are forecasted for all countries; for the larger countries additional concepts include detailed accounts for the government and household sectors, and disaggregated trade accounts.

Connect to this database:

Please visit the Global Insight database to explore this valuable database further, or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: MLA International Bibliography

Liz

Of all the databases the Bentley Library subscribes to, MLA International Bibliography is the most comprehensive when it comes to literature and related fields. Its over 2 million records provide citation information and abstracts for research in areas such as:

  • rhetoric and composition
  • teaching of literature
  • teaching of language
  • folklore
  • history of publishing
  • literary theory and criticism
  • dramatic arts (including television, film, radio, and theater)

Its records include articles, books, book chapters, dissertation abstracts, and even websites (more on that later). While mostly in English, MLA also includes research from other countries in over 70 other languages, and provides coverage back to 1923.

The CSA search platform offers a powerful advanced search; zero in on exactly what you need by searching several different fields, including:  scholarly approach, literary genre, time period, influence, and literary theme (e.g., subjects like “gender conflict” or geographic places). MLA allows you to distinguish between the author of an article, and the author about which an article is written; the same applies to language (e.g., an article written about Spanish, in English).

Another very useful feature of MLA International Bibliography is its inclusion of websites. Websites go through the same rigorous selection process as all the other resources in the database, so it’s easy to generate a list of reliable websites on a particular topic. When searching, scroll all the way down and check off the box “websites only.” Here’s an example of a “websites only” search for the words “Harlem Renaissance.”

While MLA International Bibliography serves mainly as an index, it’s easy to discover if Bentley has access to a resource by clicking “Check for Journal in another Bentley database.” It also links easily to Interlibrary Loan and exports to Refworks. You can also create a desktop shortcut (look at the bottom of the search screen) to search MLA International Bibliography directly from your desktop.

Further information about this database may be found on MLA’s website: http://www.mla.org/bibliography

Connect to this database:

Please visit MLA International Bibliography to explore this valuable database further – on the CSA landing page, click “Specific Databases,” and make sure that only the box next to “MLA International Bibliography” is checked. Visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: IBISWorld Business Environment Reports

Kimberly

A few months ago we profiled IBISWorld’s Industry Market Research Reports, but IBISWorld has even more to offer!  The Library’s subscription to IBISWorld also provides access to their Business Environment Reports and Business Environment Monitor Reports.

Click to View this Report

Description & Key Features:

IBISWorld’s Business Environment Reports offer data and analysis that give context to companies, industries, and the U.S. economy.   IBIS uses an “outside-looking-in” approach to explain how economic, demographic and other changes impact on people, enterprises and commerce.  These reports contain interesting and hard-to-find economic facts and figures.

Business Environment Research Reports center around 7 environments – Consumer Behavior & Attitudes, Developed & Natural Resources, Domestic Economy & External Accounts, Financial Market, Goods and Services Prices, International Economy & Commodities, and Labor & Demographics.  Business Environment Research Reports are available as brief reports (3-4 pages) on around 300 key Business Environment indicators, and include such topics as:

IBISWorld’s Business Environment Monitor Reports provide an overview of the U. S. economy. Each report provides data and analysis from six related Business Environment elements and presents both the historical trend and a 5-year forecast period.  Data tables can be downloaded into Excel.

Connect to this Database:

Please visit IBISWorld to explore this valuable database further, or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.
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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.