Should I search more than one database? Depending upon what you're looking for, YES. Although there's overlap, all publications aren't in every database, e.g. Harvard Business Review is in Business Source & Sloan Managment Review is in ABI/Inform. If you don't want to miss something, search more than one.
What types of articles are you looking for?
Scholarly/Academic Literature:
Newspapers/Newswires:
General Business & Trade Publications:
Specialized Subject Databases:
Start with a question:
"How does board diversity affect the bottom line in banking?"
Break your question into concepts, using synonyms or similar ideas together.
Concept A |
Concept B |
Concept C |
||
Board |
AND |
diversity |
AND |
profit |
OR |
OR |
OR |
||
Board of Directors |
inclusion |
performance |
||
OR |
OR |
OR |
||
Corporate Directors |
gender |
benefits |
 
 
Use your terms in the database search:
(HINT: Use the * to truncate your search terms. Perform* will return performance, performing, performed etc.. 5221* returns all NAICS codes that start with those digits.)
Make the most of your web searches.
If you're on the Dartmouth network, Google Scholar will link back to Library-subscribed journals and publications.
Use the Advanced Search features in Google.
Full text is available for most articles in these databases, look for the "full-text" or "pdf" links.
If there is no full-text, look for the button. This will link you to a copy of the article in another database, or help you request it though Interlibrary Loan.
Browser extensions will also allow you to quickly link to the full-text of articles where the Library has a subscription.