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Biographical Sources

This guide lists sources that may be used to locate biographical information on business leaders.

The guide focuses on suggested strategies and best places to begin research efforts. For information & assistance in using any of the sources, please contact library staff:

• In person, at the MCOB Library Service Desk
• By phone @ 251-414-8067
• By email @ dlharrington@usouthal.edu

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Biography Reference Bank
"Wilson's largest biography database has combined the in-depth, original profiles of Wilson Biographies Plus illustrated, plus the thorough periodicals coverage of the Biography Index, full-text articles, page images, and abstracts from the complete range of Wilson databases (including biographical profiles, feature articles, interviews, essays, book reviews, performance reviews, speeches, or obituaries). It covers over 500,000 people and includes over 36,000 images."

• On the advanced search screen, begin by selecting the 'Biography Reference Bank' & 'Reader's Guide Retro' databases at the top of the screen.
• Use the pull-down menu to select either 'Person' or 'Keyword' and enter search terms in the first search box .
• Choose appropriate materials from the results lists. To print or email, click on 'Print/Email/Save' from the left menu.
• If articles are not available in full-text they may be available in the University Library or may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.

Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
Provides the full-text for more than 8,800 titles covering all areas of business. 

Click on advanced-search at the top. In the first search-box, enter [last name first, first name] and use the pull-down menu to select 'People'. On the results list, look to the left for ways to narrow search results.

About Google Scholar
How to integrate Google Scholar with USA Library eJournals

Sample Searches:

"w. edwards deming" +biography
"w. edwards deming" +guru

Google Scholar is a beta test product for academic researchers.  “It provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.”  Researching your topic through Google Scholar allows you to utilize features of Google search technology with which you are already familiar.

Since Google Scholar is an index to scholarly literature, it may or may not provide the full-text for the secondary data sources it cites.  Never purchase information from Google Scholar as you will be able to search Our Journal List OR SOUTHcat to locate materials that are available at USA.

So that you will be able to integrate the features of Our Journal List, whether you are on-campus or off-campus, remember to set Scholar Preferences and set a library preference for the University of South Alabama.  Type ‘University of South Alabama’ in the library link box and click on ‘Find Library’.  Once our library appears on the selection list with USA eText next to it, click in the box and at the top right of the screen select ‘Save Preferences’.  You may also set preferences for English language only articles.

On the results list, anytime you see a citation with USA eText beside it, click on the link and it will search Our Journal List to see if the citation is available in full-text.  If you are off-campus, you will be asked to provide your last name plus the first two letters of your first name and either your J Number, the last 4 digits of your social security number or your library barcode.


Mergent Online - (Executives Search)

For executive biographies for a specific company:

• Do a 'Basic Search' for the company name or ticker symbol.
  
• Click on the company name on the next search screen.
  
• Click on the 'Executives' tab on the 'Company Details' screen.
• Click on the name for Mergent biography supplied data OR click on the link to 'Web Bio' for information compiled from the Internet.
  

To search for executives that meet specific criteria :

• Click on 'Executive Search' at the top of the main search page.
  
• Select a data point [age, bonus, committee, education, first name, job function, last name, MIC, No. of employees, Primary NAIC, Primary SIC, salary, state of incorporation, title, year] .
  
• Enter term or phrase in the 'Search Value' text block .
• Select additional data points as needed
• Click 'Run Search' at the bottom right to run the search.
• On the results list, click the name of the individual for the Mergent biography.

SOUTHcat (Library Catalog)

In addition to articles, remember to look for books about the life of the individual or books they authored.

• To locate materials that about the life of an individual, conduct a *Subject Heading Browse* search in the catalog. Enter the name [last name, first name].
  
• To locate materials that the individual has authored, conduct a search by Author. Enter the name [last name, first name].
• To locate any material that mentions the individual, conduct a keyword search. Enter the individual's name (first name AND last name) as a Boolean search.

If you need further information on how to search the library’s catalog:

Using the SOUTHcat Catalog

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Last Updated: 1/13/09 DLH