Finding Information

Why use databases? All the information you need, can be found on the internet, right? Or not...?You may use Google if you're looking for something on the internet. It can definitely help you to get an idea about your subject, or help you to find more search terms. 

But, a search engine like Google only searches a small part of the internet which is publicly accessible. Besides, anyone can share information on the internet... so always make sure to check the reliability of a source. Check out 'evaluate your source' for more information. 

This is where databases come in handy.

Databases hold collections of digital, reliable information, which is selected and assessed by experts and you can use for your studies. It's paid content, but free for you to use as an Avans student. 

Below you will find some examples of databases that are often used at IB.

Quantitative information can be found in databases like:

• MarketLine
• Statista

Qualitative information and cases can be found in databases like:

• Business Source Ultimate
• OECD iLibrary (OECD iLibrary is the central knowledge base of OECD expertise)

What kind of information do you need? This helps you to choose the database you'll want to use.  

A link to Google Trends (for instance for doing competitor research) can also be found here. Just scroll down.

In the video below on 'how to use the databases' we have used 'meat replacements' as a category example. You can try out the tactics shown in this video on your own category or topic.

Note that the database Business Source Premium is now Business Source Ultimate, so it holds even more articles. The way of getting to the information in Business Source Ultimate remains the same. 

In MarketLine you can look up full-text reports about companies, country profiles and expert articles on markets.

Click on the logo to access the database or watch the tutorials below to find out how it works first.

MarketLine User Guide 

User Guide with links to more video tutorials on how to use MarketLine, like country statistics, industry data and value chain analytics

Statista is the global No.1 Data Platform with insights and facts across 170 industries and 150+ countries.

Click on the logo to access the database directly.

What is statista? An overview in less than 2 minutes:

Statista Tutorials - How to find what you are looking for: 

Tips for better search results on Statista can be found here

Answers to frequently asked questions concerning Statista can be found here 

Doing Competitor Research? Also try Google Trends!

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Enter the competitor’s name. Let’s use Apple for this example.

Step 2: Set your region and time range.

To view information from the past, navigate to the custom time range.

For more information on how to use Google Trends for market research check this link: How to use Google Trends for Market Research (2022) - Adacted

In Business Source Ultimate you can look up English articles on economics, management, marketing, business and HRM.

Information from Business Source Ultimate can be accessed directly via the search engine Kaluga, but it is advised to check out the database BSU itself, for it also holds a thesaurus for your search terms, which can help you to get better search results.

Click on the logo to access the database directly.

What can you find in Business Source Ultimate? 

Watch the short video below!

Business Source Ultimate from EBSCO on Vimeo.

Via the Avans search engine Kaluga many e-books, books, journal articles and databases can be looked up.

Search on:

• topic
• author
• title
• publisher or
• search term combinations. (For tips on how to create good search queries check this link)

It includes the Avans catalogue and also some of the databases and has access to (scholarly) articles.

Specify your search by using the filters on the left. (for instance limit the publication date)

Add the title, author or search terms into the search bar below and directly search Kaluga