Electronic Information Resources

As part of your university study you will need to find information for your assignments. A lot of this information is available electronically as well as in print. This tutorial will cover some of the information and skills you will need to to access the databases, electronic journals, e-books and other resources.

Learning Outcomes

You will:

  • Be familiar with which IDs and passwords you will need to access the electronic resources.
  • Be familiar with the features of Library, e.g. Voyager
  • Understand the different types of databases available to you.
  • Be familiar with the databases most useful to your courses.
  • Understand how to access electronic journals for your assignments.
  • Be able to access electronic books on Library effectively.
  • Know how to reference electronic articles and books correctly using APA (American Psychological Association) format.

ID and password needed to access electronic resources  Contents 

To access the Library's electronic resources (databases, e-journals, e-books) you must logon and identify yourself. 

Your username or login name is your NetID, the same as you have used to enroll online ( e.g. jblo123).  If you have never used this service before, your initial NetPassword will be randomly generated, and may be printed out by swiping your ID card at a NetAccount Print Station. Returning users should use their existing NetPassword (also known as their NetAccount password). See the NetAccount Services page for further details on how to activate your NetAccount.

Contact an IC HelpDesk for help with forgotten passwords or other problems with access, or email  ichelpdesk@auckland.ac.nz. In the e-mail please include: 

  • Your full name
  • Your University ID number
  • Your NetID (UPI or username)
  • A list of the courses for which you are enrolled, for the current academic year

Other services using the NetID and NetPassword are:

  • Student Services Online  - enrolment, updating personal details, viewing academic transcript etc. 

  • Cecil - online learning management system, lecture notes, tests etc.

  • EC Mail - student webmail service.

Library website  Contents 

Library is the gateway to the Library's electronic resources with access points to the following:

  • Library catalogue
  • Databases
  • Resources organised by subject area, e.g. Business and Economics
  • Electronic journals 
  • Electronic books
  • Exam papers
  • Internet and search engines
  • and more.....

Voyager Contents 
Voyager is the online library catalogue. Voyager can be used to find out what is held in the Library and how to access the items. 

Books
 There are several ways to search Voyager for books held in the Library:

  • By author
  • By title
  • By keyword or phrase - to find a topic
  • By subject - to find a topic

Once you have located a book in Voyager you will know where to find it on the shelf. 

E-books
More and more books are becoming available electronically and can be accessed via Voyager or the e-book databases - see below for more information on e-books.

Journals, Magazines, Newspapers
 A serial title search in Voyager will give you the location of the journals or magazines or newspapers, for example, if you wanted to know whether the Library subscribed to the Harvard Business Review you would do a serial title search in Voyager, as shown: 

Journals are available in print (on the shelf) and/or electronically, via the Link to e-resource. For more information see Electronic Journals section below. 

When would you use Voyager and when would you use one of the Library databases?

  • Use Voyager to search for books by title, author(s) or by keyword or subject.
  • Use Voyager to search for journal/serial titles.
  • Use a Library database to locate the content of electronic journal/serial titles, i.e. specific journal articles.

Databases Contents 

The Library subscribes to over 380 electronic databases across all disciplines. These databases give you desktop access to different types of information:

Database FAQs

What types of databases are in the Library collections?

  • full-text databases, which deliver the content or full text of journals, magazines or newspaper articles, to your desktop OR, 
  • index databases which deliver references to journal articles, i.e. author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, page numbers and abstract.
  • e-book databases, which allow you to access and read books online.
  • numerical data such as the statistical databases.

What are the advantages of using the Library's databases? 

  • Databases can provide information on a wide range of subject areas. 
  • Databases can provide information on a particular subject area only.  
  • Information in books is usually about two years old before a book reaches a book shop and therefore journals contain much more recent information than books.
  • Journals may contain comment and opinions on events as well as research findings.
  • Journals are useful to use to supplement other forms of publication (like books) to bring facts up to date or provide opinions and discussions.
  • Databases allow the use of search techniques for accurate retrieval of relevant articles. 
  • Current and relevant information can be easily accessed off campus and at any time.

Why locate information using the Library databases rather than using the Internet?

  • Information contained in databases has often been critiqued and evaluated (by publishers, academics, librarians etc.)
  • Many databases are subject specific, so you avoid non-relevant hits. 
  • Databases allow advanced search techniques that enable accurate retrieval of relevant information.

How do I know which databases are relevant to my topic?

All the databases have been organised by subject such as Business and Economics. However you can also check if there is a Course page for the courses you are enrolled in and explore the databases recommended, check out the Executive Programmes page:

How do I access the databases from the Library website?

Databases useful to Executive Programmes courses:
1. New Zealand coverage:

Newztext - provides access to the full-text of key New Zealand business publications including the National Business Review, the Independent and INL newspapers.

 

Newzindex - an index to NZ trade and business magazines, and four major daily newspapers.

 

Index New Zealand - indexes New Zealand newspapers, magazines and academic journals.

 

2. Databases with international or global business coverage:

ABI/Inform -  indexes and abstracts over 1,400 business and economics journals. ABI/Inform covers both academic, trade and popular business publications.  In addition, it provides the full text and/or page images of the articles from about half of these periodicals.  ABI/Inform is part of the the PQD suite of databases. PQD includes other databases relevant to business which you may want to explore.  ABI/Inform is an excellent starting point or your research.

Business Source Premier  -  indexes and abstracts for nearly 2630 titles, and the full text of 2080 titles ranging from general business magazines to academic journals. It provides HTML full-text and/or page images.  Business Source Premier is another excellent database which will supplement your ABI/Inform search. 

Emerald - provides full-text access to peer reviewed business, economics and management journals aimed at both academic researchers and  practitioners. Emerald is a small database so your search will retrieve fewer results than ABI/Inform or Business Source Premier but the articles are generally in-depth articles.

 

Factiva - Access to a wide range of global news and business information. Factiva is the successor to the Dow Jones Interactive and Reuters Business Briefing databases. It includes abstracts and access to full text.

 

ScienceDirect - Includes academic publications in business and management science, offers links to full-text. Click here for a guide on using ScienceDirect.  ScienceDirect provides access to in-depth articles.

Electronic Journals  Contents  

What are e-journals ?
E-journals (or electronic journals) are electronic publications, published on a regular basis, for example e-journals can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.
The term e-journals refers to:

  •  an electronic version of print academic journals. 
  •  an electronic version of print popular magazines. 
  •  an electronic version of newspapers or newsletters. 
  •  an electronic only publication of any of the above.

Need help?
Check out the How to search and use e-journals (PDF), from Learning Services, University of Auckland Library.

How do I access e-journals ?
The Library provides access to e-journals via a number of ways: 

  1. Via Voyager, the Library catalogue.
  2. Via the E-Journals. 
  3. Via the Databases.

1. Via Voyager: A serial title search in Voyager will tell you whether the library holds a particular e-journal title.  From there you can access articles in the journal. 

  • For example- to read the following article: Mintzberg, H.(1990) The Managers job, folk law and fact, Harvard Business Review, March/April, 68(2): 163-176, 
    follow these steps:

Locate the record to the Harvard Business Review by a serial title search on Voyager. The Voyager record to the Harvard Business Review will look like this:

2. via E-journal link on Library

From the Library website 

  • Click onto the link E-Journals
  • From here you can click a letter of the alphabet to take you to a list of titles 
  • Or you can search for the e-journal title. 
  • To find articles on a topic select from the databases available in Library.

3. Via the Library databases

Electronic Books  Contents                      

What are eBooks?
eBooks are electronic versions of printed books. You can browse eBooks for quick research and reference or check them out and read them at your leisure. Since eBooks are online, they’re available anywhere, anytime from an Internet enabled computer. You also don’t have to worry about returning them, eBooks are automatically returned at the end of your checkout period.

Need help?
Check out the How to search and use e-Books (PDF) work book.

How can you access e-books?

  1. By a search on Voyager
  2. By accessing Ebsco, a Library database of electronic business books.


1. You can search for e-books in Voyager by limiting your search to e-books as shown:

The Voyager record below displays the record to a book which is available in electronic format only.

2. By selecting the Link to e-Resource: e-Book on Ebsco you will be taken to the access page on the Ebsco database to that book. Alternatively you can access the Ebsco database from the Databases A-Z

 If you wish to read the electronic book for more than 15 minutes you must Create an Account in order to check out the book. Note the Create an Account link is under the red log in button on the lower right hand side of the screen. Once you have created an account for the Ebsco database you can access Ebsco from any internet enabled pc.

  • Browsing an e-book online gives you access for 15 minutes
  • Checking out an e-book gives you access for 3 hours.
  • You are able to print or copy one page of an Ebsco book at a time 

Referencing  electronic sources  Contents      

Citing articles and information from Journals
 If you use articles or information from electronic or print journals you must acknowledge or cite the source by providing a reference to the source in your writing.

There are three main reasons to reference:

  1. Honesty - To acknowledge the author or owner of  a piece of writing or an idea.
  2. To give the source so that the original information can be located.
  3. To show that the material you used in your writing is accurate and can be verified.

APA format is used for referencing all the sources of information including electronic articles and web sites. This section will focus on referencing electronic sources of information using APA format.

Useful examples of APA Referencing:

  • Citing a print journal article
    King, J. A. (2002). Conflict in teams, New Zealand Journal of Management, 42, (3), 26 -28.
  • Citing an Internet version of a print journal
    Marsh, I. ( 2001). Team New Zealand and team work, [electronic version]. Unlimited Magazine, 15, (5), 2-8.
  • Citing an Internet only online journal
    Reed, P., & Smith, J. (2000). The use of simulation in business school teaching. Retrieved January 24, 2002, from
    http://online.journal.apa.org
  • Citing a magazine or journal article from an online database
         Cowan, N.,& Locke, C. (2002). Locating business information online, Marketing Online Magazine, 15 (6), 21-25. Retrieved April 18, 2002, from ABI/Inform Global database.

    Example of no author:
    Mobile phones and students. (2002).The New Zealand Director, 104 (3). Retrieved March 18, 2002 from Proquest 5000 database.
  • Citing a newspaper article from a database
         Auckland University plans new business school. (2002, March 21). The New Zealand Herald, p.B8. Retrieved April 1, 2002, from Newztext database.
  • Citing a newspaper article from an online site
    Dr. Doug Carrie made new BBIM director.(2002, March 15). National Business Review, Retrieved March 18, 2002 from www.nbr.co.nz
  • Citing information obtained from web sites
    Entire web site
         Title of Page. Retrieved<Date>, from<URL>
    Business NZ. Retrieved March 18, from http://www.businessnz.org.nz/
    Specific document on a web site
    New Zealand used vehicle imports. (2000, November 3.) Retrieved March 10 from Trade Port, U.S. Department of Commerce - National Trade Data Bank: http://tradeport.org/ts/countries/newzealand/mrr/mark0014.html

Guides to APA Format for Electronic Resources:
Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html  [an official APA site]
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_docelectric.html

General Guides to APA Format:
http://www.stylewizard.com/index.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html#Examples

Last updated: March 2009