Factiva search tips

Remember that if you enter just two words in Factiva, it will search for those words as a phrase. [click on the thumbnail image to view the full-sized version]




The above search will find articles which contain the phrase online brokerage. This is different from search engines like Google.





This Google search implies an AND between the two words, so that it will find web sites which contain both the words "online" and "brokerage" somewhere on the same page, no matter how remote from each other.

If you want to do an AND search on Factiva, you need to specify this with the word "and"

Here are some other search tips from Factiva:

To find articles containing China and "cultural differences":
enter china and cultural differences

To find articles containing CommSec or e*trade:
enter commsec or e trade

To find articles containing outsourcing but not offshore:
enter outsourcing not offshore

To find articles about outsourcing in the utility or energy sectors:
enter outsourcing and (utility or energy)

To find articles containing at least 3 mentions of CommSec:
enter atleast3 CommSec
The number after atleast can be anything between 1 and 50.

To find articles containing building materials in the same paragraph as market size:
enter building materials same market size
"Same" can be thought of as a more precise version of "and"

To find articles containing variants of outsourcing such as outsource, outsourced, outsourcer: enter outsourc*
Don't use this operator too soon, cat* or tel* would retrieve a lot of false hits.

To find articles woman or women:
enter wom?n
The wildcard operator can only be used after three or more characters.

a few Frequently Asked Questions about the Frank Lowy Library

When is the library open?
See the opening hours here.

What is a database?
A database, in the library context, is a powerful research tool. They contain articles and profiles and other documents from premium content providers. The content from databases typically is not available in search engines such as Google. For example, it is very difficult to find full-text articles from the Harvard Business Review in Google, because this content is not free and is available only in databases such as Business Premier. Some databases contain newspaper and journal articles, others have company information and financials, or industry and market information. Databases usually offer more sophisticated searching options. On the other hand, they are not as simple as Google and require some time and effort to learn.

Why bother with databases if everything is on Google?
As mentioned above, not everything is on Google. Most books have not been digitized, only a number of periodicals are freely available via Google. Even if one is looking for internet-only materials, not all of it is available via Google. It is always a good idea to try the other major search engines Ask.com, MSN and Yahoo, as there is not as much overlap between the search engines as most people believe.

How do I use the library's databases?
Once logged into the library, choose the databases page. If the database does not seem intuitive to you, take a moment to read the research guide or ask a librarian.

What fee-based and consultancy services does the library offer?
The Frank Lowy Library runs the Business Information Service.

Ask a Librarian

One of the roles of the Frank Lowy Library is to help AGSM students, faculty and staff with research assistance.

We are here to answer your questions. No question is too easy or too difficult. If you're unsure of a research topic, why not talk to the library before sinking an hour into researching on Google. If you suspect you may need to use one of the library's research databases, take a moment to contact the library and we can give you some pointers for using the database effectively and fine-tuning your research strategy.

Here are the different ways in which you can use the Ask a Librarian research assistance service.

1. By email. Just email library@agsm.edu.au or complete the Ask a Librarian form which is available on the What's New page.

2. By phone. Call the library on +61 2 9931 9390. After verifying your identity as a member of the AGSM community, we'll get right onto your question. Some questions can be answered immediately while you're on the phone. Others may require more work and will require a follow-up call or email.

3. In person. Feel free to stop in at the Frank Lowy Library and make use of its printing and photocopying and computing facilities, as well as the Information Commons.
The library is also a nice and quiet place to study and catch up on the newspapers. Executive MBA students: to use the computers, just ask a library staff member to log you in, and to use the Information Commons, contact AGSM Academic Affairs to give you access.