Peter F. Bronfman Business Library » Masters in Human Resources Management: Library Orientation Session

Masters in Human Resources Management: Library Orientation Session

This guide is an introduction to sources used to research human resource management. It highlights some of the key research tools available but it is not intended as a comprehensive list of sources. The sources listed below are available in print at the Bronfman Business Library, S237, Schulich School of Business or electronically via York University Libraries Web site or the Internet.

A link to the PowerPoint for this orientation session is available here. This material supplements what is contained in this web guide i.e. both should be consulted in tandem with each other.

This guide is divided into the following sections:

Using the YULibrary Catalogue

The YULibrary Catalogue is a tool you should come to rely on again and again when doing your library research. This is because it allows you to search for all the print and electronic materials owned by the libraries by title, author, keyword, and more. Many of the books relating to the field of Human Resource Management are located within the LC call no. range HF 5549. The catalogue can be used, however, to find materials other than books including journal titles (for both print and electronic journals), government information, legal materials, videos, and much more. It also includes reserve materials and reference items.

Catalogue Tips

Start with a keyword search e.g. ‘employee selection’
Find a title that is closest to your research topic e.g. Personnel Selection: Adding Value Through People.
Click on ‘View’ and scroll down to ‘Subjects’ and then click on any of the subject, in this case “Employee selection” to find all books on this subject

E-Books

Books 24X7: Access the BusinessPro section to find electronic books on the topic of Human Resources, Employee Training & Development, and other HRM-related subjects. include In addition, lengthy summaries of key professional and popular business books are included in ExecSummaries.

Ebrary: Contains a large collection of books, textbooks and reports aimed at professionals and scholars in the field of human resources, personnel management, and employment management. Browse under the Social Sciences>Commerce>Business sub-topics to find relevant items, or use the search box to search the entire Ebrary collection.

Different Types of Articles

Video: Different types of Business Articles: Click on the camera icon to view the tutorial and to learn about the different types of articles used in business research, and how to recognize their distinguishing characteristics.

The following is a description of the different kinds of business articles in all the key areas of business including the area of Human Resources Management e.g.:

1. Business articles in scholarly or peer-reviewed journals: These articles are written by academics and researchers, typically focus on original research, use specialized language, contain in-depth articles with specialized language and extensive bibliographies. Examples: Administrative Science Quarterly; Human Resource Management Journal.

When might one use a scholarly or peer-reviewed article?: Where an academic or scholarly perspective is required; where original research is sought; where interested in academic theory; where a review of the academic literature on a business topic is needed; where a professor has specifically stipulated that only scholarly articles may be used for a given research project.

Tip: Use Ulrichs International Periodical Directory to determine if a specific journal is refereed. You can search by journal name, and if it is refereed this symbol will appear beside the journal title:

2. Business articles in trade journals: Target members of a specific business, industry or organization. Written by practitioners or journalists who cover the field. Valued for currency. Typically focus on industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news. Editorial review quite common, may contain short bibliographies. Examples: People Management, HR Professional, Autoweek.

When should you use an article from a trade journal?: Where a practitioner perspective needed; where industry, company, or market research being conducted with emphasis on currency; where seeking information on best practices, recent developments or other information relating to a particular profession or trade.

3. Business articles in popular business magazines: Target audience is general public and/or business professionals. Focus on general business information especially current trends and news. Examples: Canadian Business; Forbes.

When should you use an article from a popular business magazine?: Where general background information is required on a business topic and information source need not be academic, specialized, or in-depth in focus; where currency is important as many popular publications are published weekly and cover business news events and recent developments.

4. Business articles in newspapers or newswires: Short articles written by business columnists/journalists. Focus on current news in business. Examples: Wall Street Journal, BusinessWire.

When should you use a newspaper or newswire business article?: Typically the best (and often only) source for very recent business developments or events; useful source of political, social, economic and public commentary; useful in order to determine how an event was reported on at a particular point in time; where regional research being conducted local newspapers may be the only, or one of few, sources of information available.

Finding Journal/Magazine/News Articles

All of the eResources below support keyword searching to identify journal, magazine, and/or newspaper articles relating to human resources and organizational behaviour issues:

Journal and Magazine Articles

Proquest Business Simultaneously search all business & industry periodicals available through Proquest Central, including the ABI/Inform databases, concentrated publications on the pharmaceutical, banking, computing and telecommunications industries and Canadian, Asian and European business news. Includes wide coverage of corporate governance topics. Specific databases included in the Proquest suite of business databases at York University are: ABI Inform Global, ABI/Inform Trade & Industry, CBCA Complete: Business, Proquest Asian Business, and Proquest European Business.

Business Source Premier Contains full text for over 7,000 business periodicals and other sources, including scholarly journals, trade and general business magazines, monographs, country economic and industry reports, industry yearbooks, and market research reports.

CBCA Complete (Proquest): Provides interdisciplinary coverage of Canadian topics including the areas of business and current affairs. Offers references, and many full text articles, from Canadian journals, magazines, newspapers, and newswires. Dates of coverage vary by title but many full-text titles available from early or mid-1990s, while citations for many publications available from early 1980s onward. Consult CBCA Business, a sub-component of the CBCA Complete database, in order to limit search specifically to Canadian business journals and magazines, but note that newspaper and newswire coverage are not offered by this product, and coverage of business topics in non-business publications is also not available.

Human Resources Abstracts Includes citations and abstracts for journals, books and papers in the field of human resources studies including human resources management. Topics include but are not limited to: aging and retirement, career preparation, earnings and benefits, health and human resources, hiring and personnel practices, human resources practices and management, labour and industrial relations. Coverage is for 2003 onwards.

PsycInfo Indexes the articles for 2,426 journals, as well as dissertations, reports, books, book chapters, and other scholarly documents including literature from over 45 countries in more than 30 languages. Coverage is from 1890 – present. Covering the literature in psychology and related behavioral sciences this database has many applications to work and research in the field of human resources management.

Legal Materials

Legal materials are needed for research in some HR areas.

Books, journals, case materials and other legal information sources can be found at the Osgoode Law Library on York’s Keele campus. Assistance with searches for legal resources is provided by the reference librarians at this library during the following hours .

Books and journals in the field of Law can be found by searching the YULibrary Catalogue (it is possible to limit searches to the Law Library specifically).

The Checklist of Legal Periodicals Indexes can also be used to find journal articles in legal periodicals, as well as case materials and more.

Lexis Nexis Academic is also a good source for legal materials such as Canadian and US legislation and cases.

CanLII is another excellent resource for Canadian federal and provincial legislation and links to legal information sources.

Government Information

When conducting research in the area of Human Resource Management, government information can often be useful in conducting research on government policy, statistics, and much more. For example, such government bodies as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and the International Labour Organization publish information of relevance to many Human Resources topics.

Government information available through York University Libraries includes federal, provincial, and municipal Canadian government publications, as well as U.K. and U.S. government information. The publications of many International Governmental Organizations e.g. OECD , ILO, World Bank etc. are also available. Government publications can be found by searching the YULibrary Catalogue . Since early 2003 government publications have been classified using Library of Congress call numbers and are shelved alongside materials in the book stacks collection. This means that government publications of relevance to business are located in the Bronfman Business Library, while those of relevance to the Arts or Humanities are at Scott Library and so on. Government information published prior to early 2003 is housed on the third floor of the Scott Library and is organized using a classification scheme unique to York University.

For more information please consult the government publications research guide.

Selected HRM Web Sites

Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations

http://www.cchra.ca/en/

This organization represents the interests of HR professionals across Canada. Includes information on Council activities, links to member associations, and information on HR and IR events across Canada.

Canadian Policy Research Networks

http://www.cprn.org/index.cfm?l=en

The CPRN is a social policy think tank that advises Canadian policy makers on issues pertaining to, or affecting social policy in Canada. See the subsection on Health and Health Human Resources and the subsection on Labour Markets/Vulnerable Workers for access to the CPRN publications and reports on those topics.

Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources Library, University of Toronto

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/cirhr/

This link provides access to the web site of the Library at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto. The recommended IR/HR web sites are very useful.

Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Library, University of California, Berkeley

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/IIRL/

Features web guides for labour research from a range of recommended sources, as well as links to Berkeley’s own specialized labour guides including selected bibliographies and more.

Human Resources & Skills Development Canada

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/home.shtml

Includes information about all programs and services. Some highlights for HR professionals include links to assist employers with HR planning and recruitment, labour and workplace information, and an area featuring information on training and learning.

Ontario Ministry of Labour

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/

This provincial-level ministry oversees the areas of occupational health and safety, employment rights and responsibilities, and labour relations and internal administration. the ministry’s mandate is to set, communicate and enforce workplace standards while encouraging greater workplace self-reliance. This website includes links to key legislation, such as the Labour Relations Act, and details about policies pertaining to dispute resolution, collective bargaining agreements, and negotiation.

Negotech

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/search/negotech/search-eng.shtml

From the HRSDC’s Labour website, this searchable database allows for access to full text of Canadian agreements from selected bargaining units of 100 or more under provincial jurisdiction, all bargaining units under federal jurisdiction, and all large bargaining units of 500 or more employees. Current and one previous agreement.

Society for Human Resources Management (U.S.)

http://www.shrm.org/

Large U.S. based association devoted to HRM. Includes educational and information services and resources for members worldwide.

Citing Resources and RefWorks

The McGill library has compiled a very good guide to citing business sources using APA and the Bronfman Business Library has created a guide for citing business sources in MLA. For guides to citing resources in other citation styles see the list of style guides

RefWorks bibliographic management software is also available for free to any registered York students. RefWorks is a user-friendly program that allows users to generate and manage bibliographies for use in their written work. Use of RefWorks requires an initial online registration and requires that you download Write-N-Cite software. More information here.

Zotero is a free and open source program that allows researchers to save references from library catalogues, research databases and web sites with a single click. It means your time is freed up from the tedious task of formatting citations, allowing you to focus on the research itself. The York University Libraries’ guide explains all about it, and includes a recording of a one-hour webinar that will get you started with all you need to know.

Video: Citation and Academic Integrity – Click on the camera icon to get important information about citing your sources, and about academic integrity in your work. Get tips on how to manage your citations using RefWorks.

Created by Sophie Bury

Business Librarian & Liaison Librarian, School of Human Resource Management

Created Jan. 2004, Updated September 2012

York University Libraries