Business Orientation: Business Orientation

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

The Nicolet College Library has thousands of physical resources such as books  and DVDs available for use by Nicolet College students, staff, faculty, as well as our friends in the Nicolet College district area and beyond.

Nicolet College Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System to organize books, DVDs, music CDs, and other physical items. 

While relevant materials could be found throughout the collection depending upon the topic of your research paper/project, the majority of relevant materials will be found with call numbers starting with R, which is the letter that represents medicine.

To find physical books within the library's collection, use the online catalog link. 

Books may be found in a number of locations in the library.

• The most common location is called "stacks." These are books in the main part of the collection. These books can be checked out for four (4) weeks and can be renewed four (4) times.
• Another location is "Bestseller and newbook shelves." These books are either new or current bestsellers, and are on a very specific set of shelves in the library. They can be checked out for two (2) weeks and can be renewed once (1x). 
• Another location may be "Audiotape and CD book shelves." These are books that are read by listening. All of our physical audiobooks are on CD now. These can be checked out for four (4) weeks and renewed four (4) times.
• Another location could be "Reference." These are typically books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, drug guides, or diagnostic manuals and can be found in a small, specific area of shelving in the library. These books cannot be checked out, but small portions can be copied if you need to.

Some things to consider when using any information source, such as a book: 

What should you look for: 

Non-fiction books are usually considered a scholarly source when you are doing a research project or a paper. Typically, a non-fiction book goes through a rigorous vetting process before it is published. In the Nicolet College Library, most books with a call number starting with P are fiction, except biographies of authors and critical literature. 

If the book has a call number starting with something other than P, it is considered non-fiction. However, that does not necessarily mean it is appropriate to use in a research paper.

First, consider the topic. Many topics are considered non-fiction, but the scientific community generally does not consider them valid at this point in time (like cryptozoology, aliens, ghosts, reincarnation, magic, etc., or anti-vaxxing, climate change denial, etc.) If your paper is about a topic like one of these, you should talk to your instructor first before going any further in the research process.

If you are satisfied with your topic, the next things to consider are: 

Currency: How old is the book? Have there been recent discoveries in this field since this book was published? In scientific fields like medicine, technology, and engineering, you would probably not want a book older than 5 years, unless you are looking specifically for historical perspectives or giving a history of developments in some aspect of medicine, or a similar type of topic.

Reliability: Can you tell if the author did research in writing this book? What are the sources the author used? If there are no sources cited, be somewhat skeptical about that book as a source. If the book is nothing more than a collection of unvetted wiki articles bound into a book, then it is only as reliable as unvetted wiki articles. Who published the book?  If the book was self-published, the vetting process that gives books scholarly credibility may not have taken place. If it was published by a publishing company, look up that company to find out about their reputation in academics and find out about their vetting process if you can. 

Authorship: Who is the author of the book? What are the author's credentials? If you can't tell who authored the book, be skeptical about using it as a source. Look up the author before using the book to see what kind of expertise they have in the field.

Purpose: Why did the author write this book? Is this an informational book, or was it written to inflame emotions or to sell a product? If the book was written for any purpose other than to inform, be skeptical about using it as a source.

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

The Nicolet College Library has thousands of physical resources such as books and DVDs available for use by Nicolet College students, staff, faculty, as well as our friends in the Nicolet College district area and beyond.

Nicolet College Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System to organize books, DVDs, music CDs, and other physical items. The majority of relevant DVDs will be found with call numbers starting with R, which is the letter that represents medicine.

To find DVDs within the library's collection, use the online catalog link.  

DVDs could be found in two locations in the library. 

• The most common location is "digital video media." This area consists of much of the shelving on the perimeter of the library. DVDs found in this location can be checked out for one (1) week and can be renewed twice (2x).
• Another type of video is called "Great courses kit." These are usually DVDs (sometimes CDs) that teach a course on a topic. These can be found in a section of shelving along the perimeter of the library. These can be checked out for sixteen (16) weeks and are renewable at the library's discretion.

Some things to consider when using any information source, such as a DVD: 

What should you look for: 

Typically, it is not advisable to use a fictional source, such as a major feature film or a scripted television series, as a source in a research paper, unless it is used to illustrate a point in your research, to explain a source of inspiration, or your paper is about that particular film, series, musical recording, etc.

However, well-researched and vetted documentaries or media produced for educational purposes can serve as sources for your research in certain circumstances. 

What should you look for:

In the Nicolet College Library, most films and television series with call numbers starting with P are fictional. These are typically not used in a research paper or project.

If it is not a P call number, then it is considered non-fiction. However, that does not necessarily mean it is appropriate to use in a research paper.

First, consider the topic. Many topics are considered non-fiction, but the scientific community generally does not consider them valid at this point in time (like cryptozoology, aliens, ghosts, reincarnation, magic, etc., or anti-vaxxing, climate change denial, etc.) If your paper is about a topic like one of these, you should talk to your instructor first before going any further in the research process.

If you are satisfied with your topic and you have found a media source that you want to consider further, the next things you should look at are: 

Currency: How old is the source? Have there been recent discoveries in this field since it was published? In scientific fields like medicine, technology, and engineering, you would probably not want a book older than 5 years unless you are looking specifically for historical perspectives or giving a history of developments in some aspect of medicine, or a similar type of topic.

Reliability: Can you tell if research was done in the production of this source? If research was done, is the research still valid or has it been discredited since the source's publication? Who produced this source?  If the source was self-published, no vetting process may have taken place. If it was published by media company, look up that company to find out about their reputation in academics and find out about their vetting process if you can. 

Authorship: Who is created this source? What are the creator's credentials? If you can't tell who created the source, be skeptical about using it as a source. Look up the creator before using the source to see what kind of expertise they have in the field.

Purpose: Why was the source created? Is this an informational source, or was it written to inflame emotions or to sell a product? If the source was created for any purpose other than to inform, be skeptical about using it.

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

Nicolet College Library subscribes to approximately 80 databases. These databases are available for anyone on the Nicolet College campus to use, and are available to Nicolet College students, staff and faculty to use when off-campus with the appropriate credentials. Usually, this will be the login information you use when logging in to your Nicolet e-mail, usually the first part of your e-mail up to but not including the @ sign, and then your Nicolet password.

Several of these databases will be especially helpful for business-related research. This page is being built.  Please check back :)

Nicolet College Library also has tens of thousands of e-books available for use by Nicolet College students, staff and faculty:

Nicolet College Library offers additional digital resources that may be helpful:

Things to consider when using databases in your research: 

Articles can be great resources for very current and up to date information. However, when doing a research paper/project, it is important to be sure that you are using articles that are appropriate for this purpose.

Your instructor may tell you that you should look for scholarly/academic/peer reviewed articles in your paper. This means that you are looking for articles written by experts in the field and that were reviewed by other experts in the field prior to publication. There are several characteristics that are typical of a scholarly article:

• They are usually fairly long. They are typically at least five pages long, and can be as long as 20 or more.
• They usually don't have many pictures. Instead, they have charts and graphs.
• They often are about research conducted in the field, or about literature available in an area of study.
• The article is often divided into sections that follow the research process, such as introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, etc.
• There should be a list of references at the end of the article.
• Though there is often only one author, it is more common that there are multiple authors.

When evaluating any source, you should also consider the topic. Many topics are considered non-fiction, but the scientific community generally does not consider them valid at this point in time (like cryptozoology, aliens, ghosts, reincarnation, magic, etc., or anti-vaxxing, climate change denial, etc.) If your paper is about a topic like one of these, you should talk to your instructor first before going any further in the research process.

If you are satisfied with your topic and you have found articles, ebooks, films or other digital resources that you want to consider further, the next things you should look at are: 

Currency: How old is the source? Have there been recent discoveries in this field since it was published? In scientific fields like medicine, technology, and engineering, you would probably not want a book older than 5 years, unless you are looking specifically for historical perspectives or giving a history of developments in some aspect of medicine, or a similar type of topic.

Reliability: Can you tell if research was done in the production of this source? If research was done, is the research still valid or has it been discredited since the source's publication? Who produced this source?  If the source was self-published, no vetting process may have taken place. If it was published by media company, look up that company to find out about their reputation in academics and find out about their vetting process if you can. 

Authorship: Who is created this source? What are the creator's credentials? If you can't tell who created the source, be skeptical about using it as a source. Look up the creator before using the source to see what kind of expertise they have in the field.

Purpose: Why was the source created? Is this an informational source, or was it written to inflame emotions or to sell a product? If the source was created for any purpose other than to inform, be skeptical about using it.

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

Many students will look for information for their research papers/projects online. There are some great resources online for this purpose!

Here are some websites that you may find helpful:  in development; please check back :)

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

When looking at a website, the first thing to do is look at the extension to see what type of site it is:

The next things to consider are: 

Currency: How old is this information? Can you tell if the website has been updated recently? Have there been recent discoveries in this field since the site was last updated? In scientific fields like medicine, technology, and engineering, you would probably not want to use any information older than 5 years, unless you are looking specifically for historical perspectives or giving a history of developments in some aspect of medicine, or a similar type of topic.

Reliability: Can you tell if the information on this site was researched? Are there sources cited? If there are no sources cited, be somewhat skeptical about using the site as a source. If the organization sponsors research itself, like the American Cancer Society (cancer.org), can you find out what other credible researchers are saying about that research?  

Authorship: Who is the author of the site? What are the author's credentials? If you can't tell who is authoring the site, be skeptical about using it as a source. If the author is an organization, is there an "about us" page? What does this organization do? Look up the author or organization before using the site to see what kind of expertise they have in the field and if other people in the field consider the author/organization credible. 

Purpose: Why does this site exist? Is it an informational site, or does exist to inflame emotions or to sell a product? If the site exists for any purpose other than to inform, be skeptical about using it as a source.

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage

The Library Presentation presented by Peggy Klein, to the in-person students of the Business Orientation class,on Wednesday, January 24, 2018, recorded in multiple segments, each about 12 minutes in length.  The segments are listed below for your online use.

Go back to the Programs and Class Guides Introduction page

Go back to the Nicolet College Library's homepage