Research For Business Communication

Research for Business CommunicationAmber Prentiss, Reference/Instruction [email protected]

Why Do Research?

• New insights into familiar topics

• “Time has shown” “All the research says” and “Everyone knows that” ≠ proof

• Improves credibility

Generating Topics: Starting Points

• Readings• Lecture• Class discussion• Presearching• Daily life• Personal interests

Generating Topics: Example

• News story: Multitasking has a negative affect on productivity.

• Related research question: How do email and social networking affect worker productivity?

Topic to Search

• How do email and social networking affect worker productivity?– What are the main concepts?

• Synonyms?

Using the Library Site for Researchwww.libs.uga.edu

– Ask a Librarian– Course guides (guides.libs.uga.edu/course-guides)

– GALILEO@UGA (databases)

• Off-campus password: reformed• Communication & Mass Media Complete• Business Source Complete

– GIL (library catalog: books and print journals)

Search Tips

• Use advanced search

• Use AND to get fewer results

• Use OR to get more results

Using AND & OR

productivityemail

email AND productivity

“social networking”

email

email OR “social networking”

Using AND & OR

productivity

“socialnetworking”

email

productivity AND(email OR “social networking)

Search Tips

• Use * to expand root words– communicat*

• communicate, communicating, communication…

• Use quotes for “phrase searching”

• Change results ranking to relevance

• Set date range for time-sensitive topics

Research to Presentation

NOT THIS ✖“If you look across e-mail and social

networks, database and phone, the surprise was that overall, IT use is not associated with an increase in speed. In fact, it's associated with slower speed. But we found that heavier IT users are much heavier multitaskers, so over time, they're completing more projects and bringing in more money for the firm.’”

THIS ✔Higher employee IT use• slower speed• higher multitasking• more projects completed• more revenue generated

Melymuka, K. (2007, February 26). How IT Makes Johnny More productive. Computerworld, 41(9), 33-33.

Research to Presentation

NOT THIS ✖“In IABC's survey, 47 percent of respondents said they receive too much e-mail and text messages; this compares with 48 percent of senior executives surveyed by NFI Research in more than 50 countries. Fifteen percent of IABC communicators said they receive considerably too much e-mail, compared with 33 percent of the executives. A third of the communicators (37 percent) surveyed believed they receive just the right amount, compared with only 13 percent of executives.”

THIS ✔

Williams, T., & Williams, R. (2006, November). Too much e-mail!. Communication World, 23(6), 38-41. Retrieved September 10, 2008

01020304050

Percent of

respondents

IABC Email Survey

J ust enoughemail

Too muchemail

Considerablytoo muchemail