Accounting Research
Section Navigation
This guide is intended to help you do topical accounting.
Finding Articles
Start with either or both of the following databases:
ProQuest Business Library
Search nearly 1,800 worldwide business periodicals for in-depth coverage of business and accounting, finance, taxation, economics, management techniques, theory and practice of business, advertising, marketing, economics, human resources and more.
Business Source Complete via EBSCOhost
Full-text coverage for 8,200 periodicals, including the full text of a lot of accounting journals.
Books or Articles? Maybe both, but sometimes one format is better than the other. If you are researching a broad topic, like the history of accounting, auditing, or taxation, then maybe books are the best place to start your research (see below). Articles are your best choice if:
- you need current information (for example, company research or implementation of a new accounting regulation, or the impact of recent tax cuts).
- the topic is very specific (for example, Amazon's accounting practices or bankruptcies in the airline industry).
When searching for articles in the databases above, remember to use the connector "and" between your keywords.
- bankruptcy and airlines
- Bush and tax reform
Finding Books
To locate books owned by Niagara University Library, use the Library Catalog.
The ebrary electronic book collection offers full-text access to many titles.
If you want to search for books owned by other libraries, too, then try searching WorldCat, a catalog that contains references to more than 57 million items owned by 9,000 libraries worldwide. Don't worry - if you need a book owned by another library, you can request it. To learn how, jump to the section called Obtaining Materials NU Library Does Not Own.
Finding Facts, Statistics and Web Sites
RIA CheckPoint
Helps you do accounting and tax research. It includes tax cases, codes and regulations, IRS publications, and advisory information for tax professionals.
Lexis/Nexis Accounting Library
Like RIA CheckPoint, Lexis/Nexis provides access to laws and regulations, as well as advisory information for tax professionals.
Mergent Online
If you are analyzing the financial performance of public companies, there is no better source of data in the Library than this database.
A collection of accounting reference books can be found in the Library's Reference Collection at call number HF 5667:
- Accounting Trends and Techniques
- Transnational Accounting
- AICPA Standards and Practice Aids
- Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Original Pronouncements
- WILEY GAAP: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
- Wiley IAS: Interpretation and Application of International Accounting Standards
- Wiley Practitioner's guide to GAAS
- WILEY GAAP:Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
The Internal Revenue Code and Federal Tax Regulations can be found in the Reference Collection at call number Ref KF 6276.
The Reference Collection is located on the first floor..
The Tax and Accounting Sites Directory contains some useful links to web sites, as does CPAnet.
Obtaining Materials NU Library Does Not Own
If you need an article or a book that NU Library does not own, you can make use of Interlibrary Loan to obtain it.
Tip: In a hurry? If the article or book you need is owned by another library in Western New York, you can visit that library and use their resources on site (view a list of Western New York library web sites).
Please note: If you wish to borrow a book from another Western New York library, you can get an InfoPass card at the Reference Desk.
Citing Your Sources
Format your paper and cite your sources according to the:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Ref BF76.7 .P83 2010)
This manual is the definitive source. The official manual is not online, though APA does provide some guidance on how to cite web sites and electronic databases:
http://www.apastyle.org/apa-style-help.aspx
You may also want to check out some style tips from APA:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspx
Here is a helpful guide from The Purdue Online Writing lab at Purdue University:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Try a Google search of "APA Style" to see other guides. You will find many sites listed that provide examples of APA Style. The first few that are listed tend to be reliable, but you will have to be careful.
Tip: Please talk to your professor if you have questions about how to cite your sources.