ADMS 3520: Library Session on Effective Tax Research

ADMS 3520: Library Session on Effective Tax Research Meghan Ecclestone, Business Librarian Peter F. Bronfman Business Library

Learning Objectives • Identify and evaluate relevant sources of information • Main focus on articles: scholarly vs. trade (practitioner) vs. popular business vs. news • Identify and efficiently search relevant electronic library search tools to aid tax research • Articles databases e.g. ABI/INFORM Global, Scholars Portal • Retrieve the full-text of articles • Manage and cite articles using library guides/tools • Library Guides to APA style & RefWorks

Learning Objectives: Beyond class assignments • The skills you hone by doing effective research will help you beyond just your class assignments • By practicing effective research, you are developing improved “information literacy” • Information literate individuals have the ability to define their information needs, to find and retrieve information efficiently and to critically evaluate what they have found in order to integrate it into their work.

Learning Objectives: Beyond class assignments As the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (January 10, 1989, Washington, D.C.) says: “Ultimately, information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand.”

Agenda • Introduction to the Libraries • Finding a specific journal article using the library catalogue • Business articles: What are they? How do distinguish different types of articles? • Doing your research: effective search strategies to find articles you need • Citation: Academic integrity and bibliographic management

Libraries’ Web Sitehttp://www.library.yorku.ca Click here for individual Libraries’ web sites including the Bronfman Business Library home page Click here to access the Undergraduate Library Guide

Peter F. Bronfman Business Library: http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/BG/ Use our IM Chat box to ask reference/research questions Read the guide to Finding Business Articles Under Course Related Guides, look for “Overview of Canadian Income Taxation ADMS 3520”

Bronfman Business Library Location S237, Schulich School of Business Phone: (416) 736- 5139 Reference E-mail: bgref@yorku.ca IM – Use the IM chat service available on the Bronfman Business Library homepage to get online research assistance. Hours Mon-Thurs: 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Finding articles when you already have a reference/citation Sometimes you may find a reference to an article you wish to read on the web, through a professor recommendation, or in other ways. Here’s an example: Harrison, Ellen K. (2007, September). “Estate Planning Under the Bush Tax Cuts”. National Tax Journal. 60.3: 371-384

Finding articles when you already have a reference/citation Type the publication title here Select the eResourcesbutton here Type the title of the journal in to the Title Quick Search Box on the libraries’ home page at www.library.yorku.ca to determine if article is available online: Harrison, Ellen K. (2007, September). “Estate Planning Under the Bush Tax Cuts”. National Tax Journal. 60.3: 371-384

Finding articles when you already have a reference/citation – let’s review: Which is the publication title for the following citations? • “Correcting employment tax errors.” The Tax Adviser. Kathleen Mort and Dan Boeskin. 40.7 (July 2009): p429(3). • Jonathan Chevreau. (2009, October 14). Many Canadians are missing TFSA boat; Market growth will already have boosted accounts. Calgary Herald, D.10. Retrieved October 19, 2009. • A Role for Tax Attorneys in Antitrust Law?: Variable-Cost Tax Savings as a Merger Efficiency Defense. Catherine A Clancy. The Tax Lawyer. Washington: Winter 2009. Vol. 62, Iss. 2; p. 475 (28 pages).

Scholarly/Academic Journal, Trade/Industry Publication, Popular Business Magazine, Newspaper… which is which?

Learning activity: Different types of articles • Take a few minutes to pass around the different types of articles • Look at each article closely (though there’s no need to read them in their entirety!) • Using your “Different Types of Articles” handout, make note of the characteristics that define and differentiate these articles • Feel free to discuss with other students, and be prepared to share with the class

Academic/Scholarly articles • Published in academic journals, which are also often referred to as “scholarly journals” “peer-reviewed journals” or “referred journals” • Scholarly journals focus on a specific discipline of business (such as Administrative Science Quarterly), or on a sub-topic within a discipline (such as the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology) • Are written by academics and researchers who specialize in a field of study • Articles typically focus on original research and contain extensive analysis of the topic • Publication lag time due to the long peer-review process • Uses specialized academic language rather than laypersons’ terms • Extensive citations and bibliographies • Plain covers, few or no pictures or advertisements.

Reading Scholarly Articles Let’s look at some examples: Article Titles Only Displayed Below A Tale of Two Tax Cuts, a Wage Squeeze, and a Tax Credit Phased-In Tax Cuts and Economic Activity Why do we ignore the best solution for improving unequal income distribution? Links to Guides to Help You: How to Read an Academic Article.Dr.Becky Rosenberg, Director of the UWB Teaching and Learning Center and Acting Director of the UWB Writing Center A Guide to Reading and Analysing Academic Articles: Coming to Grips with Scholarly Writing Conversations.Amanda Graham. Yukon College. How to Read Academic Texts Critically.Kathleen Flake. Assistant Professor. Vanderbilt University

Industry/Trade articles • Published in trade or professional journals or magazines e.g. CA Magazine, Tax Notes International. Some are geared specifically to tax professionals • Target members of a specific business, industry or organization. • Written by practitioners or journalists who cover the field. • Often published by an association or organization. • Valued for currency. • Typically focus on industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news • . • Editorial review quite common, may contain short bibliographies • Often printed on glossy paper with pictures, charts, and illustrations and some focused advertising

Articles in Popular Magazines • Published in popular magazines e.g Canadian Business, Forbes, Business Week. May cover tax topics. • Target audience is general public and/or business professionals. • Tend to focus on general business information, current trends and news. • Typically unsigned articles with no bibliographies • Use of laymen terms, not specialized language. • Features glossy paper, pictures & illustrations, and heavy advertising

News Articles Published in newspapers or newswires e.g. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times or Canada Newswire Short articles quite typical Focus on current news in business Written by business columnists/journalists

Developing Effective Search Strategies • Avoid natural language – typing full sentences into an articles database won’t work! • Boil your topic down to keywords and concepts • Combine you different keywords with “and”: • “and” is used for combining distinctive concepts and has the effect of narrowing the search • taxation and fiscal policy; taxation and income trusts • Introduce synonyms to a keyword and divide the synonyms with “or” • “or” is used to combine synonyms or like terms and broadens the search • web or internet; salaries or compensation

Developing Effective Search Strategies • Use truncation symbols where appropriate to find relevant variants on a word • tax*searches for “tax”, “taxation,” “taxes” etc.) • canad*searches for Canada, Canadian, Canadians • As a rule, it’s best to put phrases in quotes • “harmonized sales tax”; “capital gains tax”

Developing Effective Search Strategies • Make sure you know what the database is searching by default. • You’ll get very different results if default is to search full-text of all articles instead of only searching citations and abstracts (summaries) • Change the default if you need to. • Consider the source – many databases will allow you to view articles by type. • Is the article scholarly, trade or popular?

Developing Effective Search Strategies • Got too many results? • Databases might offer “suggested topics” or subjects, and will assign keywords or subject terms to each article • Use these search terms to refine and improve your searching!

Search Examples Search Topic (simple search):Find articles which discuss the legal issues surround carbon taxes in Canada. Demo Database System: Lexis-Nexis Academic (legal database) Search Topic (multi concept search): Find articles which talk about tax havens and their use by multi-national corporations Demo Database System: Proquest (ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, CBCA Business, Canadian Newsstand)

Developing Effective Search Strategies: Proquest

Developing Effective Search Strategies: Scholar’s Portal

Developing Effective Search Strategies: Scholar’s Portal If the issue in which your article appears has a “theme”, it might be helpful to see other articles from that same issue.

Developing Effective Search Strategies: Business Source Premier You can narrow your results by publication type Business Source Premier Subjects that have been assigned to the search results

Developing Effective Search Strategies: Business Source Premier Subject terms can help you to refine search and find additional articles of relevance

Citing Articles • McGill University’s guide to Citing Business Sources in APA • Guidelines for citing information in different styles available on York Library web site also. • York Libraries’ Academic Integrity Tutorial, and how to avoid plagiarism • Learn about RefWorks to help you build a database of relevant articles and for easy formatting of your bibliography!

Citing Articles: Library Links Click on the Bronfman (business) link to find business citation guides for APA Check the “Research” menu for links to information about footnotes and bibliographies, RefWorks, and academic integrity. Upcoming RefWorks workshops will be posted under the Workshops schedule

Need More Help? • ADMS 3520 Course Guide: • Library Homepage (www.library.yorku.ca) Bronfman Business  Course Related Guides (Under the “Starting Your Research” menu)  Overview of Canadian Income Taxation ADMS 3520 • Library Contact Information: • Library Homepage (www.library.yorku.ca) Bronfman Business  Help with Research (Under the “Starting Your Research” menu) • E-mail bgref@yorku.ca • Call 416-736-5139 during library reference hours • Message us via the BizResearch IM box at http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/BG/ • Come in person, during library reference hours: • Monday to Thursday 9 am to 7:30 pm • Friday 9 am to 6 pm • Saturday 10 am to 6 pm • Sunday 12 pm to 8 pm

Need More Help? See the “Research” menu on the Library Home Page: How to find journal articles Research FAQ Academic integrity and plagiarism Footnotes and bibliographies

ADMS 3520: Library Session on Effective Tax Research