Business & Management Student Guide

This guide is a cross-disciplinary starting point for students studying business, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, economics, operations, and Technology Management at Vector Technology Institute (VTI). Use it for assignments, case studies, market and economic research, management theory, business reports, projects, and literature reviews.

Start with the question, choose the right evidence, evaluate it carefully, and present a supported conclusion. Use this guide for orientation, then follow the BSc Technology Management Library Guide for programme-specific resources.

Best Starting Point by Need

• Management theory and organisational behaviour: start with OpenStax or Open Textbook Library for foundations, then use SAGE Open and relevant scholarly articles for current research.
• Marketing and consumer research: use peer-reviewed research for claims about consumers and markets, practitioner analysis from HBS Working Knowledge or Knowledge@Wharton for context, and reliable data for market conditions.
• Entrepreneurship and small business: combine open textbooks and MIT OpenCourseWare with World Bank, IDB, Jamaican government, and regional data where the question involves enterprise conditions or development.
• Project management and operations: use structured course material, MIT OpenCourseWare, OpenLearn, and scholarly research to compare methods, processes, and performance evidence.
• Economics and market data: begin with STATIN, Bank of Jamaica, PIOJ, Government of Jamaica Open Data, World Bank, or IDB sources and document the date, measure, and geographic scope.
• Scholarly research and literature review: discover through Google Scholar, BASE, or CORE, then evaluate direct journal sources with DOAJ and the Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Articles Guide.

Business Research Workflow

Question -> Background -> Scholarly evidence -> Data/market evidence -> Analysis -> Recommendation -> References

Define the question and context, gather research and data separately, analyse what the evidence shows, state assumptions and limitations, and make a recommendation that can be traced back to the sources.

Source Types: What to Use for What

• Peer-reviewed research: use journal articles and scholarly books for academic claims, theory, methods, literature reviews, and evidence about findings.
• Government and economic data: use STATIN, Bank of Jamaica, PIOJ, Government of Jamaica Open Data, World Bank, and IDB for official indicators, policy context, and market or development evidence. Check definitions and dates.
• Practitioner and business sources: use HBS Working Knowledge, Knowledge@Wharton, and well-documented industry material for current examples and management practice. Do not present commentary as peer-reviewed research.
• Standards and frameworks: use the recognised framework or official professional source named in the assignment to define processes, controls, governance, or evaluation criteria. Cite the specific version and scope.
• Discovery tools: use Google Scholar, BASE, CORE, DOAJ, and library catalogues to find candidates. A search engine or directory is not automatically a scholarly source; verify the individual publication.
• Training and tutorial resources: use open textbooks, courses, and OER to learn concepts and practise skills. Use stronger evidence for academic claims and business recommendations.

Academic Research and Scholarly Sources

Separate discovery from publication. Google Scholar, BASE, and CORE help locate material; DOAJ helps identify open-access journals. Read the individual article and confirm its publication type, method, relevance, and limitations.

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Find open-access journal titles and article records; verify the article itself.
• SAGE Open – Open peer-reviewed research across social science and related business topics.
• PLOS ONE – Peer-reviewed multidisciplinary research; check each article’s relevance to the business question.
• SpringerOpen – Open-access journals and books across business, economics, and related fields; check the item-level publication details.
• Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Articles Library Guide – VTI support for finding and evaluating journal literature.

Core Business and Management Resources

• Google Scholar, BASE, and CORE – broad discovery of articles, books, theses, reports, and repository copies.
• OpenStax, Open Textbook Library, and BCcampus Open Textbooks – foundations in business, economics, management, and related subjects.
• MIT OpenCourseWare and OpenLearn – structured learning material for independent study and project preparation.
• HBS Working Knowledge and Knowledge@Wharton – practitioner-oriented examples and commentary; use them as context, not as substitutes for scholarly evidence.

Jamaica, Caribbean & Economic Context

Use regional sources when the question concerns local markets, organisations, policy, development, labour, entrepreneurship, or Caribbean business conditions. Record the population, indicator definition, date, and geographic scope.

• STATIN Jamaica – Publications – official statistics and economic or social indicators.
• Bank of Jamaica – Research Papers & Publications – monetary, financial, and economic context.
• Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Publications – development planning, policy, and national context.
• Government of Jamaica Open Data Portal – public datasets for carefully scoped local analysis.
• Inter-American Development Bank Publications and World Bank Open Knowledge Repository – development and economic research with regional relevance.
• UWISpace and Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) – regional scholarship and context; verify source type and date.

Academic & Project Support

• Research Skills – finding, evaluating, and managing sources.
• Research Process – moving from a question to evidence and a defensible conclusion.
• How to Write a Research Paper – planning and presenting academic research.
• APA Formatting & Citation – citation and reference guidance.
• Capstone Project – project planning, evidence, and final-project support.

Use this guide as a broad starting point, then follow the BSc Technology Management Library Guide for programme-specific resources and the Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Articles Library Guide for academic sources. Prefer official data and documentation for factual claims, and peer-reviewed research for scholarly claims.