Accounting Research Guide

Choose a topic that is interesting to you and which will work within your assignment's parameters. Usually your research goal is to locate published scholarship (books and journal articles) to read on your topic.

Remember to evaluate the accuracy of your resources, and think critically about their arguments. When in doubt, check with your Accounting instructor.

Books
Articles (Search Databases)
Journals (Browse E-Journals)
Associations
Web Gateways

Prof. Manuel Sanudo

Manuel Sanudo Bibliographer for Accounting

Accounting Research Guide

Books

First, read a good summary of a your topic in an encyclopedia, like those listed in the Books section. Second, once you know the basics on your topic, search for more published scholarship, such as books in the CUNY Catalog or other catalogs.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Dictionary of Accounting Terms (Ref. HF5621 .S54 2005): This dictionary provides the definitions, examples and illustrations essential to the field of accounting.
Accounting Handbook (Ref. HF5635 .S586 1995): A ready reference source about all areas of accounting with applications for accountants, bookkeepers and managers who need to understand the principles of and practices of modern accounting.
The Ultimate Accountants' Reference (Ref HF5616 .U5B713 2006): This work provides a comprehensive overview to the accounting function, including rules and regulations, transactions, control points, and internal and external reports.
The Encyclopedia of Tax & Tax Policy (Ref HJ2035 .E53 2005): A reference book on tax and tax-related public sector issues for generalists and experts, who need to get a quick and reliable introduction to any tax topic.
Terminology guide

Find Books

The CUNY Catalog: Search for books at the Queens College libraries, as well as other CUNY libraries.
New York Public Library: Search CATNYP, the catalog of the research libraries at NYPL. Books at the research libraries are non-circulating and must be consulted on site. NYPL has one of the premier research collections in the country and is open to all New York State residents.
Other Library Catalogs: Search the library catalogs of regional libraries such as the Queens Library, Brooklyn Public Library, New York University, Columbia University, etc.
WorldCat: Search for books in the national catalog for the United States and Canada. Includes holdings from libraries in other parts of the world, primarily European or English-speaking.

Articles (Search Databases)

A journal article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. It is written in the specialized language of a scholarly discipline (such as Sociology). It documents the resources the writer used by providing bibliographic citations such as footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography so a reader can check or repeat the research the scholar has completed.

A scholarly journal is edited by scholars, and any article published in the journal has usually been approved by the author's peers or by referees (other scholars expert in the subject who serve as editors or readers and critique the article before it is accepted for publication). This is why most scholarly journals are referred to as a Peer-Reviewed or Refereed journals. Use the following databases to search for journal articles on a topic. You can use other Databases depending what topic you are researching.

Accounting & Tax: Comprehensive coverage of accounting and tax topics appearing in key industry publications and newspapers. The quintessential accounting database.
Business Source Premier: Covers all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, finance, economics. It also covers other sources of full-text information such as country economic reports and company profiles.
CCH Internet: Comprehensive tax research network covering all aspects of taxes and tax law information for accounting and tax researchers.
Factiva: Dow Jones database containing periodical articles, newswires, press releases, television & radio transcripts, information on private & public companies.
Mergent Online: Contains corporate financial histories, including capital changes and operational histories for 10,000 U. S. public companies and 17,000 non-U.S. public companies. Includes links to Mergent News Reports and annual reports.

Journals (Browse e-Journals)

JSTOR: Cover-to-cover full-text from a journal's first issue until about five years ago.

Associations

Reports and studies are sometimes available from the major scholarly organizations for the study of Accounting.

Web Gateways

Continue your search for reports, studies and information by browsing these Accounting web gateways.