Your assignment requires high-quality, credible sources. This means using established news organizations that have editorial standards and a reputation for fact-checking. These sources help you analyze both the company’s public claims and the reality uncovered by journalists and researchers.
Credible sources include:
Major national/international newspapers
e.g.,New York Times, Wall Street Journal
Reputable business news outlets
e.g.,Bloomberg, Business Insider, The Economist
Investigative journalism or studies from established magazines
e.g.,Harvard Business Review
Avoid using these sources for your analysis:
Company press releases or “About Us” pages
These are the claims you are investigating—not the reality
Blogs, personal websites, or social media posts
Comments on social media posts might provide insight on how the public perceived the claims and coverage to guide your research
Tip: Use the library databases to read and access content.
Most credible sources are behind paywalls. If you search on Google or Google Scholar, you may only find:
Abstracts or summaries without full access
Articles that require payment or subscriptions
If you start your search in a web browser, copy the article name and search for your access in the library.
Search Strategies and Keyword Combinations
Use these strategies to find relevant sources within our resources.
Use Quotation Marks for Exact Phrases
"clean diesel"
"real cane sugar"
"zero trans fats"
Use Boolean Operators
AND narrows your search: "greenwashing" AND “fashion”
OR broadens your search: "healthwashing" OR misleading health claims
NOT excludes terms: "greenwashing" NOT "recycling"
Try Synonyms and Related Terms
"eco-marketing" instead of "greenwashing"
"brand ethics" or "ethical branding"
"corporate social responsibility" or "CSR"
"consumer deception" or "misleading advertising"
Recommended Databases for This Assignment
Use these databases to find credible articles about corporate washing practices from news and business outlets.
Some of the newspaper collections at KFL do offer coverage of today's events or current news. There are also rather broad in scope. Depending on what you are looking for, different databases may provide you better results. For example, the New York Times database coverage is fairly comprehensive. Other databases, like Factiva, may be more focused in a specific area such as business. Think about your research needs as you explore. Much of this coverage may be incomplete so that is something to note as you examine these collections.
*Regional Business Newswill need users to identify that they are interested in newspapers or newswires in the limiters section.
A Dow Jones & Reuters Company, Factiva provides global content, including Dow Jones and Reuters newswires. Factiva covers nearly 9,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages, including more than 120 continuously updated newswires. Factiva is an excellent source for financial data including stock quotes, company comparisons, financial snapshots, SEC filings, interactive charting, and historical market information.
Online database of market research information including 30,000 companies, 3,500 industry profiles in 200+ countries, and 100+ company focused strategic case studies. Company news and financial deals updated daily.
Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965 provides a unique insight into the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century through access to the market research reports and supporting documents of Ernest Dichter; the era's foremost consumer analyst and market research pioneer.
Activate your All Digital Access account for the New York Times using your UCCS email account. Once your account is active, you can go directly to https://nytimes.com.
Faculty and staff will need to use this link once a year to renew their accounts.
Provides access to full-text newspapers and allows users to search articles instantly by title, headline, date, newspaper section, or other fields. The database offers a one-stop source for current news and searchable archives.
A full-text newswire database that incorporates business wires from all over the world. Included in this database are A&G Information, Africa News Service, Inter Press Service, Resource News International, South American Business, M2 Communications, PR Newswire, Business News Wire, Canadian Corporate News, News Bytes News Network and Phillips Business Information Highlights. This database is updated on a daily basis.
You can also use the main OneSearch bar from the library. This search bar pulls everything that the library could access, including books and research papers. You will need to refine your search with filters.
The filters can be applied under “Options” in the search bar or through the sidebar to “Refine Your Search.”
Limit by date to find recent cases
Filter by source type (e.g., newspapers, magazines, trade publications)
The library also has copies of recent newspaper and magazine editions. You must read them in the library (they can’t be checked out).
Resources Beyond KFL
These are some resources that aren't available through KFL and may or may not have a paywall behind them. Access could, therefore, be limited. However, they could be good resources for you to potentially consider. If you are looking for resources that don't cost you anything, though, you will want to stay within the Kraemer Family Library.
Non-profit, independent, media organization founded with the mission to create a more informed public. Has a network of member stations you can find local, national, and international news information.
Founded in 2007 with the purpose of providing investigative journalism with moral force. Covers topics like politics, business, criminal justice, the environment, education, healthcare, immigration, and technology.
You can only access a few articles a month before you hit a paywall. You can find more access in Factiva, but WP covers national and international news.
