Like many different apps and websites, there are a lot of things you can do on the Business Source Elite platform which are extra to the basic reason you want to use it for in the first place, and the other pages in this section will go into more detail on the different features of the platform. This page looks at the basics of access, searching and reading articles on Business Source Elite
In January 2025, EBSCO changed the user interface for their databases. This video below introduces the new interface
Like many other library resources, access to Business Source Elite is through a method called a referring URL This uses a process that checks that the web page that you came from is set up to access Business Source Elite (it's a bit like an event at a swanky nightclub; if you're not on the guest list, the bouncers won't let you in). The web page to get to Business Source Elite is a password-protected page on this site that you can find linked on the Access page of this section.
Business Source Elite is available to all learners and staff in the FET sector. To request access, contact the library using an institutional (ETB/Training Centre/College) email address. We can't accept requests from webmail accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail because if you use one of these accounts we can't tell if you're a FET sector staff member or learner
Basic searching uses a Google-like search box. Enter your search terms and click the search button. To search for a phrase, put quotation marks around it. For example, to search for healthy eating, enter "healthy eating". As you start typing you may see, just like Google again, suggested searches appear below the search box and may give you some ideas for different search terms.
Below the search box are a number of options to limit the number of results.
You have a lot of options with your results. You can:
Advanced searching lets you construct more complex searches, for example, by searching for specific search terms in specific parts of an item (e.g., title, author, abstract or full text), limiting the results to certain publication or document types and using Boolean Operators (AND, OR NOT) to combine search terms
You can also search and browse the different publications covered by Business Source Elite and see coverage and full-text availability. You can also select a publication and browse issues or search for items within that publication only
Business Source Elite has an extensive array of company profiles and report. These cannot be browsed, however
You can set up a personal account to use in Business Source Elite and other EBSCO databases.
A personal account, called a MyEBSCO account, lets you:
All these are saved in a personal folder that is stored online and accessible from any device once you sign in.
To create and use a personal MyEBSCO folder account, you must allow cookies to be stored by your browser.
The left-hand column - under My Dashboard shows some links that are only really relevant to you if you have a MyEBSCO account
