Business: Company and Industry Research Quick Guide

Prepared by Marcy Carrel (mcarrel@nelson.usf.edu)

3 September 2008

Finding Articles and Other Resources (Suggested Databases):

From the USF Libraries main page, under the tab “Resources,” click on “Databases by Title/Subject,” to find databases of interest.  If you have any questions, please contact the Nelson Poynter Library Reference Desk at 727-873-4124.

Selected Databases:  Company directory information

D & B’s Million Dollar Database

Provides company directory information, including executive contacts and limited financial information for both public and privately-held companies.  This is also a useful resource for finding the ultimate parent of a given company.  Use the “advanced search” feature to search by over 35 criteria.  See also the Key Business Ratios database from D&B for business and industry financial ratios.

ReferenceUSA

Directory of U.S. businesses allows searching by company name, geographic area, business type, SIC code, yellow page listing, number of employees, and other criteria. Entries include address, phone number, corporate affiliation, officer names and titles, and business type.  Useful for identifying all branch locations of a company within a specific geographic area. 

Selected Databases:  Company and industry information

Business and Company Resource Center (Thomson Gale)

Search by company, by industry, or within a collection of full-text articles on business and industry.  Also includes investment reports, rankings, and market share data, when available. Industry information is available by SIC or NAICS codes and from specialized business encyclopedias.

Hoover’s Company Records

This resource provides directory information as well as a company profile — including a brief corporate history, key competitors, unique products, etc.  Privately-held and non-U.S. companies, as well as non-profit organizations, are also included.  Use the “advanced” or “more search options” tab to search by ticker symbol, type of organization, etc.

Mergent Online (formerly Moody’s)

Extensive financial information for U.S. and international companies, including SEC filings, annual reports, company profiles, industry reports, and country reports.  Allows screening across numerous financial and other criteria; data may be downloaded into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.  (Begin by clicking “enter mergent online” at opening screen.)

Sec Filings & Forms (EDGAR)

All publicly-held U.S. companies are required to file registration statements and periodic reports such as the annual report, 10K, 10Q, and proxy statements with the U.S. SEC-Securities and Exchange Commission.  These reports are invaluable for company research.

Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage

S&P is known for its financial data and other information on publicly-held companies.  Use the “Industries” tab at the top to access the S&P Industry Surveys – reports that provide in-depth coverage and analysis of broad industry classifications.

Selected Databases:  Articles - General business; trade and industry

ABI/Inform Global

This is a premier business database which provides access to a wide variety of business literature, covering nearly 1800 business periodicals as well as the Wall Street Journal.  Much of the database is full-text. 

ABI/Inform Trade & Industry

Part of the ABI/INFORM family of databases, Trade & Industry includes full-text coverage of over 700 trade and industry publications such as Automotive News, Communications Today, International Construction, and Modern Machine Shop. 

Business Source Premier (EBSCO)

A key scholarly database in the field of business, BSP provides full-text articles from over 2,300 journals.  Full text articles (PDF) from the Harvard Business Review date back to 1922.  BSP also includes market research, industry, and country reports from Datamonitor, EIU and other sources.

LexisNexis Academic 

LexisNexis is a premier database for business and legal research.  Under the top level “Search” tab, select the “business” sub-tab.  Sources include Hoover’s directories, Disclosure (financials), and Investext.  To search business publications, select the top level “Sources” tab, then browse “by news & business topics” or by “industry”. 

Business & Industry (RDS)

Covers over 600 trade and business sources, many full-text.  Search by keyword and use drop-down menus to refine searches by industry, SIC code, marketing terms, etc.

Selected Databases: Articles - Regional Business

ABI/Inform Dateline

“Local and regional business news coverage of large corporations, privately held companies, local start-ups, executive profiles, marketing, finance, and industry news. Provides access to business information not typically found in national news sources.”

Access World News (NewsBank)

Includes over 600 U.S. and 500 international newspapers and wire services.  Search these resources for diverse perspectives on local, regional, national, and global issues and entities.

Remember, you may contact a Reference Librarian in person, by phone (727/873-4124), or via chat (from the Ask a Librarian link on the USF Libraries web site).

Marcy Carrel

Email: mcarrel@nelson.usf.edu

Blog:   http://BusinessResearchUSFSP.blogspot.com