Business Research   Tags: business, economics, marketing, real_estate  

Introduction

I. A carefully worked out search strategy - a logical, systematic and comprehensive approach to locating information - will save you time and should provide more than enough material for the research paper. As you locate your resources, keep notes and full bibliographic information on them. For help in planning your search strategy, or if you need assistance along the way, ask a REFERENCE LIBRARIAN.

II. Choose your topic. You need a good understanding of your business, so choose a business that really interests you!!! Are you researching a company (Coca Cola), an industry (Electronics) or a particular small business opportunity (Bookstore)? If you know little about the business go to Research Library (Part of GALILEO) and read some popular type articles on the business.

III. Looking at the External environment, what types of information do you need?

A. Demographics
B. Economy
C. Political and legal concerns
D. Technology
E. Competition

A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Some books which may help you find information online, include:

Finding Statistics Online : how to locate the elusive numbers you need /...

(HA33.5 .B47 1998) in the Stacks on the 2^nd Floor

Business Statistics on the Web

(HF1016 .B47 2003) in the Stacks on the 2^nd Floor.

International business information : how to find it, how to use it /

(HF54.5 .P33 1998) in the Stacks on the 2^nd Floor.

If you are unsure where to find information about your project, try Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. (HF5356 .L36 1992) Shelved on the 2^nd Floor.

Another good source is Encyclopedia of Business Information ( HF5351.E52X [Year]). Shelved in the Reference Area.

If you are researching a company, you need to use Mergent Online . Mergent Online covers 10,000 public companies and their SEC filings. It offers International Company Data on more companies from more countries than any other international database.

A source for finding brief information and list of competitors is Hoover's Company Capsules

You will also need to know about the industry and how the company is positioned in the industry. This is available in Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys. (HC106.6 .S741) Business Ref. Shelf.

To determine how a company performs within the industry, you need to check Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios by Dun & Bradstreet (HF5681 .R25 I53) The latest 5 years are at the RESERVE DESK. Also Robert Morris Associates Annual Statement Studies are used to compare company business averages across 640 industries. is helpful in locating government statistics.

The Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide (G1019 .R22 [Year]) in the Atlas Stand in the Reference Area provides estimates of population (7/1/03), Effective Buying Income (Gross personal income less taxes, retail sales, passenger car registrations, etc. The maps show Basic Trading Centers, cities which serve as a center for shopping goods purchases for the surrounding area.

Associations collect and provide an assortment of information for their members. To find the association pertinent to your business consult the Encyclopedia of Associations on the Ready Reference (Main Floor) Shelf at Call Number: AS22 .E5 2000 or Associations Unlimited

For information about advertising media, the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook and Editor & Publisher International Year Book lists newspapers and radio and television stations for geographic areas.