LibGuides: EI 101: First-Year Business Experience 2023-24 (all sections): General Resources

General Resources for Everyone

Linked on this page are resources that can be used for general research for almost any analysis (industry, competitor, etc.).

For specialized resources, go to the dropdown box under the Individual Resources tab above to find resources for a specific type of analysis.

Industry Descriptors
Check this list to help you identify and describe the industry in which a company operates.

Resources for Everyone

How to find a company's corporate website: You can usually find it with a simple Google search, but you want to make sure you are looking at the official site for the right company. Try a Google search that includes the word "corporate" or "headquarters" Example: McDonald's corporate

Tips for finding the Investor's section on a public company's website:

Look at the bottom of the website for headings such as "Investors" or "Investor Relations."
Look for headings such as "Our Company" or "About Us."
In the Investor's section look for headings such as "Financials" or "Financial Information" to find SEC filings (ex: Form 10-K).

Tip: Look for a search box or search icon on the website to navigate to specific information.

You can also search a company's site using Google. Example: sustainability site:mcdonalds.com

Important sections of the corporate website often listed in menu headings across the top or bottom:

ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance policies
Press Releases/News
Product Information
Social Media Postings

PUBLIC COMPANIES	PRIVATE COMPANIES
Publicly-Owned--issue shares of stock that are freely traded on an exchange (ex: New York Stock Exchange)	Privately-Owned--do not issue shares of stock. Typically owned by company founders, management, or group of private investors
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates public companies. These companies must publicly disclose information about company financials and business operations by filing reports with the SEC. The annual SEC filing is the Form 10-K.	Not required to disclose financial information
Usually easy to find information on public companies	Not as easy to find information on private companies

Tip: You will usually find a company's Form 10-K report on its website under headings such as "Investors" or "SEC Filings."

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database. Includes books, case studies, company profiles, economic reports, industry reports, SWOT analyses, in addition to nearly 2,000 peer-reviewed journals.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Provides industry research, industry risk rating reports, and business environment reports. Industry research reports provide key statistics, market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecasted performance, major industry participants, and other information.
Mintel Reports This link opens in a new window
Mintel Reports offers product and industry market research reports covering US marketplaces. Each report combines data and analysis of the competitive landscape, supply chain, market-share size and trends, and consumer profiles.
One Business (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
ProQuest One Business is a business library containing millions of full-text items across scholarly and popular periodicals, newspapers, market research reports, dissertations, books, videos and more.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista.com provides companies, business customers, research institutions, and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets.

Trade sources provide information for those who are interested in a particular industry or trade. Trade publications are often sponsored by trade associations, which are professional organizations whose members are affiliated with a particular industry.

TIPS:

You can sometimes find trade associations with a Google search by using the keyword "association" with words or a phrase that describe the industry. Example: "food processing" association.
Trade sources are often listed in an industry report in the First Research or IBISWorld databases.
You can limit your search results to trade publications in both the Business Source Complete or One Business (ProQuest) databases.

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Search for information and narrow your results to "trade publications" as a Source Type.
First Research This link opens in a new window
Find trade sources by going to the "Websites & Acronyms" section of a First Research report.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Find Trade Sources in an IBISWorld report by going to "Additional Resources" under the "About" heading.
One Business (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Search for information and narrow your results to "trade journals" as a Source Type.

Wall Street Journal (online edition)
You have full access if you signed up for your free Butler WSJ account.

Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window
This is the Eastern edition of the Wall Street Journal, available from 1984 to the present.

Tip: If you conduct a Google search and want the results to include only WSJ articles, try this search string:

"your search terms" site:wsj.com Example: "farm equipment" site:wsj.com

NAICS Tutorial
This tutorial will help you learn how to find and use NAICS codes.

EI 101: First-Year Business Experience 2023-24 (all sections): General Resources

General Resources for Everyone

Resources for Everyone

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