Research Guides (LibGuides): EI 101: First-Year Business Experience Spring 2026 (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 information specified by BMC research topic, explore the tabs under the Individual Research page to find resources for the varied types of analysis.

Resources for Everyone

Business Source Elite

Business Source Elite encompasses a selection of business disciplines, offering access to 492 active full-text journals, along with abstracted and indexed journals..
First Research (via Mergent Intellect)
First Research provides comprehensive research reports on over 200 industries. Search by keyword, SIC, or NAICS codes to find industry studies that cover trends and opportunities, the competitive environment, financials, and executive profiles. NOTE: To get to First Research, click on the First Research link below the search bar on the Mergent Intellect home page.
IBISWorld
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
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)
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
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.

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."

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: "logistics" or "supply chain" association.
Trade sources are often listed in an industry report in the First Research or IBISWorld databases. In a First Research industry report, look for the Websites section to find links to trade sources. Find Trade Sources in an IBISWorld report by going to the "About this Industry" section of the report. Look for "Additional Resources."
You can limit your search results to trade publications in both the Business Source Elite or One Business (ProQuest) databases.

Business Source Elite

Business Source Elite encompasses a selection of business disciplines, offering access to 492 active full-text journals, along with abstracted and indexed journals..
First Research (via Mergent Intellect)
First Research provides comprehensive research reports on over 200 industries. Search by keyword, SIC, or NAICS codes to find industry studies that cover trends and opportunities, the competitive environment, financials, and executive profiles. NOTE: To get to First Research, click on the First Research link below the search bar on the Mergent Intellect home page.
IBISWorld
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.
One Business (ProQuest)
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.

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

Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition (ProQuest)
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 Spring 2026 (all sections)

General Resources for Everyone

Resources for Everyone

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