Business Research Resources
Constance Adamson
Business Liaison Librarian
adamsonc@queensu.ca
September 2010
1
Business Information
Who uses it?
Who produces it?
What’s not available – secret/proprietary
2
Sources of Company Info
▪ Web site
▪ Annual
reports
▪ Filings with regulators – OSC or SEC
SEDAR and EDGAR
(10K reports provide most detail)
RIM Potash Apple
3
▪ Company directories/databases
D&B-Million Dollar Database
Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage
FP Advisor
Hoover’s
Factiva (see companies/markets at top)
Canadian Social Investment Database
▪ Financial databases
Compustat, FP Advisor, Factiva
▪ Securities prices
TSX database, CRSP, Factiva
4
6
library.queensu.ca
Companies & Industries
Often your research starts with a company
or an industry sector
Industries are made up of companies
Companies can operate in more than one
sector
9
Find out who is in the industry
Learn more about these companies and a
picture of the industry will emerge
We use many of the same sources for both
Industry and Company research – they
build on each other
10
▪ Business newspapers and
industry magazines
ABI/Inform Global
Asian Business
European Business
Business Source Complete
CBCA (Cdn Business and Current Affairs)
Canadian Newsstand
Factiva
and see the Newspapers Guide
11
Sources of Industry Info
Industry Studies
Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage
see ‘Industry Surveys’ under ‘Quick Links’
EIU Industry Briefing
key global industries by country
Gartner Research
IT, communications and technology research
And see Industries in the Business Guide
12
Industry Associations
are organizations of companies and people in the
industry
find them by web searching or see the directories
at Stauffer’s Research Help Desk
useful for membership lists, statistics, press
releases, industry trends
indicate how the industry is organizing itself
14
Data & Statistics
Maps, Data & Government Information
Centre (MADGIC)
library.queensu.ca/webdoc/
geospatial, statistical and government information
includes Statistics Canada, Census, Industry
Canada, the OECD, European Union, IMF,
World Bank, UN . . .
Never pay for stats – check with the library first!
15
Strategy for Effective Searching
Start your search with the obvious ‘keywords’ or
search terms including personal and company
names.
Look at the search results for other possible
keywords and phrases. Also think of synonyms,
alternate spellings, other terms or phrases to
express the same concepts.
Keep a list of the search terms and combinations
you’ve tried in the various databases.
17
aviation or airlines or airline industry or
air transportation
and
forecast or trends or projection or growth
or performance
mobile or wireless or cellular or
handheld
and
merger or acquisition or takeover or
divest*
Most research databases have direct links to
full-text if we subscribe to the journal.
Use
to follow links to the text of an
article or to QCAT (the library catalogue).
In QCAT use the ‘Journal Title Exact’ option to
check if Queen’s Libraries subscribes to the
publication.
You can save, print or email your search
results and articles.
20
Questions?
21
Constance Adamson
adamsonc@queensu.ca
Stauffer Library
Josh Rose
joshuajamesrose@gmail.com
23