Welcome to the Sterne Library’s
Business Research Certificate
“Obtaining my Business Research Certificate has
been more beneficial to me than I could have
ever imagined! It was well worth the time I
invested. ”
Jelicia Mallory, Marketing 2011
“I have been blown away by the amount and depth
of information and data that is so readily available.
There is no telling how much this class will benefit
my future.”
Daniel Owens, Marketing 2013
Licensed by Jeff Graveline under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Mechanics of the Program
• 8 fifty minute sessions
• Must complete 6 of 8 sessions
• Hands-on research practice
• Series of weekly in-class questions
• Offered during Spring & Fall semesters
You’lllearn
learnto
toidentify
design
You’ll
You’ll
get
hands-on
What
can
you
expect?
an effective
sources
to meet
your
research
experience
research plan
information
needs
Why should you use
the Library?
© BYU
There are
effective ways to use
Wikipedia & Google
wikiPros
- Use it as a starting point
wikiCons
- Look at the references & notes
wikiTips
- Explore further readings
Beginning your research
• List all pieces of information you need
Financials
Marketing Strategy
Ratios
Regulations
Market Share
Industry Outlook
Supply Chain
Internal Environment
External Environment
Competitors
Products
Subsidiaries & Affiliates
Corporate History
Sales
Executives
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Stock Prices
Market Segmentation
Beginning your research
• Brainstorm sources
• List all possible places to look
• Supplement throughout research process
Financials
RMA Ratios / D & B Ratios
Ratios
Regulations
Market Share
Industry Outlook
S & P NetAdvantage
Hoover’s
Competitors
Products
Marketing Strategy
10-K filing or Annual Report
Supply Chain
Trade Press
Internal Environment
External Environment
Subsidiaries & Affiliates
Corporate History
Hoover’s / 10-K filing
Sales
Executives
Investor Relations web site
Strengths
SWOT Analysis
Business Source
Premier
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Stock Prices
Yahoo! Finance
Market Segmentation
Datamonitor Report
Beginning your research
• Brainstorm terminology
• Develop a synonym or alternatives list
• May develop throughout research process
Airlines industry research may also be:
Air transportation
Air carriers
Aviation
Air charter
Air travel
Beginning your research
• “Chunk” related items together
• Break into manageable bits
• Set parameters
• Amount & timeliness of info
• Create realistic timeline based on due date
• Begin your research
• Tackle small portions at a time
• Maintain research log
• Creates research trail
• Allows you to find info later
• Helps with citations
Common Types of Research
• Company research
• Industry research
• Marketing research
• Domestic & foreign markets
• Financial research
• Investing and personal finance
Sources of Business Info
• Books
• Newspapers, journals & trade pubs
• Company web sites
• SEC filings, financials, corporate governance
disclosures, press releases
• Federal, state & local government data
• Stock trading data
• Research & market reports
Sources of Business Info
• Rankings & market share
• Trade associations
• Proprietary databases
• Indexes, directories & annual pubs
• Blogs, podcasts & social media
• NGOs, international orgs
Keys to remember
• Research planning saves time
• Begin by clearly articulating your
research need(s) and where you can
find specific information
• Work with manageable chunks
• Knowing general & specific sources
gives you a starting point