The Universe of Business Information Introduction to Business 70-100 What do we want to know? • • • • • • Companies Industries Investments Demographics Economic realities Future trends 2009 From a drip to a torrent • Both the sources and the way we access them have multiplied enormously • Your challenge is no longer to find information, but to sift through it to find the gold. • Where do you find the best? 1809 • • • • Shipping news Coffee houses Carrier pigeons Rothschilds The Best: Categories Direct from the internet: • Governments • Organizations • Companies • Business press • Analysts • Video, podcasts, blogs, twitter From the library via the internet: • Databases • Scholarly research • Books • Dictionaries, encyclopedias • Guides to everything Government data • All countries, also states and cities • Industry statistics, demographics, economic trends, consumer expenditures, occupational and salary data, market reports, etc. • Global finance: Federal Reserve, and Central Banks all over the world • Securities and Exchange Commission • Look for .gov (in the US) • Use your judgment… Organizations • International – UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank, Interpol, OECD, MORE • Research – Rand, Pew, Gallup, Heritage, Center for Economic and Policy Research, MORE • Industry-specific – American Iron & Steel Institute, American Beverage Association, AFLCIO, MORE • Look for .org (in the US) • Use your judgment… Companies • • • • • • Company websites Public vs. Private, International Annual reports and SEC filings Conference calls CEO statements, presentations Use your judgment… Business Press • Newspapers/Magazines – FT, WSJ, NYT, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, Barron’s, The Economist, Entrepreneur, MORE • Trade Publications – BodyShop Business, Modern Baking, Risk, Plastics News, MORE • Newswires, press releases – written by PR departments • Bloomberg – a class by itself, in Tepper A1 • Use your judgment… Analysts • Equity analysts – Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley • Market research firms – Gartner, Forrester, Nielsen, Datamonitor • Independent publications (newsletters) – Value Line, Morningstar, Standard & Poor’s • Economic consultants – Global Insight, Moody’s Economy.com • Use your judgment… Video, podcasts, blogs, twitter Broadcasts - where do these originate? 1. From all of the categories above 2. TV and radio stations – a source of business information that has never been captured before. BBC, CNN, Fox, NPR. Are they all equal? 3. Anyone at all. Use your judgment… Your library helps: Databases • They can search a lot at once – news, companies • They provide reports that cost $$ • They format data – maps, spreadsheets, charts • Tepper’s own page – tells you all you need to know • Guides to choosing databases – how to learn about companies, industries, countries • Guide for this very class! • If you’re off campus, log in with the VPN first Your library helps: books, journals, encyclopedias • Find them in the catalog – print and online • What is scholarly literature? • If we don’t own the book or article you need, we’ll get it for you • You can use Pitt, too • A tried and true way to truly learn about something: read a book Evaluating sources • Using your judgment! • Mark Twain: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." • Excellent method - the Internet Detective (from British universities) • Pay attention to where information comes from • Make sure YOU say where YOUR information is coming from: Citing sources • Now that you have figured out what’s good and what’s not, you need to let others know. • How do you do it ? A guide to citing your sources • Plagiarism – a serious offense • Someday, you’ll be cited! Questions? Ask the librarians: Roye Werner Business & Economics Librarian rwerner@andrew.cmu.edu 412.268.2453 Everyone else at the library who can help: search.library.cmu.edu 412.268.2442 reference hours, link to chat, email, etc. Tepper library page