FTM 483:
Global Trade and Sourcing in Textiles and Apparel
Research Resources
@
NCSU Libraries
Greg Tourino
Associate Director
Textiles Library & Engineering Services
greg_tourino@ncsu.edu
Main Topics
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Approaches to Research
First Steps
Market Research
Demographics and Cultural Analysis
Trade Statistics
Competitors
Citing your sources & Research Assistance
Two Approaches to Market Research
Primary data:
Generate original data
Secondary sources:
Compiled Information
Specific/ focused
Generic/ higher level
Difficult
to access or afford
Relatively easy to access
or afford
$$$$$
Custom Reports
Market Research
Reports
$
Scholarly
Research
Government Statistics
& Reports
NCSU Libraries subsidizes & facilitates access
Primary Research
Secondary Research
 Books
NCSU Library & TRLN
Catalogs: TripSaver NCSU,
UNC, Duke, and NCCU
 Business & Academic Literature
Library Databases: Business Source
Premier, LexisNexis, IBISWorld
 Internet
Websites: OTEXA - U.S.
Department of Commerce, NC
Textiles Connect, Company
websites
“Top 10” Issues/Challenges Identified
1. Quality (product and service)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Sustainability
Production/sourcing
Ethics/compliance/workers rights
Economics/financial/exchange rates
Political, social, cultural, legal (including illegal),
government (including trade laws) issues
7. Communication and cultural barriers
8. Technology
9. Intellectual Property -- protection and violations
10. Market characteristics, market development (including
branding, market structure -- developed/developing)
First Steps:
Who might publish the information you need?
Common sources of market information:
 Trade Associations (Cotton Incorporated)
 Government Departments (OTEXA – Office of Textiles
and Apparel U.S.
Commercial Service)
 Business Press (Library Databases)
 Academic Researchers (Library Databases)
 Private Research Firms (Forrester.com)
First Steps:
Where do you find the information?
Economic
Information
Industry & Company
Information
Consumer Information
LOOKING FOR:
LOOKING FOR:
LOOKING FOR:
CPI, labour
Production
GDP
Import/Export
Profile, Market size, Key
players, customers
Trends, Forecasts,
Opportunities
Behaviour
Demographics
Preferences
Motivators
FIND IT IN:
FIND IT IN:
FIND IT IN:
Government websites,
NGO websites,
Library databases
Library databases, Trade
associations, Company
web sites, Government
websites
Government websites,
NGO websites,
Library databases,
Reference Books
First Steps:
NCSU Libraries Website
The library’s home page:
www.lib.ncsu.edu
Click on “Course Tools”
Then enter FTM 483
Market Research
 Articles in the business press are a great
source of information about industry trends,
new products, market projections, and
other topics.
Market Research
Market Research
 Business Source Premier
 LexisNexis
Analyzing Your Topic
 Before searching the databases, analyze your
topic: break it down into concepts and think of
synonyms for each idea.
 Use AND / OR / NOT to combine terms to narrow
or broaden your database searches.
 Use * Truncation symbol to find all variations of a
word ex. A search for "forest* "
will result in items containing any of: forestry,
forest, and forests
Basic Search Question
 Topic: What are the trends in the women's
clothing market?
 Concepts: clothing AND women AND
trend*
 Synonyms: apparel AND female AND
fashion
Business Source Premier
Business Source Premier
Business Source Premier
LexisNexis Academic
Market Research
LexisNexis Academic
Business Conditions, Demographics
& Cultural Analysis
Business Conditions, Demographics
& Cultural Analysis
 Government or NGO Sources
CIA (World Factbook), U.S. Department of
State (Background Notes), World Bank
(Enterprise Surveys)
 Search Business Source Premier, and/or
LexisNexis for articles on business conditions
and economic forecasts.
Business Conditions, Demographics
& Cultural Analysis
 Databases: Search the Global Market
Information Database (GMID) or UNData for
consumer expenditure patterns or trends
 US Commercial Service Market Research Library
 Search Business Source Premier, and/or
LexisNexis for articles on demographics and
consumer behavior.
CIA World Factbook
US Department of State: Background Notes
World Bank: Enterprise Surveys
GMID
UNdata
US Commercial Service: Market Research Library
US Commercial Service: Market Research Library
US Commercial Service: Market Research Library
Trade Statistics
OTEXA (Office of Textiles and Apparel)
Trade Statistics
TradeStats Express
NC Textile Connect
NC Textile Connect
NC Textile Connect
Competitors – Market Share
Competitors – Market Share
 Business Source Premier (Search Industry Profiles – ex.
Apparel)
 Market Share Reporter (NCSU Libraries Reference
Collection; Online)
 Also search Business Source Premier, and
LexisNexis for articles in the business press.
Business Source Premier
Industry Profiles
Business Source Premier
Market Share Reporter
Writing your Assignments, Citing your
Sources & Research Assistance
Citing Your Information Sources
Doing Your Research @ Home
Reference & Research Assistance
 In-person, Telephone, E-mail
Honora Eskridge
honora_eskridge@ncsu.edu
Phone: 919 | 515-6120
Greg Tourino
greg_tourino@ncsu.edu
Phone: 919 | 513-3862
David Zwicky
david_zwicky@ncsu.edu
Phone: 919 | 515-6602
Find more FTM 483 resources at:
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/course/FTM/483