Tutorial for Business Research
Need to find information about
business firms for a research project? For example: your
assignment is to compare two companies in order to make an informed
investment recommendation. To do this you need to
know something about the
Financial Performance of the two companies,
including key company financial
ratios as they compare to the industry norms, identify Industry
and Company trends, as well as Corporate
Culture and Employment Practices - the "Human Element"
and Marketing Strategies.
Use this guide specifically geared to the Mgmt280
assignment to identify additional print and online business resources.
What Do I Need to Find?
- How do I find the names and addresses
of the chief officers of publicly owned companies?
- How do I find financial information?
(stock prices, dividends, shares outstanding, income/balance sheets)
- How do I find company ratios?
- How do I find industry ratios?
- How do I find information on industries?
(trends, forecasts for the industry, plus major competitors)
- How do If find out about company
trends? (current company overview and trends, regulatory changes,
suppliers)
- How do I find information on corporate
culture?
- How do I find marketing information?
(market share and marketing strategy)
- Are there other web sites on how
to do company research?
1. How do I find
the names and addresses of the chief officers of publicly owned
companies?
In addition, check directory
information to see if you are researching a parent company, is the
company publicly owned and what is the company's SIC or NAICS number.
The SIC and the NAICS are
numerical classification systems to help identify and organize like
companies within the same industry.
| Print Sources |
| Ward's Business Directory |
Ref HG 4057 A5 W32001
(Ref Desk) |
| Hoover's Handbook of American
Business |
Ref HG 4057 A28617 (Ref Desk) |
| SIC Classification Manual (Government
source that categorizes industries by number. |
Ref HF 1042 U5 1987 (Ref Desk)
Online
SIC available from US Occupational, Safety and Health Administration. |
| North American
Industry Classification System (will replace the SIC system) |
Ref HF 1042 U5
(Ref Desk) Online
NAICS from U.S. Bureau of the Census |
| Library
Databases |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Enter your company's name in the Company
Information box. If you do not get results, extend the date
with the drop down box. Choose Hoover's,
Disclosure or any of the other
directory databases in this service. |
| Mergents
Online |
Covers 15,000 publicly
owned companies on major stock exchanges, plus 20,000 non-US
companies. History, joint ventures, mergers, news and more.
Links to annual reports in PDF. |
| Web
Sites |
Hoovers
Online
|
Brief company descriptions. Most
information is fee-based. Also available through Lexis
Nexis Academic. Go to the Company
Profiles link in the Business file of this service. |
| Reuters |
Free snapshot of company information.
Although much of the information is freely available, there
is fee-based sources at this site |
| Company web sites |
Note:
How
to read a financial report online;Annual
Reports Library |
| Switchboard |
Yellow pages: find name, address
and map directions here. |
2. How do I find financial
information? (stock prices, dividends, shares outstanding, income/balance
sheets)
In addition to the most
recently available information, you will want to find 2-3 years
of stock and dividend information for trends analysis.
| Print Sources |
| Value
Line Research Center |
Ref HG 4501 V26 (Ref Desk) (also
available online) |
| #cccccc#ccccccLibrary
Databases |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Enter your company's name in the Company
Information box. Choose the Disclosure link. If you
do not get results, extend the date in the popup box. |
| Mergents
Online |
Covers 15,000 publicly owned companies on major stock exchanges,
plus 20,000 non-US companies. History, joint ventures, mergers,
news and more. Links to annual reports in PDF. Choose Company
Financials.
|
| Morningstar
Library Edition |
Access to stock and mutual fund analysis,
screening tools, and portfolio building features especially
structured for academic libraries Comprehensive Morningstar
Reports on nearly 7,000 stocks and 13,000 mutual funds. Includes
screening capabilities, graphical tools, and links to analysts
reports. Access limited to one user at
a time. |
| Standard
& Poor's Net Advantage |
Excellent online database from Standard
& Poor's includes 10 of their services. Find industry surveys,
stocks and other financial information, outlooks, S&P 500
and other financials generated by this company. |
| Value
Line Research Center |
Stock and mutual fund reports
include financial or performance data, forecasts and Value Line
Rankings. Analyst commentaries are included for the Investment
Survey. Research Center also covers daily options, convertivles
and exchange traded funds. Ability to screen data, produce graphs,
track portfolios and create charts. |
| Web Sites |
| There are many business web sites which give financial
information. Here are a few recommendations: |
| Securities
and Exchange Commission |
Search for Company Filings
for financial information submitted to the Securities
and Exchange Commission. |
| Stock
Charts Guide |
This site links to many of
the free stock guide services on the internet. |
| Reuters |
Requires registration for some
information. Although much of the information is freely available,
there is fee-based sources at this site. |
| Yahoo
Finance |
Longtime popular menu source
for financial information. Easy to use page with links to news
and financial information. |
| Money
Central msn.com |
Use the Research
Wizard tutorial to begin your research on company's stock.
The tutorial gives you a description of the company, price history,
price target, catalysts (what trends would effect investments)
and the ability to compare a company's stock with another stock) |
| Trading
Day.com |
Good overall menu link to many
top notch financial news services and investment links. New
links are added frequently to this site. |
| Value
Line Research Center |
Stock and mutual fund reports include financial
or performance data, forecasts and Value Line Rankings. Analyst
commentaries are included for the Investment Survey. Research
Center also covers daily options, convertivles and exchange
traded funds. Ability to screen data, produce graphs, track
portfolios and create charts. |
| Annual
Reports Library |
Free online reports. Choose
by company name, industry, sector or ticker symbol. Includes
ADR companies. Note: How
to Read a Financial Report |
3. How do I find company
ratios?
You need both company and
industry ratios to benchmark your company's performance. Here are
some published sources of ratios. You need to find the following
ratios: liquidity, leverage, activity and profitability.
| Library Databases |
| The Disclosure
database is usually the best source for calculated ratios. |
- Find this database in Lexis
Nexis Academic.
- Type your company's name in the Company
Information box.
- Change the popup date to 1 year.
- From your results, choose the Disclosure
Link.
|
| Mergents
Online |
Covers 15,000 publicly owned companies on major stock exchanges,
plus 20,000 non-US companies. History, joint ventures, mergers,
news and more. Links to annual reports in PDF. Click on
Company Financials, choose Ratios
tab. |
| Standard
& Poor's Net Advantage. |
Limited number of company ratios. |
| Web Sites |
| MSN
Money Central |
Go to Stocks->Financial Results->Key
Ratios for both company and industry ratios. |
| Trading
Day.com |
Search by Ticker. Good overall menu link
to many top notch financial news services and investment links.
New links are added frequently to this site. Ratios by industry
from Yahoo. |
| Yahoo
Finance |
Longtime popular menu source for financial
information. Easy to use page with links to news and financial
information. |
| Financial
Ratios Calculator from UW Libraries. Foster Business Library.
Corey Murata |
Calculate your own ratios using
this calculator based on the ratios used in Dun & Bradstreet's
Industry Norms and Key Ratios and RMA Annual Statement Studies.
For more information, be sure to read the explanations and explore
the links on this page |
4. How do I find industry
ratios?
Your assignment asks
you to compare 4 company ratios to the industry. You need to find
the following ratios: liquidity, leverage, activity and profitability.
| Print
Sources |
| Financial Studies of the Small Business |
Ref HD 2346 U5 F55 2005. (Ref Desk). Data
from over 30,000 financial statements with capitalization under
$2,000,000. |
| RMA (Risk Management & Associates) Annual
Statement Studies |
Ref HF 5681 B2 R6 (Ref Desk) |
| Dun & Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios |
Ref HF 5681 R25 I5 (Ref Desk) |
| Almanac of Business and Financial Ratios (used mainly for
Banking and Insurance Companies. Based on IRS statements. |
Ref HF 5681 R25 A45 |
| Standard & Poor's Analysts' Handbook.
|
Ref HG 4905 A66 (Ref Desk) |
| Magic Numbers: the
key 33 ratios everyone should know. |
Ref HF 5681 R25 T45 2002 |
| 101 Business Ratios |
Ref HF 5657.4 G38 1993 |
| |
WWWeb Sites |
| MSN
Money Central |
Go to Stocks->Financial Results->Key
Ratios for both company and industry ratios. |
| Trading
Day.com |
Search by Ticker. Good overall menu link
to many top notch financial news services and investment links.
New links are added frequently to this site. Ratios by industry
from E-trade. |
5. How do I find information
on industries?
Trends, forecasts for the industry,
plus major competitors. Look for major players, industry outlook.
What are the external forces-legal, political, demographic, etc...
affecting this industry.
| Print Sources |
| Encyclopedia of American Industries |
Ref HC 102 E53 (Ref Desk). Use this source for background
information; follow up with articles for more up-to-date-information.
Also available online through Gale
Virtual Reference Library (Choose Business Publications
and scroll down to title). |
| Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries |
Ref HC 102 E54 (Ref Desk) Use this source for background information;
follow up with articles for more up-to-date-information |
| ValueLine
Research Center |
Ref HG 4501 V26 (Ref Desk). Each section
of Value Line contains a one page overview of major industries
represented by companies in this investment service. Also online
ValueLine
Research Center |
Other Sources: |
|
| SIC Classification Manual (Government source
that categorizes industries by number.This source will be replaced
by the North American Industry Classification System |
Ref HF 1042 U5 1987 (Ref Desk) Online
SIC available from US Occupational, Safety and Health Administration. |
| North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) |
Ref HF 1042 U5). You can use the NAICS
number for locating articles on industries in Business
Source Complete |
| Business Week "Industry Outlook"
|
January Issue |
| Forbes Annual Report on American Industries |
January issue. |
| For Competitors: |
|
| Hoover's Handbook of American Business,
Hoover's Handbook of World Business |
Ref HG 4057 A28617 (Ref Desk). Also available
in Lexis
Nexis Academic |
| Ward's Business Directory. v.8 |
Ref HG 4057 A28617 (Ref Desk) |
| Library
Databases |
| Supplement industry information from printed sources
with current articles from library databases. Many databases
have full text articles from business sources. |
| ABI
Industry & Trade |
This Proquest database contains more than
700 fulltext publications on every major trade and industry.
The focus is on industry and company news, current research
and development, and new technology |
| Academic
Search Complete |
a general database with some business sources |
| Associations
Unlimited |
Use this source as a beginning source to
find the trade association for your industry. Many associations
will have web sites that may contain valuable information |
| Business
Source Complete |
Best of the business databases-contains
both scholarly and trade information. Business Source Complete
provides full text access for over 9,500 titles, including over
1,000 peer-reviewed journals covering the business fields of
accounting & tax; banking, finance & insurance; human
resources; management; marketing; MIS; operations and management.
It also covers the disciplines of economics and public administration.
Contains important scholarly titles back to 1886 and is the
only online source for the Harvard Business Review. Access to
non-journal content includes case studies, company profiles,
industry and market research reports and SWOT analyses as well
as country reports from EIU, Countrywatch and Business Monitor
and more. |
| Encyclopedia
of American Industries |
Available through Gale
Virtual Reference Library (Choose Business Publications
and scroll down to title). |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Click on Business, Choose
Industry & Market, Business
News, or Choose Company Profiles. Hoover's Industry Reports
are now included in this database. Choose Company
Financials through the Business file. Use popdown box
to search by SIC number. Results will be companies in the same
industry |
| Mergent's
Online |
New module of this company financial database
includes Global Industry Surveys. |
| Plunkett's
Research Online |
Access to information on major industry sectors, such as automotive,
consulting, E-commerce, entertainment & media, finance,
and investments. Includes both industry trends and statistics
as well as company profiles.
|
| Research
Library Complete |
a general database with some national business
sources and Washington State Newspapers |
| Standard and Poor's Industry Surveys in
Standard
& Poor's Net Advantage |
Try this source first. This online source
contains extensive information usually about 30 pages in pdf
files of Industry surveys for over 50 major industries. Updated.
Online files also contain separate global reports for many industries. |
| Wall
Street Journal |
Full text of the nation's financial newspaper
back to 1982. |
| ValueLine
Research Center |
Stock and mutual fund reports include financial
or performance data, forecasts and Value Line Rankings. Analyst
commentaries are included for the Investment Survey. Research
Center also covers daily options, convertivles and exchange
traded funds. Ability to screen data, produce graphs, track
portfolios and create charts. |
| Click here for complete
list of Business
Databases |
| Web Sites |
| Alacra
Industry Spotlights |
Wiki website with coverage of over 60 industries. |
| Baker
Library Industry Guides |
Although keyed to the resources at Harvard's Baker Library,
these guides contain many links to open web sources. |
| Industries-WetFeet.com |
Covering over 25 industries, this job-seeking
firm highlights industry trends, pros and cons about the industry,
job prospects, sample job descriptions and major industry associations. |
| Industry
Resources Reports |
By SIC code. This site links to associations,
reports and other publications some of which are fee-based. |
| Industry
Statistics. U.S. Census Bureau. |
The Census Bureau from a variety of sources
including the 5yr Economic census, plus statistics from specific
industry sectors: manufacturing
& construction, foreign
trade, retail
& wholesale trade, services,
and e-stats.
|
| Online
SIC Manual |
Supplied through OSHA. |
| U.S. International Trade Administration |
See: Trade
Development: Industries |
| Yahoo!
Industry Center |
Yahoo's Industry covers the following sectors:
Basic materials, capital goods, conglomerates, consumer cyclic,
energy, healthcare, transportation, technology and utilities.
Each sector is subdivided into more specific industries. General
industry information, statistics, and recent news help to give
the browser good starting information on an industry. |
| Zapdata.com |
Requires registration. Arranged by SIC provides
revenue for industries to state and SMSA. Good for statistics
on small business |
6. How do If find out
about company trends?
Current company overview and
trends, regulatory changes, suppliers. What are the current conditions?
How is the company performing? What are its prospects? How is the
company positioning itself? What goals or strategies does the company
have? How does it invest in R&D/IT?
| Print Sources |
| Hoover's Handbook of American Business; Hoover's
Handbook of World Business |
Ref HG 4057 A28617 (Ref Desk). Two page profiles of major
US companies. Also available through Lexis-Nexis
Academic . |
| Value
Line Research Center |
Ref HG 4501 V26 (Ref Desk). Single page up-to-date information
on company financials, also includes investment recommendation
(also
available online). |
| Vault Guide to the Top Media & Entertainment
Employers. |
Ref PN 1580 V3 2005. Company overviews,
hiring process and selected information on workplace culture |
| Vault Guide to the Top Consumer Products Employers. |
Ref HF 5382. V38 2005. Company overviews, hiring process and
selected information on workplace culture |
| Vault Guide to the Top Manufacturing Emloyers.
|
Ref HF PN 1580 V3 2005. Company overviews,
hiring process and selected information on workplace culture |
| Library Databases |
| Supplement company trend information from printed
sources with current articles from library databases. Many databases
have full text articles from business sources. |
| ABI
Industry & Trade |
This Proquest database contains more than 700 fulltext publications
on every major trade and industry. The focus is on industry
and company news, current research and development, and new
technology |
| Academic
Search Complete |
a general database with some business sources.
Good source for nonbusiness articles on a particular company |
| Business
& Management Practices |
"Scans over 795 sources of information
on the practical aspects of business management including case
studies and "how-to" articles. Articles can be limited
to US/non-USA sources, as well as to specific business departments,
e.g., human resources, information technology, accounting or
marketing." |
| Business
Source Complete |
Best of the business databases-contains both scholarly and
trade information. Business Source Complete provides full text
access for over 9,500 titles, including over 1,000 peer-reviewed
journals covering the business fields of accounting & tax;
banking, finance & insurance; human resources; management;
marketing; MIS; operations and management. It also covers the
disciplines of economics and public administration. Contains
important scholarly titles back to 1886 and is the only online
source for the Harvard Business Review. Access to non-journal
content includes case studies, company profiles, industry and
market research reports and SWOT analyses as well as country
reports from EIU, Countrywatch and Business Monitor and more. |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Click on Business. Choose Business
News or Hoovers from the
Company Financials subfile. |
| Plunkett's
Research Online |
Access to information on major industry
sectors, such as automotive, consulting, E-commerce, entertainment
& media, finance, and investments. Includes both industry
trends and statistics as well as company profiles.
|
| Research
Library Complete |
a general database with some national business
sources plus Washington State Newspapers |
| Wall
Street Journal |
Full text of the nation's financial newspaper
back to 1982. |
| Click here for complete
list of Business
Databases |
| Web Sites |
| Company Web sites |
However do not rely entirely on this source for your information.
Attempt to get articles from a variety of business sources for
a different perspective. |
7. How do I find information on corporate
culture/human trends?
How does the company see itself,
eg. mission values? Labor-management relations, employee benefits,
organizational structure, social responsibility.
| Print Sources |
| Business Leader Profiles for Students |
Ref HD 38.25 U6 B8 1999REf |
Corporate Statements |
HG 4028 C6 G58 2003 |
| Corporate and Environmental Policies |
Ref HD 30.255 G72 1999 |
| Eighty exemplary mission statements |
Ref HF 5387 M876 1998 |
| Hoover's Handbook of American Business |
Ref HG 4057 A28617 (Ref Desk) Also available
through Lexis
Nexis Academic. |
| Giving by Industry, A Reference Guide to
the New Corporate Philanthropy |
Ref HD 30.285 H37 1998 |
| International Directory of Company Histories
|
Ref HD2721 I57. Recent volumes also as e-book |
| Mission Statements |
Ref HD 30.28 G697 |
| Mission Statement Book |
Ref HD 30.285 A27 1999 |
| Say It and Live It! 50 Corporate Mission
Statements That Hit the Mark |
Ref HD 30.285 J66 1995 |
| Vault Guide to the Top Media & Entertainment
Employers. |
Ref PN 1580 V3 2005. Company overviews,
hiring process and selected information on workplace culture |
| Vault Guide to the Top Consumer Products
Employers. |
Ref HF 5382. V38 2005. Company overviews,
hiring process and selected information on workplace culture |
| Vault Guide to the Top Manufacturing Emloyers.
|
Ref HF PN 1580 V3 2005. Company overviews,
hiring process and selected information on workplace culture |
| Library
Databases |
Use the library databases to find current information
on companies. If available, articles are preferred to company
web sites for information, since they provide an outside perspective
on employee-employer relations, management style and corporate
profiles.
Here are some databases to try for this information: |
| ABI
Industry & Trade |
This Proquest database contains more than 700 fulltext publications
on every major trade and industry. The focus is on industry
and company news, current research and development, and new
technology |
| Academic
Search Complete |
General Database which indexes many business
journals. Good source for nonbusiness articles on a particular
company |
| Business
& Management Practices |
"Scans over 795 sources of information on the practical
aspects of business management including case studies and "how-to"
articles. Articles can be limited to US/non-USA sources, as
well as to specific business departments, e.g., human resources,
information technology, accounting or marketing." Password
needed for fulltext (available on database page). |
| Business
Source Complete |
Best of the business databases-contains
both scholarly and trade information. Business Source Complete
provides full text access for over 9,500 titles, including over
1,000 peer-reviewed journals covering the business fields of
accounting & tax; banking, finance & insurance; human
resources; management; marketing; MIS; operations and management.
It also covers the disciplines of economics and public administration.
Contains important scholarly titles back to 1886 and is the
only online source for the Harvard Business Review. Access to
non-journal content includes case studies, company profiles,
industry and market research reports and SWOT analyses as well
as country reports from EIU, Countrywatch and Business Monitor
and more. |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Click on Business,
Click on News |
| Plunkett
Research Online |
Access to information on major industry
sectors, such as automotive, consulting, E-commerce, entertainment
& media, finance, and investments. Includes both industry
trends and statistics as well as company profiles. Each Company
profile contains a brief indicator as to the whether the company
has women and minorities in top positions and may contain general
information about company benefits. |
| Research
Library Complete |
General database with access to full text
of the New York Times and Washington State Newspapers |
| Wall
Street Journal |
Full text of the nation's financial newspaper
back to 1982. |
| Click here for complete
list of Business
Databases |
| Web Sites |
| WetFeet.com |
Check section on interviews |
| Diversity.com
|
Check the Work Places of this site for
companies. |
| CSRWire.com
Corporate Social Responsibility |
Companies have supplied this website with
links to annual reports and news items on their environmental,
health, corporate citizenship and sustainability. |
| Vault.com |
The
Insiders Career Network (last 90 days are available) |
| Responsible
Shopper.org |
Search by company, brand or industry for
information on discrimination, ethics, environmental and employment
issues. |
| Best
Workplaces for Commuters |
Recognition from EPA on Workplace Commuting
from the Fortune 500 |
|
Company Web sites |
However do not rely entirely on this source
for your information. Attempt to get articles from business
sources for a different perspective |
8. How do I find marketing
information?
Market share and marketing
strategy.
| Print and
ebook Sources |
| Business Rankings Annual |
Ref HG 4050 B88 |
| Encyclopedia
of Major Marketing Campaigns. Vol. 2. 2007 |
"The 474 campaigns covered in this e
book were for products or services in various categories, such
as alcoholic and other beverages, automobiles, food items, footwear,
insurance, public service, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications."
Campaigns appeared between the late 1990's and 2005. Go
to Gale Virtual Reference Library. Scan list of business
publications |
| Market Share Reporter |
Ref HF4510 M35 |
| Library Databases |
| Supplement marketing information
from printed sources with current articles from library databases.
Many databases have full text articles from business sources. |
| Academic
Search Complete |
a general database with some business
sources |
| Research
Library Complete |
a general database with some national business
sources plus Washington State Newspapers |
| Business
Source Complete |
Best of the business databases-contains
both scholarly and trade information. Business Source Complete
provides full text access for over 9,500 titles, including over
1,000 peer-reviewed journals covering the business fields of
accounting & tax; banking, finance & insurance; human
resources; management; marketing; MIS; operations and management.
It also covers the disciplines of economics and public administration.
Contains important scholarly titles back to 1886 and is the
only online source for the Harvard Business Review. Access to
non-journal content includes case studies, company profiles,
industry and market research reports and SWOT analyses as well
as country reports from EIU, Countrywatch and Business Monitor
and more. |
| Wall
Street Journal |
Full text of the nation's financial newspaper
back to 1982. |
| Business
& Management Practices |
"Scans over 795 sources of information
on the practical aspects of business management including case
studies and "how-to" articles. Articles can be limited
to US/non-USA sources, as well as to specific business departments,
e.g., human resources, information technology, accounting or
marketing." Password needed for fulltext (available on
database page). |
| ABI
Industry & Trade |
This Proquest database contains more than
700 fulltext publications on every major trade and industry.
The focus is on industry and company news, current research
and development, and new technology |
| Lexis
Nexis Academic |
Click on Business, Choose Business
News |
| Click here
for complete list of Business
Databases |
| Web Sites |
| Company Web sites |
However do not rely entirely on this source
for your information. Attempt to get articles from business
sources for a different perspective. |
9. Are there other web sites
on how to do company research?
|
