Skip to Main Content

Business

Access QC Libraries' business research resources.

General Steps for Finding and Using Reliable Inforamtion Sources for Research

  • Identifying information (i.e., literature information, data and facts) needed based on research object
  • Finding relevant information
  • Evaluating information sources
  • Properly use information sources for research

-- Applying information sources for research

-- Acknowledging information sources

(Citing information sources with a consistent citation style, like APA style.)

Introduction: About This Guide

This guide is designed to help you find the following information for your BUS 243 research:

  • Market share of a company
  • Competitive information (e.g., determining who are the top three companies in the industry and their product differentiation)
  • SWOT information for a company/product

You will learn how to use the following databases to find the above information:

The above marketing-related databases and other Business databases provide reliable information sources for multi-aspect business research, including:

Company and Industry Research

  • Find Company Information/profiles, such as SWOT analysis, market share, etc.
  • Find a Company's competitors in an Industry
  • Find industry overview and major companies in an Industry

Market Research

  • Find Market Share Information
  • Find Demographic or psychographic Information

Product Research

  • Find Product Reviews

  • Finding a Company's Products/Brands

SWOT Information

A company’s SWOT analysis describes the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; using the following databases to find a company's SWOT analysis:

**Note that SWOT analyses are often only compiled for large public companies.

 

ABI/INFORM Collection

The term SWOT analysis is a valid subject heading in this database,  to find available SWOT analyses in ABI/INFORM Collection, you can:

  1. Type "swot analysis" in the top search box

  2. Change the drop-down menu adjacent to the top search box from "Anywhere" to "All subjects & indexing--SU"

  3. In the second search box, type in the company's name

  4. Run the search.

**If the results produced from above procedure are fewer than what you expect, you can re-run the search by entering the term "swot analysis" in the search box and changing the drop-down menu option from "All subjects & indexing--SU" to "Anywhere." Ensure to include quotation marks around the phrase "swot analysis" in the search box (because the database will recognize what you enter as a keyword phrase, not a subject.)

 

Business Source Complete

  1. Locate and click on the "Company Profiles" link on the right side of the screen. Enter the company name in the search box and click "Browse". Locate the company in the list and click on "MarketLine Report".
  2. You can also search for a company's SWOT analysis by using a search box on the database’s home page to enter a company’s name and then scrolling down the page and selecting SWOT Analysis from the “Publication Type” menu in the “Search Options” section of the page.

 

Gale Business: Insights
 

  1. Click on the Browse All Companies button, enter a company's name in the search box, and then click on the company's name on the search results page.
  2. The company profile page may include a section titled "SWOT Analysis."

 

Nexis Uni

  1. Click on the Find a Company link on the database's home page, below the search box.
  2. On the Find a Company page, enter a company’s name in the “Company name” search box and click on its name on the results page.
  3. If available, a SWOT analysis can be found by clicking on the Industry Knowledge link on the left-hand side of the company dossier page and then on the Company SWOT Analysis link from the resulting sub-menu.

Market Share and Rankings

Find articles or literature information:

Search Tips:

  1. Combine "market share" with the name of a company, putting quotation marks around a name containing two or more words, for example, "market share" AND "FedEx Corp", or "market share" AND "Lidl".
  2. Combine "market share" with the name of a product category, putting quotation marks around a name containing two or more words -- for example, "market share" AND (suv* OR "sport utility vehicle*").
  3. Apply "market shares" filter, if available, under "Subject" to narrow down or specify the search results.

Find statistics/facts:

1. Type a company name (e.g., Sprint) in the main search box.

2. On the results page, click Market Share Reports link or the Rankings link.

Find rankings of companies: 

1. Select Companies > select Company Finder.
2. Select NAICS on the left navigation column > type in NAICS industry code in the search box or highlight the industry from the available listings.
3.  The companies are ranked by revenue.

 

Competitive Information

Find top three companies in an industry

Gale Business: Insights

  1. On the database's interface, scroll down to find "Explore Industries" block, click on the "Browse All Industries" button underneath.
  2. On the resultant page, enter a 6-digit NAICS code in the search box >> Click on the industry name appears under the the search box with the NAICS code highlighted.
  3. On the resultant Industry Profile page, you can find top companies by revenue.

Find a company's main competitors using the following databases:

Business Source Complete

  1. On database’s interface, hover your cursor on the "More" tab at the top left-hand corner >> find and click on "Company Profiles" in the drop-down menu.
  2. On the next page, enter a company’s name in the search box and click on "Browse" button.
  3.  Find the company name from the list and click on its MarketLine Report.

The Report will generally include a section titled "Top Competitors" or something similar.

Gale Business: Insights

  1. Click on the "Browse All Companies" button, enter a company's name or ticker symbol in the search box and click on "Search" button
  2. On the resultant page, click on the company's name.
  3. On the next resultant page, find "Competitors" included in the top section Company Profile.

MERGENT Online

  1. Look up a company and click on the "Competitors" tab to view the company in a ranked list of its competitors.
  2. The "Report Builder" tab allows you to create custom reports, including company-industry comparison reports.

Nexis Uni

  1. on the database's interface, Click on the Find a Company link below the search box.
  2. On the Find a Company page, in the search box, enter a company’s name if using default Search by “Company name” option, or enter a company's ticker symbol if choosing "Ticker Symbol" from the drop-down menu of "Search by" option.
  3. Click on the company name on the resultant page.
  4. On the next resultant page, find competitor information by clicking on/expanding the Company Information option under "Overview" in the left-side of the page >> Find and click on the Competitors link from the drop-down menu.

Product Reviews

Find a company's products/brands using the following databases:

Business Source Complete
Gale Business: Insights
Nexis Uni

** Companies' websites may contain information about the company products/brands in "About us" or "Our products."

Business Source Complete

Company Profiles generally include  a section titled "Major Products & Services" or something similar.

Gale Business: Insights

On the Company Profile page, you may see a Brands link in the "Company Overview" section of the page.

Nexis Uni

On the company snapshot page, expand the "Company Information" menu under "Overview", find and click on "Brands" from the drop-down menu.

Find product reviews using the following databases:

ABI/INFORM Collection
Business Source Complete
Gale Business: Insights

*Product reviews can also be found on the free web.

ABI/INFORM Collection

  1. On the database interface, enter a product name or category in the search box (e.g., "iphone 15", or "smart TV*" OR "smart television*")
  2. On the resultant page, select and apply "Review" filter under the "Document Type" on the left-side menu.

Business Source Complete

  1. Enter a product name or category in the search box and click on "Search button.
  2. On the resultant page, select and apply "Product Reviews" filter under the "Source Types" on the left-side "Refine Results" menu.

Gale Business: Insights

  1. On the database interface, click on the Advanced Search link below the search box.
  2. On the Advanced Search page, enter the name or category of a product into the search box (e.g., "ford focus", or "laundry detergent*") >> scroll down the page to find “Document type” section >> Expand “Document type” and select “Product/service evaluation” option from the drop-down menu.

** Reviews from Consumer Reports, "a publication produced by an independent nonprofit member organization that tests and reviews a variety of consumer products," are available from ABI/INORM Collection [ full-text coverage from 1996 to Jan 2009; citation/abstract coverage from Aug 1974 to present] and and Gale Business: Insights [ Index coverage from February 1976 to March 2018; full-text coverage from 1999 to Jun 2009].

Websites

Brand Index 
Current Industrial Reports 
ThomasNet 
WIPO global brands database

Evaluating and Citing Sources

          - CRAAP: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose/Point of View
          - Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
          - Primary vs. Secondary Sources

annual reports, financial statements, press releases, interviews, speeches, blog entries or tweets vs. industry market reports, articles from journals, newspapers, magazines, trade publications

           - Apply citation rules consistently​

           - Check errors in auto-generated citations

          * APA Style electronic resources (official)

The Style and Grammar Guidelines page on the APA Style website has resources for learning the new seventh edition style.

          * APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) from The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Exercises

Find company/industry and competitor data/information

       1. Lidl company

"Lidl outpacing Aldi and gap is widening"

  • Gale Business: Insights >> Explore Industries >> Browse All Industries >> Search "445110" >> Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers)

2. BeneFIT Medical Apparel

 "Medical Apparel Brand Figs to Outfit Staff at Paris, Los Angeles Olympics"

         1)  Basic search - Submit Primary NAIC "339112" AND City "New York"

       2)  Advanced search - Submit Primary NAIC "339112" AND City "New York"

3. Search for company SWOT

      Gale Business: Insight >> Explore Industries (Search for company SWOT) >> Companies tab -->

 

**U.S. Census Bureau's NAICS web page