70-100 – Introduction to Business - Prof. Milton Cofield
Library SOS for your assignments
First, databases listed below are linked, and also can be found on this list.
If you’re off campus, login here first.
Tepper library page – everything else.
Financial statements and expenditures:
- Website:Securities & Exchange Commission EDGAR database, or company’s website - investor’s section – for annual reports and 10-K’s. For foreign companies, look for the 20-F filings. For detailed searching, i.e. for "research and development" or "marketing" expenditures, you can use the text searching function - go to "Advanced Search." (You may have to try different terms, such as "R&D" for "Research and Development")
- Database: Mergent Online - for US and foreign companies; available in various currencies and for numerous years. Find your company, and then click on the “Company Financials” tab at the top. Explore the "Segments" tab also for useful breakdowns. For details on company expenditures, change “balance sheet” to “all sections” and also check “show footnotes.”
- Database: Standard & Poor’s Netadvantage – find your company, and then look to the list on the left for financials and more.
- Database: LexisNexis Academic. Use the“business” tab at the top to get a “company snapshot.” Select “Financial Information” in the box at the left.
- Website: bizstats.com - helpful in making estimates: use industry averages.
Products, operations, innovations:
- Most of this is outlined in the 10-K's and 20-F's in the EDGAR database, or in the annual reports on the company's website.
- Database: Hoover’s Online – find your company, then look on the left for “Products, Operations.”
- Database: Mergent Online – find company, then “subsidiaries” tab.
- Database: ProQuest – in the search box, type the company name and “product introduction” or “service introduction” i.e. Wal-mart and product introduction; Microsoft and service introduction.
- Database: Business & Company Resource Center - find your company, then look to the left for "Products & Services"
Economic conditions and international markets:
Strategy:
- Company website: for webcasts, conference calls, and executive statements, in the “investor information” section. Also in the company's 10-K – see these sections: “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion.”
- Database: Marketline – look for SWOT analysis on your company (not available for all.)
- Database: ABI-INFORM database - search using keywords, i.e. “Heinz and strategy.”
Industry reviews:
- Database: IBISWorld - in-depth industry market research reports for over 700 US industries.
- Database: Netadvantage – use “Industries” tab at top, select an industry in “Industry Surveys” box, and read “Current Environment,” “Industry Profile,” Industry Trends,” etc.
- Database: Business & Company Resource Center – find your company, and then use Industry Overview, Rankings, and Market Share tabs for lengthy industry profiles and company comparisons.
Marketing and advertising expenditures:
- Website: SEC EDGAR database (or else in the “investor relations” section of a company’s website) – look for the “notes” to the financial statements.
- Book: Lexis Nexis Advertising Red Books, in print in Hunt Reference collection - HF5805 .S7.
Executive salaries:
- For American companies, you will find these in the company's proxy statement (aka the DEF 14A) - which you can get either on the company's website (the Investor Relations section) or else the SEC EDGAR database . For British firms, these are usually disclosed in the annual reports - look on the company's websites for those. For other foreign firms that are listed in the SEC EDGAR database, look for their 20-F filings.
- Website: finance.yahoo.com - look at company "Profile."
- Website: www.salary.com - executive compensation wizard
- Website: Reuters Business & Finance - find company, then see "Officers and Directors" on left
- Website: Executive Paywatch
- Database: Conference Board - for estimates of executive salaries for specific industries - search for “Top Executive Compensation.”
Whenever any of these don’t work – you can usually find the information you need in articles about your company or industry:
In general:
Evaluating Websites and Citing Your Sources:
Contact us!
- Call: (412) 268-2442
- Chat or text
- Email: huntref@andrew.cmu.edu
- Drop in - Hunt Library reference desk hours: M - Th 9 am - 8 pm, F 9 am - 5 pm, Sat 1 - 5 pm and Sun 1- 5 pm.
Or, contact me directly: Roye Werner , Business & Economics Librarian, rwerner@andrew.cmu.edu, (412) 268-2453