Research guide for
70-340 Business Communications, Spring term 2010
Prof. Kirkpatrick  

Preliminaries

• Databases listed below are in italics, and also can be found on  this list.
• If you’re off campus, login  here  first to use databases and e-books.
• Library homepage  – everything else.
• NEW and improved!  Tepper's own library website

MARKET RESEARCH - investigate the market for your business:

1. Look at industry background, i.e. restaurants, taxi service, bicycles

• IBISWorld industry reports - analysis, data, trends, market share, forecasts.
• Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys:  NetAdvantage   database - for primary industries - a top choice.
• MarketLine   database from Datamonitor - use Industry page
• Industry section of   Business & Company Resource Center  - use both Overviews and Market Research tabs
• Trade association website for your industry – find it by googling key words (i.e. "restaurant industry association".) Other sources: valuationresources.com's  industry links; Google's  Directory: Associations by Industry.  When you've found your association's website, look for links to research, data, publications, statistics, newsletters, conference proceedings, etc.
• For articles on smaller, niche industries, such as Furniture Rental, use the “News Sources” section below
• Industry statistics from  U.S. Census Bureau’s Economic Programs.

NAICS and SIC Codes

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code systems classify industries numerically. They are often used to categorize business information by industry; many of the resources listed above use them.

• NAICS  (also in print at the Hunt reference desk.)
• SIC  (also in print at the Hunt reference desk.)

2. Research your customers:

• Factfinder.census.gov  – population data from national level down to block level
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• NEW!! Local Market Audience Analyst (need to use Internet Explorer browser) - understand target markets, their behaviors and lifestyles.
• Media kits for magazines - give a demographic profile for their specific clientele, i.e.  Game Informer Magazine  for video gamers (just Google the magazine title and "media kit")
• New Strategist publications on consumer profiles, i.e.  
  • Who's Buying: Executive Summary of Household Spending,
  • Generation X - Americans Born 1965-1976 - income, attitudes, time use, health, housing
  • American Marketplace - spending, wealth, and time use trends
  • Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand  (Hunt Ref HC79 .C6 R87 2006.)
  • To find more, search in the  library catalog  for "new strategist."
• For the daring:   SimplyMap  - you can make amazing thematic maps and reports using demographic, business and marketing data.
• LexisNexis Datasets  - create charts, graphs, tables and maps from thousands of demographic and market survey datasets.

3. Check out your competition:

• Dun & Bradstreet's   Million Dollar Database  - start with "Advanced Search" and then add your criteria
• Hoover ’s Online – find company, then see “competitors” on left hand side
• Technology:   CorpTech Directory of Technology Companies
• Manufacturing:  Thomas Register of American Manufacturers

4. News sources about companies, industries, consumers, trends:

• Proquest  – wide-ranging news database containing many smaller databases within it - a great place to search for local reporting on a company, and uncovering what competitors are doing.
• Business & Company Resource Center  – in addition to news and journal articles, you can find here company histories, analyst reports, industry overviews and research reports.
• Lexis-Nexis Academic– has wide-ranging international, national and local news, and also special sections: mergers and acquisitions, biographical background on individuals and legal cases.

Evaluating Websites and Citing Your Sources:

• Internet Detective  , and the  Web Page Evaluation Checklist
• Saying where you got your information:  the Citation Machine,  Purdue's Online Writing Lab

Models for business plans

• bplans.com - search free sample business plans
• Business Plans Index  (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)
• The business planning guide : creating a winning plan for success   / David H. Bangs, Jr. and other similar books – check  the catalog under Business planning – Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Financial information

• Tutorial  in how to prepare financial projections
• Industry ratios and benchmarks from eStatement Studies
• Bizstats.com
• Balance sheets and income statements of all public companies from  Securities & Exchange Commission website

Other Useful Resources for Business Planning

• Grubb & Ellis  - rates and availability for commercial real estate in various cities
• Building Codes -  FirstSource Building Code Library  - free registration
• Green Buildings - Pittsburgh Green Building Alliance, Portland Green Building Program , U.S. Green Building Council
• Sourcing Parts and Services -  Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
• Employees:  Bureau of Labor Statistics  for occupational descriptions, pay ranges;  Salary.com  for salaries by location
• Food safety:  Regulatory Agencies  listing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

We’re here to help!   Hunt Library Reference Desk: (412) 268-2442;  huntref@andrew.cmu.edu

• Drop in - hours are M - Th 9 am - 8 pm, F 9 am - 5 pm, Sat 1 - 5 pm and Sun 1- 5 pm.
• Ask a question via the library's chat service

Or, contact me directly: Roye Werner , Business and Economics Librarian,   rwerner@andrew.cmu.edu, (412) 268-2453