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On Doing Business Research
There are three major avenues of research in business:
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Printed books, journals and newspapers – Once the major business resources, printed
materials are often neglected in favor of electronic sources. Sometimes paper is still the
best place to look to begin or for help in location supplemental or background materials.
- Direct contact – This may be through company websites, email, mail or phone
Most business information comes at a price. Although there is a common belief that all information is
available on the Internet for free, it is and always was a myth. Most business information is
proprietary. Information is expensive to gather so it costs to access it. At Whitworth University
we subscribe to a number of databases that provide information available to the business community at
a steep sticker price.
Accessing Library Resources
On the main library homepage,
http://www.whitworth.edu/library ,
select “Databases and Indexes”. Use the subject dropdown box to select “Business”. This should give you the
list of databases and indexes that are available to search. Using a campus computer, click on the underlined
title of the database.
Using a computer off-campus, select the
button which brings up a login screen with the Whitworth logo in the top left corner. Use your Whitworth email username
and password. Note: If you have problems from a work computer, it may be the result of your business’ firewall.
Major business databases (available online through “Databases and Indexes” page)
Business Source Premier
– a major business database of periodical articles, both full text and citations only,
company profiles (Datamonitor companies), industry profiles (overview, market value), country reports
(economics, political background), and market research reports (market insight, emerging trends).
ABI Inform--Trade and Industry – 750 business periodicals with trade or industry focus.
ECONLit
– Citations with abstracts to articles from more than 600 economics journals, subject indexing and
abstracts of books, and subject indexing of dissertation titles.
Accessing the Business Press (available online through “Databases and Indexes” page)
The business press can be a rich source of information, especially regarding recent events that have not had time to work
their way into more comprehensive reference works. Tens of thousands of pages are published each day, but the shear volume
makes identifying and locating useful information a real challenge. The types of publications that make up the business
press are:
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News Wires - Press releases announcing new products, ad campaigns, management changes, etc. Invaluable for current
news about a company, news wires. The drawbacks are the source is the company itself, and speedy releases result in common
inaccuracies.
Newsletters - specialized publications, usually covering a specific portion of an industry, targeted at a specific
audience. It’s costly to subscribe to business newsletters.
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Newspapers – The U.S. has many business newspapers. The daily newspapers’ business sections focus on local news
stories, and are a rich source of information on small, local companies.
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Magazines - Articles are fully developed, include more than one viewpoint, and are more "in-depth than in a press
release, newsletter, or newspaper.
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Trade Journals - Magazines focused on a specific industry or line-of-business, giving information the industry
would need regularly. Although great sources of detailed information, they are not an overview of an industry or a market.
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Journals - Business journals tend to be more scholarly or professional in their focus and scope, contain articles
that are more reflective, probing into an event or an issue more deeply than other kinds of business publications.
Use the databases available from the “Databases and Indexes” page, under the subject dropdown menu by selecting “News” or
“Business” to search national, international, regional and local business news. To find out about a company, industry or
subject in the business press, use an index such as:
Business Dateline - Full text articles in over 530 newspapers, city business magazines, wire services in the U.S.
and Canada.
Academic Universe--Business
- Full-text articles of news, legal, business and financial information.
Regional Business News
– Full text articles in 75 regional business journals, newspapers, and wire services in the U.S. Updated daily.
Wall Street Journal
– the top financial newspaper with full text national and international articles.
Using the Internet to do Research
With discernment the Internet can provide good research possibilities. Know where the information is coming from and its
reliability before using it in your business research projects. Some reliable sites are:
Best of the Best Business Websites – A listing by subject of significant business web sites provided by the Business
Reference and Services librarians of the American Library Association, and updated regularly.
http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaourassoc/rusasections/brass/brassprotools/bestofthebestbus/
bestbestbusiness.htm
Business.GOV – The official business link to the U.S. government that provides a gateway to statistics, legal
information, tax information and much more in the business sector from government agencies.
http://www.business.gov/
Basic Business Directories (available online through “Databases and Indexes” page)
Hoover’s Handbooks. A six-volume set of company profiles including major US companies and private enterprises,
major global enterprises, emerging companies. Profiles include company history, competition, assets, stock prices, and
officers. Contains indexes of people, brands and companies.
Also available in print: REF HF 3010.H66 2007
Thomas Register of Manufacturers. Identifies “who makes what” in the US manufacturing sector.
Also available in print: REF T12.T6 2003
Disclosure Corporate Snapshots - Contains directory information on 11,000 U.S. companies filing with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC). Full entries with financials on public companies are available through the full-text function.
Worldscope GLOBAL
- Comprises basic financial information on nearly 9,000 of the world's largest companies
representing 32 countries. Full entries, including financials, are available through the full-text function.
Washington Business Directory. Gives the basic information on companies in Washington state.
Available only in print. REF HF5065.W2.W23 2000
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