COD Library - LTA Business Research Guide

Introduction to Business Resources - Judy's Picks!

Industries

Encyclopedia of Associations
Ref AS 22 .E5
Check out the trade associations connected with your industry.
Standard & Poor´s Industry Surveys
Research these excellent overviews of broad industry groups.
Hoover's Online
Go to the INDUSTRIES section for overviews of specific industries.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
Every type of business in North America has been assigned a numerical code called a NAICS code. The NAICS system has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system for classifying industries and businesses.

U.S. Companies

Hoover's Online
Go here for full text financial and organizational profiles of more than 12 million public and private companies with in-depth reports on 25,000 major companies. Contains links to Web sites, news articles, stock charts, annual reports and industry reports. A "must" place to go when researching a company.
Company web site
Visit the company web site to learn about a company's products and services.
Business Source Elite
Look for the Datamonitor reports under the Company Profiles section for a SWOT analysis of a company.
ReferenceUSA
U.S. company information searchable by company name, geographic location, type of business, and business size.
Standard & Poor's Company Research
A standard for investigating publicly-held companies.
Business Ledger and Crain's Chicago Business
Periodicals
These business newspapers are excellent sources of information on local companies. Also see the Book of Lists that each newspaper publishes listing leading area companies in selected industries.
Book of Lists. Business Ledger
Ref HC 108 .C4 B666
Also see the Book of Lists that each newspaper publishes listing leading area companies in selected industries.
Book of Lists. Crain's Chicago Business
Ref HC 108 .C4 B665

International Companies and Countries

Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries
Ref HG 4538 .A1 D5
Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States
Ref HG 4057 .A2 1943
Exporters Encyclopedia
Ref HF 3011 .E9
A good overview of doing business in a particular country.
GlobalEDGE
http://globaledge.msu.edu
This international business web site, maintained by Michigan State University, is an excellent source of country information.
STAT-USA / National Trade Data Bank
Search the Department of Commerce's National Trade Data Bank with its wealth of trade leads, statistics, market research reports, foreign country information and other export data. The Country Commercial Guides available here provide excellent overviews of doing business in a particular country.

Target Markets

Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics
Ref HA 203 .S66
Find demographic information for every zip code in the U.S.
Lifestyle Market Analyst
Ref HF 5415.33 .U6 L54
Research psychographic information for U.S. metropolitan areas.
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
A wonderful source of demographic information. Use the American FactFinder section for community profiles.

Investments

Morningstar Mutual Funds
Ref HG 4530 .M8
Value Line Mutual Fund Survey
Ref HG 4530 .V35
Value Line Investment Survey
Ref HG 4501 .V26
Yahoo Finance
http://biz.yahoo.com/
An excellent investment and personal finance web site.

Small Business

Business Strategies
Ref HD 28 .B8
Up-to-date information on all topics entrepreneurial.
Business Plans Handbook
Ref HD 62.7 .B865
Actual business plans for existing businesses.
SBA - Your Small Business Resource
http://www.sba.gov/
Resources from the U.S. Small Business Administration on starting and growing your business.

Databases

In addition to the resources listed above, the following databases are useful for finding articles on industries, companies, business leaders, and all other business topics.

Business & Company ASAP
An index to articles (many are full text) on business and management topics, industries, and companies.
Business Source Elite
This is still another database with articles on business topics, many which are full text.
Chicago Tribune
Excellent business information on local companies.
Wall Street Journal
This prestigious business newspaper is an excellent source of company and industry information.

Judy Wagner, Business Librarian
630-942-2021
wagnerj@cod.edu

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