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ICE Week Research Guide

Course Number: BU

Subject: Business

Welcome to Laurier Library's ICE Week research guide. This guide provides information sources to help you conduct company, industry, and market research. You may also want to visit the Business Subject Guide for additional resources that will help you successfully complete your case competition research. You can also find a link to helpful video tutorials to the left under Key Links.

Use the tabs below to navigate to the different sections of this guide.

Company Profiles

Mergent Online

Enter the company name or ticker symbol into the search box > then click "Go".

Marketline: Advantage

Enter the company name into the search box > select "Company Profiles" from the drop-down menu > then click the “Search” button.

Nexis Uni

Select “Company Info” under Guided Search > enter the company name > select "Company Profile" from the drop down menu> click "Search".

Passport

Includes data, analysis and dashboards for companies. Click on Go in the Companies section on the right side of the home page> enter the company name.

S&P NetAdvantage

Click on the "Companies" tab at the top of the screen >click "Companies" under the Search Profiles subheading> enter a company name > click "Search"

Factiva

Select "Companies/Markets" from the top bar > "Company" > then enter a company name or ticker symbol > click “Go”.

ProQuest One Business

Enter company name into the search box in the top field, then select "Company Profile" under "Document type", and click "Search". Alternatively, click "Company Reports" under "Featured Reports" on the left panel and then enter company name in the top field before clicking "Search".

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Company Financials

Mergent Online

Provides annual reports and company financials. To find company financials run a company search > select the "Company Financials" tab > from the drop-down menu select "Balance Sheet", "Income Statement", "Retained Earnings", "Cash Flow" or "All Sections" > click "Refresh". Adjust date range if needed. The data can also be downloaded into Excel format.

Factiva

Includes financial information such as balance sheets, cash flow, and income statements. Select "Companies/Markets" > "Company" from the top bar > then enter a company name or ticker symbol > select "Financial Results" to choose various financial statements for the company in question.

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Company Analyst Reports

Investext (via Mergent Online)

A full-text database of investment research reports. It contains detailed data and analysis on publicly traded companies in a wide variety of industries. The information is contained in reports generated by analysts at research organizations worldwide. Information provided may include trends, sales and earnings forecasts, market share projections, and research and development expenditures. On Mergent click Investext tab, select criteria and click ">> submit" button to execute search.

Nexis Uni

Select “Company Info” under Guided Search > enter the company name > select "Analyst Reports" from the drop down menu> click "Search".

Mergent Online

Includes investment research reports generated by analysts at research organizations worldwide on publicly traded companies in a wide variety of industries. Click on Investext tab and then select date and other criteria such as industry and contributor.

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Company SWOT Analyses

Marketline: Advantage

Includes SWOT analyses for selected companies. Enter the company name into the search box > select "Company Profiles" from the drop-down menu > then click the “Search” button > select the appropriate company from the list > once in the company report see the “SWOT Analysis” section of the report.

Passport

SWOT Analyses for selected international companies are available in the Global Company Profiles. Click Go in the Companies section on the right side of the home page > enter the company name into the search box > click “Search” > select the company’s “Global Company Profile” report if available > once in the report see the “SWOT” section of the report (under “Strategic Evaluation”). Note: SWOT analysis may not be available for each company.

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Competitive Analysis Research

Nexis Uni

Click Menu at the top and select "Company Dossier". First, you can find competitors. Click Find a company > enter a company name and click Search > Select the appropriate company > Click Competitors under Company Information. Second, you can create a company list to compare companies operating in the same industry by industry classification codes. Select the "Create a Company List" tab> enter SIC or NAICS Code(s) and any other criteria> once search options are chosen, hit the "Create" button > select the "Next" button to customize the list. Third, you can compare the financials of peer companies. On the Company Dossier page, select the "Compare Companies" tab > enter company names > click "Compare".

Passport

Passport provides data on market shares, brand shares and retail shares of companies and products globally or by country/region. Competitive analysis information can be found in the Company Profile reports, Category Briefings, and Industry Overviews.

Market Share Reporter

Provides information on market share for products, companies and/or services in Canada, U.S., and International. Search by product, company name, industry, or industry classification codes.

S&P NetAdvantage

Includes industry surveys with a comparative company analysis section. click on the "Markets" tab at the top of the screen > click on "Industry Surveys" under the Market Research subheading >click PDF to view an industry survey > once in the industry survey scroll down to the table of contents and select “Comparative Company Analysis”.

Marketline: Advantage

Provides information on competitors in Company Profile Reports and Industry Reports. Search for a company or industry > once in the report see the left column for sections “Peers” or “Competitive Landscape”.

Factiva

Select "Companies/Markets" from the top bar > "Company" > then enter a company name or ticker symbol > click “Go” > once in the company’s profile page select “Peer Comparison” from the left column to view competitors.

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Industry Information

IBISWorld

Contains Canadian, US, and Chinese Industry Reports, iExpert Summaries, and Business Environment Profiles. Industry market research reports contain such information as trends, statistics & analysis on market size, market share of major companies, industry growth rates, and key external forces affecting supply and demand.

Passport

Offers industry/market analysis and forecasting. Enter keywords into the search box, or select an industry from the industry drop-down menus located at the top of the page.

Marketline: Advantage

Provides industry reports and analysis including Porter's Five Forces analysis. Enter in keyword > then select "Industry Profiles" from the drop-down menu > click “Search” > refine your results by geography, date, sub-industry.

S&P NetAdvantage

Comprises of detailed surveys of U.S. industries. To access, click on the "Markets" tab at the top of the screen and select your industry under the Industries subheading or click on "Industry Surveys" under the Market Research subheading.

ProQuest One Business

Enter industry name or keywords into the search box in the top field, then select "Industry Report" under "Document type", and click "Search". Alternatively, click "Industry Reports" under "Featured Reports" on the left panel, then enter industry name or keywords in the top field before clicking Search.

Industry Canada

Includes industry profiles.

Associations Canada

This resource provides a listing of Canadian Associations. Associations may provide detailed information on their respective industry. To find relevant associations, limit your search to only show results from Associations Canada > enter keywords in the search box beside the "Search Words Anywhere" field > then click the "Search Now" button.

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Industry Classification Codes

Many government websites, and some databases, organize business information using an industry classification system, with a specific code for each industry. You may find it helpful to look up the code for your industry as part of your research.

Note: If you are researching a very specific or very new industry, it may not be included in these industry classification systems.

The two most common industry classification systems are NAICS and SIC. Both are hierarchical, organized by broad industry categories, and divided into more specific industries.

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System)

Developed in 1997 by Canada, the United States, and Mexico; Industry codes are 2-6 digits long.

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)

An older industry classification system; NAICS was intended to replace SIC, however, some resources still use SIC codes to classify information.

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Market Research

IBISWorld

Contains Canadian, US, and Chinese Industry Reports, iExpert Summaries, and Business Environment Profiles. Industry market research reports contain such information as trends, statistics & analysis on market size, market share of major companies, industry growth rates, and key external forces affecting supply and demand.

Passport

Includes market research data for products, services, companies, industries, and countries; such information includes consumer expenditure data, consumer behaviour, demographic and lifestyle reports, market size, brand and market share data. There are various options for finding relevant data including: Entering keywords into the search bar > then filtering results accordingly; or selecting the “Consumers” tab (top bar); or selecting “Consumers” from the “Search All Categories” menu.

Marketline: Advantage

Includes industry reports with market research information. Enter in keyword > then select "Industry Profiles" from the drop-down menu > click “Search” > refine your results by geography, date, sub-industry. The industry reports include the following market research information: market value, market value forecast, market segmentation, market share and market rivalry.

Market Share Reporter

Provides information on market share for products, companies and/or services in Canada, U.S., and International. Search by product, company name, industry, or industry classification codes.

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Periodical Indexes

Article databases (also known as “periodical indexes”) bring together a number of different online journals and other resources such as company profiles, industry reports, and market research reports into one search engine. Use the following databases to find articles, reports, and other resources on your topic.

Keep in mind that articles in trade journals or magazines are especially helpful when conducting company, industry, or market research as these publications include current information on companies, industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news.

Watch the video tutorial: Better Searching Using AND, OR, NOT

Watch the video tutorial: Better Searching Using Truncation

Business Source Complete

ProQuest One Business

CBCA Complete: Business

Factiva

Scholars Portal Journals

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Citing Sources

Citing Sources

The Laurier Library provides guidance on citing in different styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and by subject including government publications and data and statistics. You may watch tutorial on how to cite.

Business Citation Guide

Developed by business librarians at Bronfman Business Library at York University, this guide puts together great examples on citing business resources including books, articles, industry reports, company reports, analyst reports from databases.

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