Gast Business Library Orientation Presentation
Gast Business Library orientation presentation given on September 11, 2008.
Researching Companies Worksheet [.doc]
How to Research a Company
When researching a company it is important to know whether the company is:
- Public (traded on a stock exchange)
- Private
- a subsidiary or division of a larger company OR
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an international company.
To determine this, consult one or more of the following resources:
- Hoover's Online Pro Plus
Hoover's Online Pro Plus provides detailed information on public and private companies in the United States and internationally. It offers key company information such as company location and contact information, company history, financial data, products and brands, top competitors, top officers, and more. It also offers industry analyses and news sources.
- CorporateAffiliations.Com
This resource contains corporate information on nearly 200,000 of the most prominent parent companies and their affiliates, subsidiaries and divisions, down to the seventh level of corporate linkage.
Library Resources for Basic Company Research
These resources will help you find the basic contact information for companies, along with their financial statements, history, executives, products/services offered, and much more.
- Hoover's Online Pro Plus
Hoover's Online Pro Plus provides detailed information on public and private companies in the United States and internationally. It offers key company information such as company location and contact information, company history, financial data, products and brands, top competitors, top officers, and more. It also offers industry analyses and news sources.
- MarketLine Business Information Centre
Contains over 10,000 company profiles; 2,000 industry profiles; 100 country profiles; and over 2,500 company SWOT analyses.
- Mergent Online
This resource provides U.S. company data that covers 10,000 public companies and their SEC filings (includes EDGAR search).
It also provides access to current and historical annual reports on 10,000 U.S. public companies, all in PDF image format that provides faster download and allows viewing the document.
FIS Online has been changed to Mergent Online.
- ReferenceUSA
ReferenceUSA contains directory information on over 14 million U.S. and over 1.4 million Canadian businesses, including detailed information for private companies and franchise locations.
- Mintel Reports
Mintel Market Reports contain full-text market research reports covering US and global consumer markets, with an emphasis on European and US markets. Each report analyzes market share, segmentation, and trends along with providing comprehensive demographic profiles and consumer patterns. This resource is only available through on-campus computers. It is not accessible using the proxy server.
- ProQuest Historical Annual Reports
Contains decades of annual reports from Fortune 500 companies.
- Business Electronic Resources
Complete list of business databases for researching companies and industries.
- Try your company's Web site!
Finding Articles on Companies, Industries, and Other Business Topics
When researching a company or industry, it is important to obtain very current information, along with learning of what other people are saying about the company or industry. One of the best avenues for this type of research is to search periodical databases for articles, which is also a good method for locating information about private companies. Listed below are several key business databases accessible through the “Databases” link on the Gast Business Library home page.
- ABI/INFORM (on ProQuest Direct)
Content ranges from business press to scholarly publications, including abstracts since 1971 and some full-text since 1988. Covering approximately 1400 international periodicals, it is a good source for information on market trends, corporate strategies and product information.
- Factiva
This database covers more than 6000 business publications including periodicals, newspapers, newswires, trade publications, and the full-text of Dow Jones publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s. In addition, there is a Company & Industry section that provides company and industry comparisons, as well as corporate profiles.
- LexisNexis Academic
Good source for news and business information. This service covers more than 7000 sources, such as major U.S. and international newspapers, regional U.S. newspapers, radio and television transcripts, newswires, magazines, legal and industry news, and selected SEC documents. Please note that this database does not cover scholarly publications.
- General Business File ASAP
Provides access to 200,000 company profiles, more than 50,000 full-text Investext reports, and current news about companies, industries, products and executives.
Career Resources
- Lear Career Services Center
Located in The Eli Broad College of Business Complex, "the Lear Corporation Career Services Center is dedicated to providing highly individualized and progressive career development and placement support to undergraduate students preparing for careers in business."
- MySpartanCareer
"This system offers on- and off-campus job listings for full-time, part-time, seasonal, and paid internship positions, as well as schedules of on-campus interviews, workshops, and other career events."
- CareerBuilder.com
Search a database of jobs by job type, industry, company, keyword, geographic region, and more.
- CareerJournal.com
The career site of the Wall Street Journal. Users can access a jobs database and submit an entry to the resume database; participate in various message boards; locate articles about resumes, cover letters, interviewing, and networking; and research salary negotiation.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this handbook provides information about numerous career choices with detailed information on what workers do on the job and expected job prospects.
- Financial Jobs
Provides job postings and brief industry and career research in accounting, banking, corporate finance, and investment.
- MarketingPower.com
From the American Marketing Association, this site includes a job bank, resume tips, salary survey, and other career resources.
- Vault
Vault provides a collection of insider information guides to various careers, along with "day in the life" profiles and surveys of many workplaces, job board, salary information, and resume and cover letter samples.
- Salary.com
Includes a salary calculator to find average salaries by job title, category, and zip code.
How to Cite Your Resources
Find a number of examples of how to cite both print and electronic sources using APA, MLA, and Chicago style, as well as many other styles.
Off-Campus Access to Electronic Resources
Log in to your library account and you will be able to access databases from off campus. For more information, see Off Campus Access. NOTE: Some databases are available only in the Business Library.
Interlibrary Loan
Request books, articles, and other materials the MSU Libraries do not own through InterLibrary Loan.
Library Research Guides
Find helpful library resources on conducting research on companies, industries, advertising and marketing, international marketing, private companies, and more.
Contact Me
- Kara Rawlins
Librarian, Gast Business Library
Ph: 517.432.4182
E-mail: gustk@msu.edu
Areas of Expertise: Advertising, Marketing & Supply Chain Management, MBA Programs
Web site: http://www.lib.msu.edu/gustk/
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Page Coordinator: Kara Rawlins gustk@msu.edu
This URL: http://guides.lib.msu.edu/page.phtml?page_id=811
Last updated: 02-09-2009
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