Industry Information
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
Contents |
Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- Industry Surveys from Standard and Poor's Net Advantage
Simmons Eresource
Comprehensive overviews of 51 major U.S. industries. Each industry is updated every six months. For each industry, you'll find the Current environment - emerging trends and recent developments; Industry profile - major players and market share data, market/demand developments; How the industry operates - business/economic cycles, distribution, regulation and legislation; Key ratios and statistics - benchmarks of the industry's health; Comparative company analysis - tables listing historical financial data.
- MarketLine
Simmons Eresource
Provides 10,000 company profiles on leading global companies and 2,000 industry profiles containing the most important facts on key global vertical industries. MarketLine also contains 50 country profiles that give quick access to country data points, trends, and analysis.
- Encyclopedia of American Industries
Level 1 Reference HC102 E53
This source provides overviews of all major industries.
- General Business File ASAP
Simmons Eresource
This resource includes broker research reports, trade publication and journal articles, company directory listings, and Reuters Analyst reports. General Business File also contains company profiles that include links to articles about the company organized by different topics such as products & technology and sales & marketing. To access the company profiles, click on the Advanced Search link on the left-hand side and then click on Company Profiles at the bottom of the page. Next, select the Company (co) index from the drop-down menu, type in the company name in the search box and click on the Search button. Click on View and then a list of profiles will appear.
- Global Market Information
Simmons Eresource
Produced by Euromonitor, the Global Market Information Database (GMID) is an integrated on-line information system providing key business intelligence on countries, companies, markets, and consumers.
- PROMT
Simmons Eresource
Use this database to research companies, the products and technologies they produce, and the markets in which they compete. Includes summaries and full text from nearly 1,000 business and trade journals, industry newsletters, newspapers, market research studies, news releases, and investment and brokerage firm reports.
- ValueLine Investment Surveys
Simmons Eresource
This source provides one page financial summaries of major public companies. Includes year-ahead and three- to five-year probable relative price performance, projections of key financial measures, and concise, objective commentary on current operations and future prospects.
- Industry at a Glance
Free Online
Industry at a Glance consists of profiles of 12 industry supersectors. Each profile contains a variety of facts about the industry supersector, and includes links to additional statistics. The 12 industry supersectors are Construction, Education and Health Services, Financial Activities, Government, Information, Leisure and Hospitality, Manufacturing, Natural Resources and Mining, Other Services, Professional and Business Services, Transportation and Utilities, and Wholesale and Retail Trade.
Industry Classification Codes
- North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code Search
Free Online
NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System Search
Free Online
This page allows the user to search the 1987 version SIC manual by keyword.
Industry Norms and Key Ratios
- Annual Statement Studies
Simmons Eresource and Level 1 Reference HF5681.B2 R6
This source provides comparative historical data and other sources of composite financial data by industry.
- Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
Level 1 Reference HF5681.R25 A45
Provides financial ratios for companies in various asset ranges by SIC code. Data reported are based on aggregate numbers from IRS records.
- BizStats
Free Online
This site provides access to useful financial ratios, business statistics & benchmarks, and analysis of businesses and industries.
- Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
Level 1 Reference HF5681.R25 I525
This resource contains industry norms and 14 business ratios for over 800 lines of business. Note: In order to ensure valid benchmarks, this source only includes industries where they have information from at least 10 companies.
- BusinessWeek Online Investment Outlook Scoreboard
Free Online
This website includes ratios and data for 24 industry groups.
- Yahoo! Finance
Free Online
This website provides company stock information, company profiles, company news, key statistics, listings of competitors, and industry information.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- ABI/Inform
Simmons Eresource
Find in-depth coverage of business conditions, trends, corporate strategies and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product information, and a wide variety of other topics from more than 1800 leading business and management publications, most of which are fulltext or page-image. Includes fulltext Wall Street Journal.
Enter your search terms:
Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search:
- Type in a word or phrase in the search box (use the * to truncate; and to link separate concepts;or to group similar concepts)
- Consider selecting a search field name in the drop down menu, or accept "Citation and Abstract" as the default. The most specific search would use the "Subject" field. Other Search Fields include article title, author, company name, personal name, source, SIC code, ticker
- Click an operator (AND, OR, AND NOT, WITHIN 3, PRE/1) to link your search terms
- Specify limits such as Date, full text only, or scholarly/peer reviewed
- Results are available as: citation, full text, text and graphics and/or page image (like a photocopy of article). Articles can be emailed to you.
- Business Source Premier
Simmons Eresource
A comprehensive business periodical database that includes scholarly journals and business periodicals covering topics such as management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and more. BSP provides more than 8,800 full text scholarly publications, some as far back as 1922, such as the Harvard Business Review.
Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search:
- Type in search terms in the Find search box
- group similar concepts in ( ) linked with "or". For example: (women or female or gender)
- Truncate word variants with *. For example: instead of typing (manage or management or managing or manager) just type manag*
- Link separate concepts with "and". For example: (women or female or gender) and (manag* or executiv*)
- Consider selecting a specific "Field" to limit the search. The most specific and generally most accurate is a SU Subject Heading search. Also common TI title, AB abstract, CO company.
- Refine your search with Limits such as: Full Text only, from a specific Journal, Peer Reviewed (more scholarly), Date Published.
- Refine your search with Expanders To search within the entire fulltext of an article, check the "search with within full text articles". To take advantage of the built in thesaurus, check the box "also search for related words"
- Type in search terms in the Find search box
- Lexis Nexis Academic
Simmons Eresource
Provides searchable access to a comprehensive spectrum of full-text information from over 5,600 sources--including non-English language sources--selected to meet academic research needs. Included are national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, U.S. Federal and state case law, codes, regulations, legal news, law reviews, and international legal information, Shepard's Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1789, business news journals, company financial information, SEC filings and reports, industry and market news, statistics, and medical information.
- Lexis Nexis Academic: Business Research
Simmons Eresource
For business-specific news, facts and events related to companies and industries:
- Choose News tab
- Choose Business News Publications from Selected Sources drop-down menu.
- Enter at least one search term.
- Choose index in which to search for the keyword, such as: headline, lead paragraph.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you
to find Industry information on the free web.
Use this Industry Information Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the
same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the Industry Information Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
