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Search the Libraries Collection
Search OMNI to find books and articles in the libraries collection.
Market Research Databases
- Passport - The recommended starting point for market research at Carleton University. Provides reports, analysis and data on industries and consumer behaviour as well as market share by company, product and brand.
- Business Source Complete - Provides access to Market Research Reports, Trade Journal Articles and Industry Reports.
Government Resources
- Statistics Canada - Canada's federal statistical agency presents reports and data on many aspects of life in Canada including health, education, household finances, household spending and much more.
- Browse by Subject - Find reports and manipulatable data tables
- Search Data - Find Manipulatable data tables
- Search Analysis - Find statistical analysis and reports
- Census Program (2021/2016) - Provides detailed Canadian demographic and socio-economic data on different levels of geography.
- Census Profile - Search for demographics by place name or postal code to get data on a location. Use the CHASS Census Analyzer to download one dataset with multiple locations.
- Census Data Tables - Cross tabulated data that presents more detailed demographic information then the Census Profile for certain select topics.
Start-up Specific Guidance
Look for a Country Report on Business Source Complete or Passport
Technological Environment
Look for data and information that will help you examine and analyze one of two variables:
- Technologies USED by the industry you are analyzing e.g. fracking by oil and gas
- Technologies that are essentially substitutes for the products provided by the industry being analysed e.g. online advertising with Google and Facebook displacing print and other traditional forms of advertising
- Passport - Technological trends related to consumer goods and services.
- Gartner Research - Trends realted to information technology.
- 10K Reports or Corporate Disclosure documents to find technologies used by companies within your industry. The Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of a company's 10K will identify threats from other industries.
- Industry trade magazines and trade associations websites
- Google the industry + country + associations to find trade associations
- Search Business Source Complete for articles published in trade magazines
- Search relevant keywords in the search box in Passport for trends and new products
for example, search 3D printing, drones, etc. - Articles may also be found in Canadian Businss & Current Affairs, Ei Engineering Village, Factiva and Industry Week
- Global Information Technology Report (World Economic Fourm)
Economic Environment
- Economist Intelligence Unit - provides disposal income
- CEPR Discusstion Papers - economic working papers for up to date analysis from economists.
- NBER Working Paper Series - American economic working papers for up to date analysis from economists.
- Conference Board of Canada e-Library - browse by topic Economic Trends for forecasting at federal, provincial and municipal levels in Canada.
Includes consumer and business confidence reports - GDP by State - USA - select Interactive Data and customize by product and state.
Socio-Cultural Environment & Consumers
Business Culture
- globalEdge - provides information on business culture by country
- Hofstede Centre - provides country-based cultural analysis, comparisons and scores.
Population statistics: Passport
- search by country
From top tabs, go to Consumers - Population.
Scroll down to Country Reports and choose your geography
Explore data - select View Statistics on left hand side
Behavioural:
Canada, United States and Global
Passport
Look for current research by keyword in the search box:
- Top 10 Global Consumer Trends for 2019
- Consumers in 2019
- Connected Consumers: How Widespread Connectivity Changed Life
- Consumer Health in Canada
Or search by specific country:
From the tool bar at the top of the page,
select Consumers
Income and Expenditure
Lifestyles
Scroll down to Country Reports and choose your geography
Conference Board
Data on consumer confidence
Attitudinal:
Search the following for polls and information on attitudes:
Political-Legal Environment
Lobbyists (industry associations) are the interface between government and business. They work for the best interests of the industry and try to persuade governments to support them on issues.
Industry associations often provide information and data to the public. To find the relevant association(s) for your industry, search google for the industry + country + association. A few examples:
- BIOTECanada
- Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA)
- Information Technology Association of Canada
Many non-governmental organizations are critics of industry. They act as a watchdog for the public and lobby governments to be diligent in overseeing activities of an industry. To find relevant NGOs, search google by keyword(s) + protection or organization. A few examples:
Select the link on a country's page to the Country Commercial Guide by the U.S. Commercial Service. The guide includes analysis of doing business with countries world wide.
Government Sources
Canada
- Regulations (Canada Business Network)
- Small Business: Advice, Support Services, Regulations (Ontario)
United States
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register (updates the Code) and Reginfo.gov
Industry Research Databases
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Business Source Complete - Start here for industry analyses. Select Industry Profiles from the Publication Type list located within the Search Options under the search box. Enter the industry and country of interest into the search box. For example, "Wireless Telecommunications Services in Canada" provides an analysis using Porter's 5 Forces.
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Mergent Online - Select the Industry Analysis tab. Check the boxes beside your industry of interest and your region of interest.
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Conference Board of Canada - Under Browse by, select Topic. Then select Industry Sector Economics for industry profiles or enter the industry name in the search box.
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Factiva - Mouse over Companies/Markets from the menu bar at the top of the page and select Industry. Select the industry from the list provided.
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Bloomberg - Search under BI for aggregate data.
Industry Financial Performance
- Financial Performance Data
- Use Mergent and Factiva to look up public company financials
Government Resources
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2017 - Classifies industries into codes that can be used to help you find information on your industry.
- Statistics Canada - Canada's federal statistical agency presents reports and data on many aspects of life in Canada including health, education, household finances, household spending and much more.
- Browse by Subject - Find reports and manipulatable data tables
- Search Data - Find manipulatable data tables
- Search Analysis - Find statistical analysis and reports
- Industry Canada
Specialized reports from reputable sources
- World Energy Outlook from the OECD
- Global Auto Report from Scotiabank
- J.D Power offers some info on ratings and customer satisfaction surveys for free.
- Look to investment and consulting firms for research on industries:
- PWC Research & Insights by Industry
- BMO News & Insights
- J.P. Morgan Research & Markets
Trade Associations and Journals
Look for valuable information and data from trade resources. Google the industry, the country, and associations to find trade associations.
For example:
Structural Analysis of an Industry using Porter's 5 Forces
Use your textbook or a good internet site for information on Porter's model for industry analysis.
Resources
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Buyer Power
- Business Source Complete Industry Profile
- Brand identity, Substitutes - Passport
- Disposal income - EIU
- Buyer volume for B-to-B - Bloomberg, Mergent Online
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Supplier Industry
- Business Source Complete Industry Profile
- Bloomberg - go to company profile, key in supply chain
- Mergent Online
- The following directories will give you an idea of the number and location of firms that produce or can supply the products companies in your industry need:
There are also many trade/business directories available online. Do a google search for the region or country you need. For example business directory china.
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Threat of New Entrants
- Business Source Complete - Industry Profile
- Start-up/operating costs - aggregate industry data - Bloomberg, Mergent Online
- Legal obstacles - Country Commerical Guides from globalEdge
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Threat of Substitutes
- Business Source Complete Industry Profile
- Brand identity, Substitutes - Passport
- Disposal income - EIU
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Degree of Rivalry
- Business Source Complete Industry Profile
- Aggregate industry data - Bloomberg, Mergent Online, Factiva (tip - ROIC, growth rate available on Bloomberg)
Private Companies
- Ottawa Business Journal Keep up to date with local businesses or find companies in the Ottawa Book of Lists.
- Look for local business resources from other locations - Toronto Business Journal and Vancouver Business Journal
- Look to the company's web page and presence on social media. Also, check out the webpages of competitors.
- Find company job postings. See the company's website, major job boards like Monster.ca etc., as well as do an internet search for company name and "job posting"
- Explore sites such as Salary in Canada to find data and salary information.
- If it's a Canadian company, see SEDAR. Search your company name and then locate their 'annual information form'.
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Search news and magazine articles in Business Source Complete, Canadian Business & Current Affairs and Factiva.
Publicly Traded Companies
- Fortune Magazine Top Global 500 companies
- World's Largest Public Companies in 2021 - Forbes Magazine
Internal (company) Analysis
Begin with the company's 10K or annual report - usually found on their website or by doing a google search of company name and 10K or annual report. Read the Management Discussion and Analysis - (MD&A) section of the Annual Report or 10k. Read the letter to the shareholders from the CEO in the company's annual report.
Explore the company's website and online presence as well as that of the competitors.
Do a literature search in both business and local sources for articles on a company.
Global (includes Canadian data)
- Business Source Complete Look for a SWOT analysis: search for your company name. Scroll down and limit by SWOT Analysis.
- Passport Select Companies from the top tab and key in your company name. Select the relevant segment and open the profile. Look in the table of contents for a SWOT analysis.
- Mergent Online Financial data for the U.S. and selected global companies.
- Factiva - Mouse over Companies/Markets from the menu bar at top of the page. Scroll down to find business and geographic segments. Explore the table on contents on the left-hand side.
No SWOT for your company - try a competitor. External factors will affect all companies in an industry.
Rankings
- Canada's Top 100 Employers
- JUST Capital - provides information and rankings on how large corporations perform on issues that matter most to the public.
- Forbes - The Companies With The Best CSR Reputations In The World
- Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World index
Business News
- Bloomberg News
- Globe and Mail Report on Small Business
- Ottawa Business Journal
- PressReader - PDFs to more than 2300 newspapers from 100 countries in over 55 languages. The collection currently has over 2,300 titles.
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs - Provides full-text to Canadian business journals and magazines
- Canadian Newstream - Access to over 280 Canadian news sources
- Eureka - Full-text Canadian French and English newspapers from Alberta, the Atlantic provinces, Québec, and aboriginal communities. Includes full-text transcripts of radio and television broadcasts from CBC, CTV, and SRC.
- Factiva - Globe and Mail and the Wall Street Journal live here
- Wire Report - The leading news service covering Canada's rapidly converging telecom and media sectors.
- Journalist's resource: research on today's news topics
The following titles are available online:
- Business Week
- Canadian Business
- The Economist
- Financial Times (London)
- Forbes
- Fortune
- The Globe and Mail (includes the Report on Business Magazine)
- National Post Online (includes the Financial Post section and the Financial Post Magazine)
- Wall Street Journal
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is intellectual honesty and responsibility for academic work that you submit or work on with others. It involves commitment to the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.
Citing your sources in APA
- OWL Purdue APA Guide - A good starting point for APA citation.
- Business Citation for APA - A Guide from York University with examples of how to cite business resources in APA.
- APA Citation Guide from MacOdrum Library
Examples of actions that violate Academic Integrity
- Plagiarism
- presenting, whether intentional or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own
- Too much Collaboration without permission
- sharing work with other students or getting too much help from tutors or editors
- Cheating
- doing something that gives you an unfair advantage over others such as looking up answers during an exam
- Fabrication /Falsification of research
- making up research or altering results for an assignment
Good help is available!
Online Help
- A - Z listing of numerours library topics such as Citing Your Sources and Database Search Strategies.
- Also there are many Services available, including Group Study Rooms you may book in advance, Writing Tutorial Services and using the wireless network.
- Ask a question at the Research Help Desk or Online Chat.
- Contact Matthew Gertler - Subject Specialist for Business.
