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COB 300 - Integrative Business

This guide helps students research their business plan proposals. Be advised this is NOT a comprehensive checklist for all topics that should be researched.

Guide map

Evaluate a business idea

Marketing research topics

Operations & Supply Chain Management research topics

Management research topics

Finance research topics

Citing your sources

Recommended databases

BizMiner This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Industry financial benchmarks on more than 16,000 lines of business in national and local markets.
Dates covered: Most recent 5 years
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
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Content types: Peer-reviewed journals, industry and market research reports, magazines, news sources, SWOTS
Dates covered: 1922-present

Data Axle Reference Solutions This link opens in a new window
Content types: Directory of U.S. businesses searchable by NAICS code and/or geography (U.S. City, State, Zip code) .
Dates covered: Current

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Analyst reports with forecasts and key statistics on more than 700 U.S. industries.
Dates covered: Current

Mintel Academic This link opens in a new window
Content types: Market research reports, data and forecasting for consumer industries in the U.S.
Dates covered: Current

PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Source for business and financial research on non-publicly traded corporations, including family-owned, private equity-owned, venture-backed, and international unlisted companies.
Note: Users will need to register for an academic account using their JMU email address
ProcurementIQ This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Analyst reports that assist with buying decisions in supply chains and sourcing.
Dates covered: Current
ProQuest SciTech Collection This link opens in a new window
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Content type(s): Scholarly articles, trade journals, and dissertations on science and technology topics. Useful for learning about materials or processes for manufacturing your product
Dates covered: 1693-present

Statista This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Statistics, charts, and dossiers covering brand shares in global markets, industries and societal topics.
Dates covered: Varies
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Content types: Abstracts and citations for peer-reviewed journals that might discuss how to manufacture products.
Dates covered: 1966-present

WARC This link opens in a new window
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Content type(s): Case studies, trend reports, best practice guides, event reports, company profiles, consumer insights, news, forecasts.
Dates covered: 1990-present

Connecting from off-campus

JMU students, faculty & staff can use electronic resources from off-campus via one of these methods.