Using This Guide - COB 300 - Integrative Business - Research Guides at James Madison University

How to Use This Guide

This guide suggests resources to help develop your team's business plan. Begin by reviewing the Starting Your Research page for tips to prove you have a viable product.

Use the menu to explore other pages and find recommended research tools and strategies for each discipline's business plan exhibits.

Feeling overwhelmed? Meet with a Peer Research Adviser! They've successfully completed COB 300 and can help you harness JMU Libraries' business information, making your plan that much better.

Connecting to JMU Libraries Databases from Off-campus

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

Off-campus access

Recommended Business Databases and Sources

AccessEngineering
Content type(s): Books, videos and case studies about manufacturing processes, supply chain logistics, and workflow optimization, which can help outline how your business will produce goods or deliver services efficiently.

Alibaba.com
Content type(s): Directory of suppliers. Search by the components or materials your product will need, like Knitting Machines or Wireless Earbuds. Note: Remember that materials or components purchased from suppliers based outside the U.S. will require your company to pay tariffs.

BizMiner
Content type(s): Industry financial benchmarks on more than 16,000 lines of business in national and local markets.
Business plan applications: Finance & Marketing
Business Source Complete
Content types: Peer-reviewed journals, industry and market research reports, magazines, news sources, SWOTS
Business plan applications: Operations & Supply Chain Management & Marketing

Data Axle Reference Solutions
Content types: Directory of U.S. businesses searchable by NAICS code and/or geography (U.S. City, State, ZIP code) .
Business plan applications: Marketing & Finance

IBISWorld
Content type(s): Analyst reports with forecasts and key statistics on more than 700 U.S. industries.
Business plan applications: Finance, Marketing, and Operations & Supply Chain Management
Insider Intelligence
Content type(s): Market data, statistics, and analyst reports on the Internet, e-business, digital marketing, media, and emerging technologies.
Business plan applications: Marketing

Mintel Academic
Content types: Market research reports, data and forecasting for consumer industries in the U.S.
Business plan applications: Marketing
MRI Simmons
Content type(s): Insights into the American consumer based on data from the National Consumer Study (NCS). Includes information on consumer buying habits, media preferences, and demographics through surveys.
Business plan applications: Marketing

O*NET OnLine
Content type(s): The primary source for occupational information in the United States. Provides specific descriptions about more than 1,000 occupations, including duties, skills, and wages.
Business plan applications: Management

New York Times: Tracking Trump’s New Tariffs on Every Country
Your proposed business will pay tariffs on any material or component that you are purchasing from outside the United States. COB 300 students who are importing materials should use the New York Times' Total Rate* from the product's country of origin (i.e., China) to estimate the impact of tariffs in their business plan calculations.

*Since returning to office in 2025, President Trump's administration has been enacting or negotiating a series of new tariff rates that can change rapidly.

PrivCo
Content type(s): Business and financial research on non-publicly traded companies, 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
Business plan applications: Finance
ProcurementIQ
Content type(s): Analyst reports that assist with buying decisions in supply chains and sourcing.
Business plan applications: Operations & Supply Chain Management and Marketing
ProQuest SciTech Collection
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
Business plan applications: Operations & Supply Chain Management
PolicyMap
Content type(s): Online data and mapping application that provides access to more than 10,000 indicators related to demographics, housing, income, crime, health, etc. Includes Claritas consumer data.
Business plan applications: Marketing

Statista
Content type(s): Statistics, charts, and dossiers covering brand shares in global markets, industries and societal topics.
Business plan applications: Finance and Marketing
Scopus
Content types: Abstracts and citations for peer-reviewed journals that might discuss how to manufacture products.
Business plan applications: Marketing and Operations & Supply Chain Management

ThomasNet
Content type(s): A directory of U.S. suppliers. Use it to search by the components or materials your product will need, like Lithium Batteries or Polyurethane
Business plan applications: Operations and Supply Chain Management

Responsible Use of Business Databases

As students, you are not permitted to use JMU resources to benefit your current employer or for freelance work. Doing so could result in JMU Libraries losing access to these resources for future students.

Uploading Reports or Data to AI Tools:

Most of our business databases, including Mintel Academic and IBISWorld, prohibit the uploading of PDFs of their reports or copied-and-pasted content into any AI tool like Perplexity, ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.

Review Responsible Use of Business Databases to learn how to responsibly use library resources in compliance with our license agreements.