Business Librarian
Online office hours for Spring 2021
Webex office hours:
- 9:30-11:30 a.m.-noon Mondays
- 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays
- 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays
Find Analyst Reports
Designed for investors, reports from financial, investment, and market intelligence research analysts contain specialized information regarding industry performance.
Corporate information centers might have similar subscriptions. Alternatively, you can purchase relevant reports a la carte.
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ProcurementIQContent type(s): Analyst reports that assist with buying decisions in supply chains and sourcing.
Dates covered: Current -
GartnerContent types: Analyst reports, news, case studies, best practices, market analysis
Dates covered: 1997-present
NOTE: You will be asked to enter your JMU eID/password. Once you sign in, please do NOT create an individual user account.
Other analyst groups that you might encounter (but that JMU doesn't have access to) include Forester, FirstResearch, Plunkett Research Online, etc.
Find News
Find News: Search Databases
JMU subscription databases aggregate articles from multiple publications. Search for industry trends or mentions of your client.
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FactivaContent type(s): Business news sources, company press releases, and analyst reports
Dates covered: Current
This tutorial shows how to search in Factiva. -
Access World NewsContent types: Articles from U.S. and international news sources, including Virginia newspapers like the Daily News Record.
Dates covered: 1950-present (dependent on publication) -
Business Source CompleteContent types: Peer-reviewed journals, industry and market research reports, magazines, news sources, SWOTS
Dates covered: 1922-present
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Google NewsAggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.
Note: You may run into paywalls when you try to access full-text of articles. See if JMU Libraries has full-text access for you. -
How to Create Google AlertsGet emails when new results for a topic show up in Google Search. For example, you can get info about companies, products, or mentions of your name.
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JMU Libraries JournalsOverwhelmed by the search results in a database?
Browse through journals instead using the periodical locator.
Find an Industry Association
Industry or trade associations "represent the interests of the member firms of an industry" (Entrepreneur, n.d.). They might lobby for industry interests with governments, provide resources to members, or publish reports. Some information is available free via websites or journals.
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Select USA: Industry spotlightsThis site from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce gives an overview of industry trends and lists trade groups.
Other tips for finding industry associations
Here are some Google searches that will often yield interesting trade associations:
[Product or Industry] + (organization OR association)
- Example: "higher education" (organization OR association)
Trade association [your industry]
- Example: Trade association journalism
Find financial information
Public companies
Information is much easier to find because of required SEC reporting. Try these tools and search by company name.
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Mergent OnlineU.S. and international publicly-held company data and reports.
Private companies
Usually require us to use industry financial benchmarks
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Data Axle Reference SolutionsFormerly known as ReferenceUSA. Directory of U.S. businesses (key personnel, addresses, credit rating, sales, subsidiaries, etc).
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OwlerProvides news alerts, company profiles, and polls on companies. Good for private companies and startups.
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BizMinerWhen researching private companies, you might not have detailed financial information. Instead you can use industry benchmarks from this source if you know how much in annual revenue.
University finances
This will also depend on whether the university is public or private.
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Integrated Post-Secondary Education Statistics (IPEDS)The statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. It is independent and non-partisan
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How do I get data about my college? Tips for journalism students on higher education sources, databasesAimed at student journalists, but it contains several suggestions for how to research a college or university.
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JMU Annual Financial StatementsOther public universities will post similar documents, though the office that oversees them might go by different titles.
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The Breeze: JMU Salary DatabaseMany local news organizations post salary or budget databases for the colleges or universities they cover. See which news organization covers your university and search their website.