Business Librarian
price2el@jmu.edu
Online office hours for Summer 2020
Ms. Price's office hours:
on chat or via WebEx:
- 7-9 p.m. Mondays
- 10 a.m.-noon Tuesdays
- 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays
via email:
- about 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday
- Sundays from 2-6 p.m.
Class activity
We'll use this Google quiz to explore this research guide.
Investigate your industry
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.
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JMU Libraries JournalsOverwhelmed by the search results in a database?
Browse through journals instead using the periodical locator.
To identify leading trade journals and their publications for a particular industry, try looking in the "Additional Resources" section of IBISWorld industry reports.
Search across trade journals
JMU subscription databases aggregate articles from multiple publications. Search for industry trends or mentions of your client.
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Regional Business NewsFull text for more than 80 regional US and Canadian business publications, newspapers, and newswires.
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Business Source CompleteIndexing and full text for periodicals and news sources covering all aspects of business, including business, country economic reports, company profiles, market research reports, industry reports, and SWOT analyses.
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FactivaBusiness resources including full text periodicals, news photographs, company reports, and financial data.
Use your NAICS
Remember that your company's NAICS code can help you find useful information. Use ReferenceUSA to get that information.
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ReferenceUSADirectory of U.S. businesses (key personnel, addresses, credit rating, sales, subsidiaries, etc) and households (name, address, and phone number, census data for the household's area).
Use specialized reports
JMU subscribes to these resources. Corporate information centers may have similar subscriptions, or you or you can check with local public or state libraries to see if they provide access. Alternatively, you can purchase relevant reports a la carte.
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ProcurementIQReports help inform supply chain and sourcing professionals who make buying decisions.
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GartnerFull text Gartner Group research documents on information technology management.
Note: You will be asked to enter your JMU eID and password. Once you sign in with eid/password, please do NOT create an individual user account.
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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Rank and FiledContent type(s): Visualization of SEC Filings including influence of a company, shows interconnected companies and directors including board memberships.
Dates covered: 1994 to present
Private companies
Usually require us to use industry financial benchmarks
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ReferenceUSADirectory of U.S. businesses (key personnel, addresses, credit rating, sales, subsidiaries, etc) and households (name, address, and phone number, census data for the household's area).
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Mergent IntellectCan be used to triangulate data/information about private companies.
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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.
Identify local media
News and legal databases
These JMU databases can help you overcome paywalls to look up articles about people, companies, or industries.
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Nexis UniContains several full-text databases: current news, laws and legislation, business and company information, country and state profiles, tax information, biographies, and more.
Use alert systems to notify you of new articles
Set alerts to follow the local news organizations that regularly cover your company.
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2018 Virginia Total Media DirectoryA list of newspapers operating throughout Virginia.
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Virginia Association of Broadcasters (Radio & Television)Search for radio and TV stations in Virginia.