This world-wide financial crisis is really harshing my mellow.
Companies and industries are changing so quickly, and I’m finding it difficult and frustrating to do research. For example, my usual favorite for industry research is the wondrous IBISWorld. But IBISWorld is updated every four months. That’s terrific most of the time, but not useful to me these days. IBISWorld’s Real Estate Loans and Credit Lines Industry Report from July 18th, 2008? I’m, like, whatevs. Like that’s going to help me.
So what’s a library user to do?
Here are some of my current databases of choice:
Hoovers
For company information, Hoovers is really stepping up to the plate. Their company information is updated as events happen and is a reliable source for who’s buying out whom. The information isn’t all that in-depth, but it is current.
Factiva
Factiva is also leading the charge for up-to-date information. For stock prices and analysis, use the “Companies/Markets” tab at the top (and check out the interactive charts and graphs). You can also use the “News Pages” link to see the day’s major business newspapers and journals all in one place.
Business & Company Resource Center
Up-to-the-minute industry information is hard to come by these days. Business & Company Resource Center can help. Do an “articles” search within the database for the industry. For example, you can do a search for “Airline Industry” or “Real Estate Industry.” This will give you articles from newspapers, trade journals, and other publications. It’s not as quick and easy as IBISWorld’s reports, but you’ll know the information is current and correct.
For up-to-date resources and in-depth coverage from many sources, check out this pathfinder from our librarian-friend Louise Feldmann at Colorado State University:
Financial Crisis Pathfinder
http://libguides.colostate.edu/financialcrisis
* Originally published on October 17, 2008. Special archived addition of the LIB-BIZ-KIT Archives. Updates are usually added a 4-month lag. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
The LIB-BIZ-KIT “WHAT’S HOT FOR SUMMER 2008” LIST!!!!
10. Miniature horses
9. Potted ferns
8. Seersucker suits (for the ladies and the gents)
7. Spinach
6. The Apu Trilogy
5. Peppermint Bon Bon ice cream
4. Tammy Wynette/George Jones duets
3. Gin gimlets
2. The Sunday Jumble
1. The Economist Historical Backfile
That is correct, LIB-BIZ-KIT-TEERS. The number one hottest item for Summer 2008 is the Drexel University Library’s new subscription to The Economist Historical Backfile!
The Economist Historical Backfile contains every issue, page, word, and image published in The Economist from 1843-2003. It’s the obvious go-to database for articles from The Economist. But it’s useful for so much more.
It can also be used to find high-definition pdfs of advertisements. I found some by doing a search like this: advertisement and general electric.
Many tables can be exported into Excel. See a chart that looks helpful to your class project? You’ll see a purple box on the right of your search results that will let you know if that particular table can be exported.
Finally, The Economist Historical Archive is Hot Hot Hot for Summer 2008 because of its awesome search feature, which manages to be both simple and powerful.
You can do a quick keyword search: Economic Monetary Union
Or you can do a fairly complicated search:
Michael Jordan and (promotion* or advertis*)
How to find The Economist Historical Archive:
1. Go to www.library.drexel.edu
2. Click on: Databases/Articles (in the green box)
3. Click on Business & Economics or browse by title
* Originally published on Friday, May 9, 2008. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
What is a Global Road Warrior?
In my mind, a Global Road Warrior must look something like its cousin the American Gladiator, complete with nutty name, superhuman muscles, and, naturally, a sparkly spandex unitard.
Global Road Warrior is also the name of a new electronic resource here at the Drexel University Libraries. It’s hard to get past the name, but if you do, you’ll find some excellent and interesting information.
Created by the analysts and researchers at World Trade Press, Global Road Warrior contains detailed international trade and business travel information for 175 countries. It works well as a companion to CountryWatch. Global Road Warrior has a little more hands-on information, but it’s a little lighter on the economic indicators. For each country, Global Road Warrior provides detailed information on topics including business and societal culture, security briefings, information specifically for businesswomen, and essential terms. It’s an easy-to-use, must-see resource for international business and travel.
To find Global Road Warrior
Go to: www.library.drexel.edu
Click on Databases/Articles
Use the Databases by Title listing
* Originally published on April 4, 2008 For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
The Drexel University Libraries has a new subscription to the database: IBISWorld Industry Market Research Reports.
Use these reports when you want a current in-depth overview of a particular industry. I especially like these reports for their specificity. Want an industry report on Luggage and Leathergoods Stores or on Flour Milling and Malt Manufacturing? Look no further!
The reports cover over 700 US industries (at the 5-digit NAICS level) and provide key statistics (including some industry ratios), market characteristics (including market share), segmentation, industry conditions, and industry outlook. You can search by NAICS code or by keyword. It’s very easy to browse report titles as well.
Reports are about 25-40 pages in length and are updated every 4 months.
To find IBISWorld
Go to www.library.drexel.edu
Click Databases/Articles
Click Business & Economics
Click IBISWorld
Note: If you are off campus, you will be asked for your last name and your Drexel ID number.
* Originally published on May 11, 2006. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
The other day, I was manning the reference desk with Drexel’s engineering librarian Jay Bhatt. Jay was helping a student learn to use library resources, and as they were finishing up, Jay asked the student, “So, what do you think about Google now?”
Music swelled and the student looked up with tears in his eyes. “As God as my witness, I’ll never use Google again,” he promised.
Or something like that happened — perhaps not quite that melodramatic.
Even though librarians are always directing our patrons to other resources, Google is an important research tool.
Here are a few effective ways to use Google for business research:
- To look at public companies’ annual reports to share holders.
- To find a professional association helpful to your research.
- To make sure that you have a correct citation for an article – you’d be amazed by how many times these are slightly wrong.
- To find a local chamber of commerce for a city you’re researching
- To locate an image
- To effectively navigate through online government publications, including the Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Google isn’t always the answer, but it certainly makes sense to use this valuable resource judiciously.
* Originally published on February 28, 2006. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
I really should have thought of this before.
We’re always on the lookout for articles.
Articles about the effects of computer use on earning in Italy.
Articles from Fast Company about prediction on the next New Killer App.
Articles about online political advertising in South Dakota.
Articles from the newest Harvard Business Review about global warming.
In order make it possible for all of us to search less and find more, I’ve created a new subject guide just for finding business-related articles. Here you’ll find the best databases for academic, trade, and news articles pertaining to business-related subjects.
You can find it here:
Go to www.library.drexel.edu
Click on “Business” in the green box.
The guide is called “Business Articles”
PS. While you’re there, you may want to take a look at some of the other research guides for business. I use them all the time. And you should, too.
* Originally published on September 28, 2007. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
This year, I have a very special new valentine.
My valentine is named Global Market Information Database, but I like to call him by his nickname: GMID.
GMID is the best! He is so helpful and knowledgeable!
GMID knows all about international industries, countries, and consumers. He showers me with daily articles about global news events and lovingly provides me with endless statistics and research reports from over 200 countries.
He’s the perfect blend of the quantitative and the qualitative!
I would like you to meet GMID.
He can be found at www.library.drexel.edu Click on "Find Databases/Journal Articles"
Search for Global Market Information Databases.
A few tips about getting to know GMID:
1) GMID is menu-driven. That means that you can’t really keyword search to find what you’re looking for. Take a look at the search choices on the right side of the screen and you can click-click-click away until you find the information you need.
2) You may also want to skim this handy GMID user-guide. It’s just 4 pages long, but it can be really helpful to decipher GMID’s interface. http://www.euromonitor.com/pdf/GMID_User_Guide.pdf
3) By licensing agreement, GMID is only available to current Drexel faculty, students, and staff. Sorry, Alumni — even if you come to campus, you will not be granted access to GMID.
I know that the minute you meet GMID, you’ll want this database to be your valentine, too!
* Originally published on February 14, 2008. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
Looking for specific information about how a company operates can be as frustrating as searching for a needle in a haystack. Business and Company Resource Center is an excellent database to use when you are ready to stop searching and start finding.
If you’ve used Business and Company Resource Center to research a company, you probably tried a “Company” search. This makes complete sense. From this search, you probably found a lot of company basics – address, annual sales, number of employees, and a few article categories down the left side of the page. Useful, but not all that exciting.
The real magic in the database is in the “Articles” search. If you do an “Articles” search for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., for example, you will get 1175 articles. If you just want to see these articles in chronological order, just click on the “View 1175 articles” button. However, if you are looking for more specific information, click on “Narrow by Subdivision” button. This takes those 1175 articles and actually categorizes them by topic. Here you will find hard to research categories such as “human resources management,” “forecasts and trends,” and “economic aspects.”
To access Business and Company Resource Center:
1. Go to www.library.drexel.edu
2. Click on Databases/Articles
3. Choose Business and Economics
4. Click into Business and Company Resource Center
Note: if you are off campus, you will be prompted for your last name and Drexel ID number.
The “Articles” search also works for industries as well as companies. Give it a try.
* Originally published on November 17, 2005. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT .
If Dr. Gregory House was a librarian instead of a doctor, he would limp angrily through the library stacks. He would stash his Vicodin pills in books with call numbers that start with RM138.
Librarian Gregory House would slash his cane in the air, and proclaim, “Citations lie!”
And yes, he would be right. Citations do lie. In fact, they lie all the time.
To us it looked like a perfectly professional and reasonable citation. But Librarian Gregory House would jab his finger at the citation, and proclaim, “This citation is lying! Health Marketing Quarterly is a QUARTERLY publication, so it will only come out four times a year! There is no seventh issue!”
After a quick investigation, and popping a pill, Librarian Gregory House would say, “That article titled ‘Choice experiments, site similarity and benefits transfer’ from Environmental and Resource Economics was written by Robert J. JOHNSTON, not Robert J. JOHNSON.”
Frequently, at the reference desk, Librarian Gregory House would look disgusted. “Yes, Anne Perkins has an article in the Harvard Business Review called ‘Bemoaning the Rotten Client’” he would concede. “But it was written in 1993, not 1953! Citations lie!”
It would seem like magic to us — the way he’d hunt down the proper citations. But if we asked very nicely, Librarian Gregory House might explain his process for correcting faulty citations:
1. He would try to find the article with the given citation by searching for the journal using the library catalog.
2. If that search didn’t find the article, Librarian Gregory House would then try a quick Google Scholar search for the citation. He would not look for the actual article, but just a reference to the article.
3. If he found a reference to the article, he’d compare the original citation to the Googled citation to see if there were any discrepancies.
4. When faced with a particularly difficult citation case, he might call for a consult with other librarians at the reference desk, either in person, or by calling 215-895-2755.
For more about finding full article from a citation http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/tutorials/findingfulltext.html
Google Scholar
scholar.google.com
For more about House
http://www.fox.com/house/
*Originally published on October 19, 2007. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT.
drexbizlibrarian: JTLYK, I am signed up for both
drexbizlibrarian: Yahoo Instant Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger.
drexbizlibrarian: Maybe it’s NBD, but it is time I get on with the 21st Century.
drexbizlibrarian: I will be on IM generally on weekdays from 8am to 5pm
drexbizlibrarian: Of course, we can also meet F2F either at my office – Room 315 Hagerty Library
drexbizlibrarian: Or talk OTP at 215-895-6164.
drexbizlibrarian: BTW you can speak to a reference librarian at the reference desk 7 days a week, including weekday evenings and weekends.
drexbizlibrarian: 215-895-2755 or qmlib@drexel.edu
drexbizlibrarian: TTYL 
Yahoo IM: drexbizlibrarian
AOL IM: drexbizlibrarian
* Originally published on July 21, 2006. For business research tips & tricks in real-time, subscribe to LIB-BIZ-KIT.
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