FINDING INFORMATION ON COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES WORKSHOP
SPRING SEMESTER 2008
LIBRARIAN: Dr. Darlene Ann Parrish

The selected sources listed below are useful for finding information about public and private companies and the industries in which they operate.

ELECTRONIC DATABASES

Electronic databases provide access to articles and other types of information and are available from the FAU Libraries home page at (http://www.fau.edu/library) by selecting “Indexes/Databases” under the heading "Quick Links."

Remember to select the link for “Off Campus Connect(EZproxy)” when accessing these databases remotely.

ABI/INFORM Complete  
Provides access to magazine and journal articles on private and public companies, industries and various business topics from multiple ABI/INFORM databases including Dateline, Global, Archive, Trade & Industry and others.  It contains some full text articles.

Business and Company Resource Center
This is a good starting point for researching public and privately held companies and industries.  Reports on industries usually contain information about "top" players, company rankings, market share and other valuable information. Searches can be done by using company name, industry name or industry classification number (SIC or NAICS).

Hoover’s Company Records
Provides basic facts on 15,000 companies including some private companies. The names of the “top competitors” and any rankings (e.g. S&P 500) are also given.  This database can also be searched in ABI/INFORM Complete .

Lexis Nexis Academic
This useful resource contains very current full text articles on companies and industries.  In addition to the “Business” component, which provides information on companies, there is a "Legal" component, which gives access to articles on legal and regulatory issues, and statutory laws and court cases.

MarketLine Business Information Centre (MBIC)
This database is helpful for finding information on global issues that impact companies and industries. It provides access to current business information about companies (including those that are foreign owned) and industries in 50 countries.

Mergent Online
Provides detailed financial information on public companies, including the SEC filings, such as the 10K.  Comparison reports on competitors can also be created.

Plunkett Research
The most useful feature of this database is the access to reports dealing with “Marketing Research and Trends.” These reports include information on domestic and international markets for various industries. Another useful feature is the glossary of business terms.

ProQuest Newspapers
In addition to the Wall Street Journal, this electronic resource gives access to articles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor.  This database can also be searched in ABI/INFORM Complete.

Standard & Poor’s (S & P) NetAdvantage
Included in this database are reports on industries and public companies. The industry reports are fairly current and include information about trends and domestic and global issues of concern.

Wall Street Journal (ProQuest)
This authoritative source contains full text articles, from 1984 to the present, about companies and industries, many with a global emphasis.  This database can also be searched in ABI/INFORM Complete .

WEB SITES AND OTHER RESOURCES

EDGAR Database of Corporate Information (SEC)
This is the official WEB site of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The latest and historical filings can be located by selecting the link “Search for Company Filings.”

Million Dollar Directory (REF HF5036.D82)
This paper directory is located on Reserve and contains basic information on both private and public companies.

EVALUATING INFORMATION

If you are not using one of the “Electronic Databases” listed above or other databases via the FAU Libraries Electronic Collection, you may want to consider some of the following questions when evaluating information from the Internet:

1. How authoritative is the source of the information?
2. How accurate is the information?
3. How reliable is the information?
4. How current is the information?
5. How relevant is the information to my topic?

CITING REFERENCES

BF76.7.P83 2001 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
5th ed. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2001.

A Guide to Writing Research Papers is a helpful online source that is based on the APA style manual.

FINDING ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

Ask-A-Librarian email reference help

Reference desk phone number: 561-297-3785

Make an appointment with a librarian: One-on-one reference consultation