How to Find Industry Information
Here are two good databases to use to find basic information about industries:
Business & Company Resource Center
This is a helpful print source found in the Bruno Library's reference area:
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (call number REF. HC 106.6 .S74)
QUICK INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS & COMPANY RESOURCE CENTER
Use the Search box near the top of the screen. Enter a few words describing your industry and set the dropdown box to "Industry Description Search." Then hit the Search button.
If there is more than one match for your search term, a list of possible industries will appear. Choose the one that matches your industry the best. On the next screen, you will see a list of materials that provide an overview of your industry. There are several tabs across the top of the screen that you can use to get more information. For example, within "Industry Overview," there are sections for overviews and market research reports.
Just click on a tab to see the resources listed there. When you click on the "Rankings" tab, you will find sections on business rankings and market share.
Connect to Business & Company Resource Center
QUICK INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS SOURCE PREMIER
Business Source Premier offers both articles and industry reports that can provide you with important information about your industry.
From the opening search screen, click the blue "Industry Profiles" link to browse reports on hundreds of industries.
Your results list will include industry reports from several sources. Reports often contain information on market share, competition, growth forecasts, and other useful data.
Connect to Business Source Premier
QUICK INTRODUCTION TO STANDARD & POOR'S INDUSTRY SURVEYS
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys is shelved in the Bruno Library reference area under the call number REF. HC 106.6 .S74. The four most recent quarters can be found there; each quarter has three volumes. Each industry has its own chapter, and the chapters are in alphabetical order by industry name. Use the table of contents in the front of any volume to identify the chapter for your industry.
Each industry report describes conditions in the industry during the previous year and names the major competitors. Selected statistics are provided in tables and graphs. In all, twenty major industry groupings and a thousand companies are covered.
MORE INFORMATION
There are many more databases and other resources that can be used to research industries. For more information, please consult our Guide to Finding Industry Information.