As you begin, part of the process will be to understand the competition. You need to answer the question, "How does my idea fit within the industry." Your product or service should stand out from its peers. In any presentation to investors you must have a clear understanding of your competition.
The following resources offer avenues into industry research:
Some questions to consider: What are the trends that affect your industry? What are the government regulations that affect your ability to enter your industry? What are the key industry associations?
Use the links below to access OhioLINK, Ritter Library, and Cleveland Public Library databases that are appropriate for conducting research on Business topics. Some of these databases are to be used to find citations to articles in periodicals. Others provide company profiles, histories, financials, etc. Many of the cited articles will be available for viewing, downloading, or printing from within the citation. If the article is not available in the database that you're in, use 'Full Text through LinkSource' to find the article in another database or to see if Ritter Library owns a print copy of the periodical. If the article is not available electronically or owned by Ritter Library in print, you can request a copy using the Interlibrary Loan Form.
Off-campus access: When selecting a database you will be prompted to enter your BW username and password.
BizMiner produces granular industry statistical reports. BizMiner provides industry financial analysis benchmarks for over 5,000 lines of business and industry market trends on thousands more. Market analysis reports are available at the national and local levels down to the zip code.
A scholarly business database providing bibliographic and full text content. Business Source Complete provides full text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. Business Source Complete contains indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886, searchable cited references for many journals, and detailed author profiles for the most-cited authors in the database.
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. They deliver the technology-related insight necessary for their clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, they are the valuable partner to clients in over 9,000 distinct enterprises worldwide. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, they work with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA., and has 6,400 associates, including more than 1,480 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries.
IBISWorld provides a comprehensive collection of Industry Market Research reports for over 700 U.S. and global industries.
Mergent First Research delivers clear, consistent and timely Industry Intelligence via:
- Over 900 Industry Segments, updated constantly with monthly statistics and indicators as well as quarterly trend updates, giving you the knowledge you need to win and keep engagements.
- Call Prep Sheets to quickly prepare for sales calls when time is limited.
- State Profiles to monitor monthly employment, business and real estate trends in each of the 50 US states.
Covers over 50,000 US and foreign public companies, current and historical (past 15 years) firm descriptions, statistics, financial information and ratios, annual reports, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, long-term debt, capital stock, and insider trading. Provides tools for both interactive online research and easy predefined report access. Tools and reports are reflected across multiple product modules including Company, Sustainability, Industry, Country and Economic analysis.
Mergent Online is a suite of global business and financial information products, including U.S. and international company data and annual reports.
Provides access to all detailed company information, such as institutional holdings, insider transactions, more financial years displayed for detailed perspective on a company's financial position, and colour images in the U.S. and International Annual Reports module.
Includes access to over 5,600 news, business, legal, medical and reference publications (most full-text, the rest abstracted), primarily newspapers, magazines and journals. Covers local, regional and international newspapers (in English and non-English languages). Includes broadcast transcripts, case law, legal codes, regulations, Shepard's Citations to Supreme Court cases (back to 1789), company financial information, and SEC filings and reports.
Academic Search Complete , designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most comprehensive scholarly, multidisciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. This scholarly collection offers full text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including: archaeology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, physics, psychology, religion & theology, women's studies, and other fields.
Cleveland Public Library offers additional options for research databases. Please consider obtaining a Cleveland Public Library card online at www.cpl.org or in person at a local branch. Anyone can obtain a card at no charge and once obtained will provide access to their suite of databases. If you already have a Clevenet card you may access some of the Cleveland Public databases, but a few require a CPL card. If you have a question or need directions to a branch contact CPL at 216-623-2800.
