Bluegrass Business Development Partnership

Partnerships

Learn about our Partners >

Contact Information

Key Resources 

The following are key research resources that could be available on-line or at your local public or University/ college library. 

The best resource is your reference librarian!

SECI/EDGAR – On-Line Usually Available at a Library

SEC Filings and Forms: Includes publicly traded companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Freely available resource: www.sec.gov (10-K annual report includes Business section, Financial Statements and MD&A; for foreign companies, see: 20-F)

SEDAR – On-Line Usually Available at a Library

(System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval) by Canadian Securities Administrators: This freely available Canadian resource facilitates the electronic filing of securities information as required by the securities regulatory agencies in Canada; allows for the public dissemination of Canadian securities information collected in the securities filing process. Freely available: www.sedar.com
 
FACTIVA – On-Line Usually Available at a Library

(Dow Jones & Reuters Business Interactive LLC): Provides financial data and other information on U.S. and international companies; limited information on larger private companies.

LEXIS-NEXIS ACADEMIC SEARCH -  On-Line Usually Available at a Library

Under “Academic Search Forms”, select: Business. You can locate Company information files and news/journal articles in this section. Also included is a file for larger private companies. Click “Source List” link to find out more about each resource. The Business section includes: Industry and Market, Company Financial Reports, Company Profiles and Compare Companies.

MERGENT ONLINE -– On-Line Usually Available at a Library

Data on NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ exchange and international companies: Click on
Enter Mergent Online (one user at a time).

Private Company Resources

• Step 1 - Try to locate the company’s web site. Many private companies share some information about their business via the Internet, mostly for marketing, sales or PR purposes.
• Step 2 - Private companies are often included in state or local directories, such as those listed in this guide. Financial estimates on sales, employees, etc. may be available.
• Step 3 - Use electronic business journal databases, especially those that include either local newspapers or trade publications, such as those listed in this guide.

DUN & BRADSTREET MILLION DOLLAR DIRECTORY

Five-volume set, includes alphabetical, geographic and SIC listings. Check your library reference desk.

DUN & BRADSTREET REGIONAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Three-volume directory; includes public and private companies; covers SIC, alphabetical and geographic listings. Check your library reference desk.

Journal Databases

BUSINESS SOURCE PREMIER (EBSCO)

Provides full text for over 8,800 scholarly business journals and other sources. This database offers information in nearly every area of business including management, economics, finance, accounting, international business, and more. This database also includes detailed company profiles. Company Profiles Datamonitor Report (Ex.: Toyota) - a company profile which includes company overview, business description, history, employees, products and services, SWOT analysis, competitors, etc.
Industry Articles (Ex.: Automobiles): industry profiles, SWOT, country reports, market research reports (secondary data), and product reviews.

ABI/INFORM GLOBAL

(Proquest) (1971 - current; updated monthly)
Abstracting and full-text access to over 1,800 periodicals covering business conditions, trends, management techniques, corporate strategies, and industry-specific topics worldwide.

LEXIS-NEXIS

Over 5,000 publications (mostly full-text, some abstracted).

FACTIVA

(Dow Jones & Reuters) provides searchable full-text to continuously updated newswires, trade magazines, and newspapers from around the globe.

Newspapers/Journals/Trade Publications

• These online databases are helpful when looking for private and public company news, industry/market news, as well news stories on marketing topics.

LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER (full-text database from 1983 -current)

LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL (full-text database from 1999-current)

NEW YORK TIMES (1851-2001; current years covered by Lexis-Nexis) Full-text from Proquest.

WALL STREET JOURNAL (1984-current) Full text (with abstracts) from Proquest/ABI / Inform Global. Updated daily.

LEXIS-NEXIS: (first select from the left: News and then use the pull-down menus to choose U.S. News; and then either regional or state news or Business News)

KENTUCKY BUSINESS DIRECTORY 2005/2006

Arranged by city, by yellow page category, by major employers, manufacturers, and
Executives. Check your library reference desk.

POLK CITY DIRECTORY

These sets include several Kentucky cities and Cincinnati. They include alphabetical and yellow page listings for public and private companies. Check your library reference desk.

LEXIS-NEXIS

Business - Company Profiles - Private Companies

Industry Information

• These resources include industry overviews, recent developments, economic census statistics, and industry norms and ratios measuring solvency, efficiency and profitability. World-wide industry growth rates and other statistics are also included. (See: Standard and Poor’s GICS index, Global Industry Classification Standard, in S&P Industry Surveys).

STANDARD & POOR’S INDUSTRY SURVEYS

Three-volume set, published quarterly, covers 52 major industries. Each survey discusses current environment, industry profile, trends and how industry operates. Also includes: industry ratios and statistics, and GICS. Check your library reference desk.
 

INDUSTRY NORMS AND KEY BUSINESS RATIOS, 1988

(Dun & Bradstreet) includes statistics over 800 lines of business by SIC, #O100-8999.
Check your library reference desk.

RMA ANNUAL STATEMENT STUDIES, 1977

U.S. Census Bureau: ECONOMIC CENSUS

ACCESS WORLD NEWS

(News Bank) (Dates of coverage vary by publication; updated daily) provides searchable, full-text access to almost 500 U. S. newspapers; complete title list available by state and country.  AWN also covers almost 250 foreign titles. The sources are English-language newspapers, including the London Times, China Daily, Times of India and the Nation from Kenya. (Spanish-language editions of the newspapers are also included, such as the Miami Herald’s El Nuevo Herald).

Market Share, Target Market, Consumer Behavior and Buying Habits

• The Libraries’ collections also include a wide range of market research information in print format. Some of these resources will be helpful for your research topic.

BRANDS AND THEIR COMPANIES / by Thomson-Gale vol. 1-2,2005 Check your library reference desk.

MARKET SHARE REPORTER I by Gale Research vol.1-2, 2005 Check your library reference desk.

AMERICAN MARKETPLACE: DEMOGRAPHICS AND SPENDING PATTERNS:
New Strategist. Check your library reference desk.

AMERICAN GENERATIONS: WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY LIVE, WHAT THEY THINK:
Susan Mitchell. Check your library reference desk.

BEST CUSTOMERS: DEMOGRAPHICS OF CONSUMER DEMAND:
New Strategist Publications. Check your library reference desk.

DEMOGRAPHICS USA / MARKET STATISTICS - Check your library reference desk.

US Census Bureau

Consumer Expenditure Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm
Information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and families/single consumer characteristics.