As You Start Your Research
Certain business databases such as IBISWorld, Mergent Online and Business Source Premier allow you to search by North America Industry Classification System (NAICS). It may be useful to write these codes down as you find them when starting your research to help facilitate your search strategy.
NAICS is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. It uses a hierarchical structure comprised of main two-digit sector codes and various subsector and industry codes.
NAICS is reviewed every five years for potential revisions so that the classification system can keep pace with the changing industry. See the NAICS Update Process Sheet for more information.
See the Database Tutorials tab of this guide for short videos on some of the databases listed below.
Company Research
The resources below are most useful when you are researching a particular company.
- MarketLineFeatures company reports that include historical and background information, financial analysis, SWOT analysis, and major competitors.
Select "Companies" on the homepage and type in the name of your company. - Mergent OnlineContains detailed company financial data going back at least 15 years. Search by company or sector to view U.S. competitors in the main search box. Includes links to SEC filings, recent news reports and reports on insider and institutional owners.
- PrivCoFeatures business and financial research on non-publicly traded companies, including family-owned, private equity-owned, venture-backed, and international unlisted companies.
NOTE: Users need to first create an account using the email domain: rutgers.edu in order to use the database. - ReferenceUSADirectory database that can be used to locate companies and competitors by industry, location, and size. (e.g. large pharmaceutical companies in NJ).
Listings include internal links to subsidiary and parent companies, as well as lines of business, senior executives and their titles. All directory listings include names, addresses, telephone numbers, and an external link to a local map. - Westlaw Campus ResearchA collection of thousands of law, news, and business publications, including company information from a variety of sources, including Westlaw’s Company Investigator system.
Find Articles
The following databases provide access to thousands of business publications. Finding news and articles about a particular company, industry, or product can provide additional context and access to the most up-to-date information.
- Business Source PremierFind articles from a variety of scholarly, professional and trade publications by searching sector, industry or product name keyword(s), or indexed fields such as company, product, NAICS or subject code. Use the filters on the left side of the screen to refine your search.
- FactivaProvides access to thousands of national and international news periodicals, journals and trade publications. Contains full text articles of the The Wall Street Journal. Select the "Companies/Markets" tab at the top of the screen to find financial and stock data about a company.
- The Wall Street Journal OnlineAccess full-text news articles, columns, blogs, financial information, videos and more covering topics such as U.S. and world news, politics, technology and health. Also provides the ability to sign up for newsletter alerts.
- The New York Times OnlineCreate a NYTimes.com personal account to gain full access to NYTimes.com and The New York Times app. Also features the ability to sign up for newsletter alerts.
Industry & Market Research
The following resources are helpful for broad research across an industry or market, or for identifying competitor companies.
- IBISWorldContains detailed industry reports for over 1,200 industries operating in the U.S., China and globally. The U.S. content is further divided into state reports and economic profiles. Browse by industry category, NAICS code or search by keyword.
- MarketLineContains company, industry and market sector reports.
Start with browsing or searching under "Industries." On the search results screen, find industry reports under "Industries." - Mergent OnlineFeatures industry sector comparisons and analysis via the Industry Analysis tab at the top. You can also search for industry reports by clicking on the Investext tab.
- Mintel ReportsProduct and industry market research reports containing comprehensive marketing and consumer research data, including information on trends, demographics, and the competitive landscape, covering both the U.S. and global markets in numerous niche areas.
- StatistaIntegrates statistical data on a wide variety of topics and industries from over 18,000 sources, including market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.
Media Alerts
Several Rutgers databases allow the ability to set up news/media alerts, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Access World News and EBSCO (which includes Business Source Premier and Regional Business News).
See the Media Alert Instruction Sheet below for details.
- Media AlertsGuide to setting up news/media alerts.