How Do I Find Industry Reports?

Industry reports are often described as industry profiles or industry overviews. They provide an excellent starting place for an industry analysis.

Common elements of reports include: a definition of the industry, a description of the market, current trends, key competitors, how the industry operates, and external factors that may affect the industry, such as consumer behavior, laws and regulations, or the economy. Sometimes market share, market size, and forecasts can be found.

Keep in mind:
Some resources may define an industry in broad terms, such as retail or consumer electronics. Other resources may focus on more specific segments of an industry, like portable media players or cellular phones. Related industries may be of interest to you as well, for example, telecommunications or wireless phone services.

Find industry reports in management databases

1. Search for articles with keywords related to your industry.
2. Select the Industry Profiles

Search the Global Market Information database:

1. Click on Search in the top menu.
2. Choose Browse Analysis > Industry Reports.
3. Check the box next to your industry (Click the + for more detail. Grayed boxes have no reports).
4. Click on Run Search at the bottom.

1. Click on Search in the top menu.
2. Enter Text Search.
3. Enter search term(s) that describe your industry.
4. Click on Go.

Search the NetAdvantage database:

Watch a short tutorial on how to find industry information in the NetAdvantage database.

1. Click on the Industries button at the top of the page
2. On the Industry Research page, click on the drop box for Industry Surveys, select your industry, and click on the orange button with the forward arrow.

Search the Mint Global database:

1. Click Market Research
2. Type in a key word for the industry or click Look up
3. Click Search

Use an online reference book: Encyclopedia of American Industries and Business Plan Handbooks
This set of reference books provides industry overviews can be used as a starting point to get a general understanding of an industry or find key terms for searching elsewhere. The Business Plan Handbooks contain actual business plans compiled by entrepreneurs seeking funding.

• Search by SIC code or keyword to find industry overviews. (How do I find SIC/NAICS codes?)
• Search bykeywordto find industry overviews and sample business plans related to your business idea.

Find articles about an industry

Keep in mind:
Searching for articles in a database is a little different from using a search engine. You can often search in different fields like subject, abstract, title, or author. Always look for a Help or Tips button to find the best way to use the database.

Key article databases:

Business Source Complete
Abstracts and full text articles from scholarly and popular business, law, and computer systems periodicals.

ABI/Inform Trade and Industry Show Me
Full text articles from business magazines and newsletters with a trade or industry focus. Includes industry news, product and competitive information, and marketing trends.

Lexis/Nexis Academic Show Me
Full text documents from over 5,600 publications including newspapers, magazines, and wire services. Search U.S. federal and state case law, legal news, law reviews, and international legal information on a variety of topics.

• You can also search TV and Radio transcripts, Blogs, and Web Publications. Click on the “I” next to the options to see the sources included.

Find industry or business associations

Keep in mind:
Many association websites require membership to access all of the content.

Find associations with a directory:

• American Society of Association Executives
• Washington State Associations
• Google Directory of Associations

Search the Global Market Information database for non-US associations:

1. Click on the red Search link in the top navigation menu, and select Text Search
2. Uncheck Statistics and Reports and leave Information Sources checked
3. Enter a key word related to your industry or country and click on Go
4. Use Filter Results by Type to limit results to Trade Association

Search the NetAdvantage database:

1. Click on the Industries button at the top of the page
2. On the Industry Research page, click on the drop box for Industry Surveys, select your industry, and click on the orange button with the forward arrow.
3. Look for the Industry References section of the survey.

Use a search engine to search the internet. It’s relatively easy to search with key words for your industry then add words like:

• association
• international, national, regional
• a specific country, state, province
• a specific city, county, or region