How Do I Research Any Country?

Do you know of a country that you and several others are researching? Please use Ask a Librarian to let us know. We will make a guide for you!

Current Events and Media

Internet Public Library: Newspapers
Online collection of newspapers from around the world

BBC Country Profiles – general profile with links to media outlets and related news

Communication and Mass Media Complete
Find articles about communication, mass media and closely related fields of study about the country. Simply enter the name of the country as a search term about the media type. For example:

Country Overviews

Quickly find the most information about a country from a collection of profiles that range from quick factual information and history to analysis of an economy.

Business Source Complete
This database has reports from major research and marketing firms, like Datamonitor, Global Insight, OECD Economic Surveys, Country Watch, and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

  1. Type the name of your country in the search box.
  2. In the Search Options area, select "Country Report" from the Publication Type drop-down menu.
  3. Click Search.

Global Market Information Database
Country Factfiles contain overview information about geography, government, political risk, international disputes, main industries, the economy, a statistical summary, and the latest import and export highlights.

  1. Click on Geographies
  2. Click on the region
  3. Click on country name
  4. Under Country Factfile, click on Read more

LexisNexis Academic
The country profiles section of LexisNexis allows you to limit country searches to Business Opportunities, Risk Reports, or Economic & Political News.

  1. Select the country's name from the first drop-down menu in the "Research Countries" box.
  2. Select a source from the second drop-down menu.
  3. Click the blue "Go" button.
  4. Use the categories on the left side of the results screen to refine your results.

Websites:

Culture and Lifestyles

Learn about culture, traditions, customs, consumer lifestyles, and business style in a particular country.

CultureGrams
Country reports on 187 cultures of the world.

  1. Click on World Edition
  2. Click on the region
  3. Click on the country name

Global Market Information Database
Find reports on the day-to-day life and spending habits of people in your country.

  1. Click on Consumers at the top
  2. Under Consumer Lifestyles, select the country name

Websites:

E-books and Books
The following books and e-books about intercultural communication have chapters on individual countries, regional patterns, or elements of communication.

Search for other e-books and books about intercultural communication. Several focus on individual countries or discuss culture in the context of working with others and cultural intelligence. (How do I find books/videos?)

Regulation and Laws

Supplement the information about the political and legal environment found in country or industry profiles with ease-of-doing-business rankings, a law library, and links to legal resources.

LexisNexis Academic
Find information on legation, cases, acts and treaties.

  1. Click "International Law" at the left side of the screen
  2. Click on European Union, Commonwealth & Foreign Nations
  3. Select the Natural Language radio button
  4. Check the appropriate box under sources
  5. Enter the country name and click on Search

Search for law reviews covering International Law:

  1. Click on Legal in the top navigation bar
  2. Select the Natural Language radio button
  3. Select International Law from the drop-down menu
  4. Enter the country name and click on Search

Tip: Industry overviews sometimes cover legal or regulatory issues affecting that industry. (How do I find industry information?)

Markets and Industries

Use these techniques to find market and industry information by country in several management databases. For more research techniques use How do I find industry information?

Global Market Information Database
Using the Geographies link from the top menu will take you to a home page for the country where you can easily access the latest reports, statistics, and trends.

  1. Click on Geographies
  2. Click on the region
  3. Click on the country name
  4. From that page, use the menus on the left to access the category search

Tips:If you are not sure of what category to use, click on Support in the top navigation bar (on the right), then the Definitions tab to find descriptions of the categories. You can also type a key word in the "Find Category" box at the bottom of the page.

Business Source Complete
Search for articles in Business Source Complete and add the country name to your search terms. For example:

Statistics about a country

National statistical agencies and other government websites can provide demographic, labor, consumer spending, education, trade, and economic information about the country.

Global Market Information Database
Search for statistics about a particular country:

  1. Click on Search
  2. Click on Text Search
  3. Under Search Within,uncheckReports & Information Sources
  4. Enter the country name your search term
  5. Click on GO

Compare multiple countries and geographic regions:

  1. Under Search CountriesorSearch Consumers (left menu), click on a category of statistics.
  2. Use the expand icons to browse for a category
  3. Look for the statistics icon () to check a box that has data
  4. Click on Next at the bottom of the screen
  5. Use the expand icons to browse and one or more countries
  6. Click on Run Search at the bottom of the screen

Finance and Accounting

Find national stock exchange, finance information, and accounting regulations or journal articles.

Mint Global
Search for companies in the country based on financial criteria, like Turnover, P/L, Shareholder Funds, Total Assets, or percent growth/decrease.

  1. Click on Companies
  2. Click on Other search criteria
  3. Enter country name next to Location, or use look-up
  4. Click on the Financials & Employees tab
  5. Enter the appropriate information

Locate scanned financial reports in language of filing

  1. Click on Original Documents
  2. Enter company name or ticker symbol

Or

  1. Select the country from the drop down menu
  2. Click on Search to retrieve all reports for that country

Accounting and Tax
Search for articles that discuss the country.

  1. Add the country name to the search box
  2. Change the drop down box to Location
  3. Add additional search terms if desired

Global Market Information Database
Search for country level finance information like government expenditures, market capitalization, money supply, international liquidity, or bank reserves.

  1. Under Countries & Consumers, select "Economy, Finance and Trade."
  2. From the menu at the left side of the screen, select "Finance."
  3. Use the expand icons to browse for a category
  4. Look for the statistics icon () to check a box that has data
  5. Click on Next at the bottom of the screen
  6. Use the expand icons to browse and one or more countries
  7. Click on Run Search at the bottom of the screen

Company Information

To look for profiles or search for companies in a particular country, go to How do I find Company Information?


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