1. Strategy Field Study - 601 Library Research Workshop
Sophie Bury| Business Librarian & Head | Bronfman Business Library |
Stephanie Quail| Business
Librarian | Bronfman Business
Library |
Fall 2015
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2. Workshop agenda Jumping off points for 601 research at the library
Organizing your research from the get go: Citation management tools
Company research
Articles research
Industry research
Market research
Statistics and data sources
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3. Libraries’ web site www.library.yorku.ca
Access Business Library using Library Branches menu choices
Use search box to find books, journals or databases
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4. Bronfman business library http://www.library.yorku.ca/web/bbl/
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5. Organizing your research from the get go: Citation management tools
Proper citation is important for all work, whether from a print , electronic, or web resource. 
Style Guides & Writers' Manuals (APA, MLA and more): Provides some tools and manuals to help you with citing sources in papers.
Business Citation Guide using APA or MLA style from the Bronfman Business Library
Citation Management Tool supported by the Bronfman librarians:
Zotero User Guide
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6. Company Research
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7. Public vs private companies: what kind of information can you expect to find
Publicly-Traded
Private
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Key question to consider as you begin your research is: What type of company am I dealing with and how will that affect the amount of information I am likely to find about it?
Have the list of companies you are working with – some are publicly traded, some are subsidiaries of a parent, some are private, some are non-profit. Tailor as appropriate. Which type easiest to find information about? (ask them)
Publicly-traded: are traded on stock exchanges or over-the-counter and are subject to regulation by securities commissions/authorities. They are required by law to report publicly and to provide annual reports to shareholders. You will find lots of information on public companies including a mission statement, company profile and history, the executives and officers of the company, a business description, brief product descriptions, stock information, financial statements and ratios, recent developments, career information, community relations/corporate social responsibility statements, etc.
Private company information is much more difficult to find. You may find a profile, contact information, senior executives, brief business description, date of incorporation, and sometimes broad annual sales/revenue estimates that are self-reported.
Core Resource: Company Research Guide available from the Bronfman Business Library home page

8. Public Company filings – Annual reports and more
Mergent Online
International
Click on the reports link for the selected company
Lexis Nexis Securities Mosaic
North American - SEDAR & EDGAR
SEDAR
Canada
EDGAR
United States
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Explain that they may not get all the filings on a company web site.
If they want to be sure they get all filings and an archive use the sites where companies must file by law.
companies that report to the Canadian Securities Administrator, e.g. those listed on the TSX, must file annual reports, quarterly statements, management discussion and more on SEDAR . Similarly companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges must file their documents on the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) EDGAR database. Please note annual reports on EDGAR are actually 10-K documents and not the traditional annual report. They contain much more information. If you are looking for annual reports for companies outside of North America, Mergent Online is recommended.
Using one of their companies show how SEDAR can be used to find an annual report. Mention we’ll get to Mergent Online later.
Check out:Guide to finding annual reports/filings

9. Key library databases – Publicly traded companies
Mergent Online
International coverage
Publicly-traded companies
Factiva
Click on companies/markets tab to search for companies
Marketline Advantage
Useful for SWOTs and case studies
Lexis Nexis Academic
Useful for SWOTs
For more information see the: Publicly-traded companies section of our company research guide
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10. Key library resources – Private companies
Hoovers
Publicly traded and private companies
International coverage
PrivCo
Over 400,000 private companies
Canadian Company Capabilities
Canadian coverage
Detailed search supports searching by NAICS code and many other criteria
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11. Sophie

12. Key library resources - Private companies
NetAdvantage
U.S. coverage
Select Directories - > Click on the option to search by private companies which appears under Register of Corporations, Executives and Directors
Bronfman Business Library: Reference Collection
Scott’s Directories T 12.5 C22 O6
Ontario Business to Business Sales and Marketing Directory HF 3229 O5 O56
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For more information see the: Private companies section of our company research guide

13. Industrial classification codes
Industrial classification codes group together companies based on the goods and services produced.
SIC codes are used in a number of databases and print reference resources. In some cases, the SIC codes used in Canada differ from those used in the U.S. A print version of the SIC table of codes is found in the Canadian Key Business Directory available in the Bronfman Business Library Reference Room. SIC codes for Canada are also available on Statistics Canada's web site .
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industrial classification system common to Canada, United States and Mexico. Gradually, the SIC system will be phased out in favour of the NAIC system. There are some national differences however so if questions arise you will need to refer to:
Canada - NAICS Canada 2012
U.S. Census Bureau: NAICS
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There are some other codes systems e.g. MSCI/S&P: GICS
or BIC in Bloomberg
Check out the: Industry codes section of our company research guide

14. Competitor analysis
Most company databases allow you to search by industrial code
Or search a competitor you know of and look for a link to a competitors listing. 1 2
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Check out the: Competitors section of our company research guide

15. Companies – Specialized research areas
ESG performance Example: Sustainalytics and Bloomberg (check FA for company and then choose ESG tab)
Financial Analysis Check out our finance guide for information on how to find financial statements, bond and stock information, ratios and benchmarks
Analyst reports Example: Investext Plus and Lexis Nexis Academic
Supplier relationships Example: Bloomberg (Use command SPLC)
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16. Industry Research
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Core Resource: Industry Research Guide available from the Bronfman Business Library home page

17. Finding business articles relating to your company or industry
Many different kinds of articles especially scholarly, popular and trade
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Click the icon images to get to the databases!
Newspapers (primarily)

18. Identify key trade journals for your industry
Do a search for themes or trends you wish to examine in your industry using Proquest Business or Business Source Premier
Limit your search to results found in trade journals
Take note of the titles that recur frequently
Observe whether certain titles have a special focus on the industry you are interested in.
Ulrichs International Periodical Directory
This is a searchable database of information about periodicals, including trade journals, published across the globe.
Use advanced search mode to limit your search to trade journals published in Canada or the United States
Use subject or keyword terms to help you isolate those titles which focus on specific industries.
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19. Articles: Search strategy tips
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20. Industry trends and analysis
Consumer goods and services
Industrial manufacturing
Information Technology
Resource Industries: Agribusiness, energy, metals & mining
Different databases have different strengths.
Our industry research guide helps you choose the one(s) that will help you best – check out the links for different industry sectors under “Industry Reports”
Still got questions? Come to the reference desk
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21. Industry trends and analysis – Library databases Demonstrations
Consumer Goods and Services
Information Technology
Industrial manufacturing
Resource industries: mining, metals, agribusiness, utilities etc.
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Niche industries – Use IBISWorld (Canada and U. S.) or Canadean Reports (international) and First Research Reports (U.S. focus) available via Investext Plus

22. Industry associations
Associations Canada
Gateway to Associations
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23. Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a real-time financial service that provides current and historical data, news and financial analysis of companies, equities, fixed income, bonds, indices, foreign exchange, commodities, etc from various sources. Economic statistics are also available.
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24. Bloomberg Financial Analysis
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25. Bloomberg Relative Valuation
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26. Bloomberg MGMT or PEOP
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27. Bloomberg EQS
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28. Bloomberg EQS
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29. Bloomberg BI
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30. Industry regulations
Check out the: Regulatory section of our company research guide
Consult the legal experts on campus at the Osgoode Hall Law Library.
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31. Market research – Market segmentation, consumer analysis1 2 3
PMB Online
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Available in the Reference Room at the Bronfman Business Library. HF 5410 M33

32. Passport (formerly GMID)
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Use search box in top right hand area of screen to search. Useful to combine with country name.
Browse menu options

33. Market research – Market segmentation, consumer analysis
Example - Ice Cream in Canada
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Trends

34. Marketline Advantage
Five Forces Analysis is available for industries covered
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35. Market research – Demographic analysis
Passport (formerly GMID)
Useful for demographic analysis at national level Countries and Consumers - > Consumer Trends & Lifestyles
FP Markets. Canadian Demographics. BBL Ref Room. HF 5349 C2 2012
Very useful for current population estimates for census metropolitan areas in Canada.
Census Profiles
Now contains data released from the 2011 census
Can search by place name, postal code or geographic code.
Toronto Neighbourhoods
PMB Online
Use to retrieve data on Canadian consumer patterns and media habits. Can browse by product, activity, or service category options provided. Gives demographic information by province and key cities for individual product/service/activity categories, e.g. answers questions such as which age groups of Canadians are most likely to drink tea?
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36. Use Internet Explorer or Firefox. Chrome will not work.
PMB Online
Use Internet Explorer or Firefox. Chrome will not work.
Product category example: Toothpaste
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Lifestyle/Attitudes is new this year and you can find everything you need for PMB Spring including demographics. Within the reports once you generate one, you have the option in the drop down menu under demographics to select lifestyle and attitudes as well.

37. Assume you want to explore market for natural toothpaste.
PMB Online
Assume you want to explore market for natural toothpaste.
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Click on any of the items (in blue) in the columns beside “natural” to get specific demographics

38. Simply Map Canada
Includes demographic estimates (very current) from Environics Analytics and Census data from 2006 and Allows you to create maps and tables for geographic areas in Canada using demographic variables.
Includes data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending and allows you to create maps or tables using selected variables for provinces, census metropolitan areas, zip codes and more.
Allows you to geolocate businesses in a specific industry using NAICS code and other search options.
Features handy wizards and export features
Simply Map Demo
Simply Map Guide with business research scenarios
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39. Steps for creating a table where using Simply Map’s psychographic data, i.e. PRIZM C2 Data (Marketer’s Handbook 2014, Environics Analytics)
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40. Statistics and data Data & Statistics by Walter Giesbrecht
Statistics Canada
CANSIM
SDA
ODESI
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41. CANSIM – StatCan’s Key Socioeconomic database
Over 40 million time series and thousands of tables
Updated daily
Provides search and browse facilities
Freely accessible via Statistics Canada and CHASS
It can be used to
Track trends
Analyze market potential
Study economic activity
Make investment decisions
Evaluate social conditions
Conduct feasibility studies
Forecast economic conditions
Plan programs or services
Profile demographics
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42. Most frequently retrieved series by academia
Search by text, tables or time series numbers
Browse by subjects, keywords, surveys, table titles/numbers
Various download formats
Some key concepts:
Table – made up of series
Dimension – a checklist of factors/categories or variables
Series: statistics over time for a combination of dimension members/values, e.g. strawberries produced in Ontario in the past 20 years.
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43. 24/7 and on/off campus access Get familiar with a survey effortlessly
Covers over 700 common StatCan PUMFs e.g. Census, SHS, SLID, GSS, CCHS etc.
24/7 and on/off campus access
Get familiar with a survey effortlessly
Browse/search variables within a study
View codebook/frequencies
Web-based Statistical Analysis - without standalone statistics software.
Frequencies & Crosstabulation
Comparison of means
Correlations
Multiple Regression
More
Data download facilities
Whole file/subsetting
Various download formats: SAS/SPSS/Stata/Excel
totinc(r: ; ; ; ; ; *)
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44. With extensive collections of polling and social survey data
A web-based data exploration, extraction and analysis tool
Allows searching of survey questions (variables)
Supports basic tabulation and analysis online
Allows downloading of most datasets in various formats
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45. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION – Questions?
Business librarians are available to help you:
at the reference desk
or by chat reference at
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