1. 1 BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES MODULE 2: SEEKING FOR BUSINESS INFORMATION – SELECTED WEB-BASED INFORMATION RESOURCES EnIL International School on „Business Information Literacy”, 13-17 October 2008, Rome, Italy Dr. Sabina Cisek Associate Professor Institute of Information and Library Science, Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland sabina.cisek@uj.edu.pl

2. 2 The Module 2 structure and content Seeking for business information – selected Web-based information resources Part A: Getting started Part B: Company information Part C: Financial information Part D: Markets, marketing and international trade information

3. 3 Part A: Getting started Web searching tips General Internet resources Business information „starting points” Business dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries

4. 4 Web searching tips Do not rely on a single source –You need to cross-check information –What if it would be out of service? There are millions of search engines and other search services – global and local, general-purpose and specialized – not only Google Do not believe in everything – evaluate information and Websites Use searching functionalities – advanced search, Boolean connectors, help, operators (+, -, define), phrase searching, etc. Discussion: How to decide whether a website contains reliable information? Criteria for information evaluation?

5. 5 General Internet resources and services (I) – may be useful for business information General-purpose, global in scope, search engines/services –AltaVista http://www.altavista.com/http://www.altavista.com/ –AlltheWeb http://www.alltheweb.com/http://www.alltheweb.com/ –Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com/http://www.dogpile.com/ –Google http://www.google.com/http://www.google.com/ –Mamma http://www.mamma.com/http://www.mamma.com/ –Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/http://www.yahoo.com/ –and many, many more …

6. 6 General Internet resources and services – … (II) Quality-controlled subject/information gateways –Digital Librarian: a librarian's choice of the best of the Web http://www.digital- librarian.com/http://www.digital- librarian.com/ –Intute http://www.intute.ac.uk/http://www.intute.ac.uk/ –Librarians’ Internet Index http://lii.org/http://lii.org/ –RefDesk http://www.refdesk.com/http://www.refdesk.com/

7. 7 General Internet resources and services – … (III) Deep Web / Invisible Web search tools –CompletePlanet http://aip.completeplanet.com/http://aip.completeplanet.com/ –Deep Web Research (weblog) http://www.deepwebresearch.info/ http://www.deepwebresearch.info/ –IncyWincy: The Invisible Web Search Engine http://www.incywincy.com/default http://www.incywincy.com/default –The SearchSystems.net Public Records Directory http://www.searchsystems.net/ http://www.searchsystems.net/ Scholarly search services –Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/http://scholar.google.com/ –INFOMINE http://infomine.ucr.edu/http://infomine.ucr.edu/

8. 8 Open Access full texts – archives, digital collections, full-text databases, e-journals, repositories … DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org/ http://www.doaj.org/ Fulltext Sources Online http://www.fso- online.com/home_login.cfm?sid=14099995http://www.fso- online.com/home_login.cfm?sid=14099995 OAIster: http://www.oaister.org/http://www.oaister.org/ OpenDOAR – Directory of Open Access Repositories http://www.opendoar.org/index.html http://www.opendoar.org/index.html

9. 9 Business information „starting points” – specialized search engines, subject gateways and Web directories – business, economics, management (I) AllBuziness: http://www.allbuziness.com/http://www.allbuziness.com/ BRINT the World's No. 1 Resource for Business Technology Management and Knowledge Management: http://www.brint.com/http://www.brint.com/ Business.com: http://www.business.com/http://www.business.com/

10. 10 Business information „starting points” – … (II) CEOExpress: http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp European business directory: http://www.bizeurope.com/ http://www.bizeurope.com/ globalEDGE: http://globaledge.msu.edu/http://globaledge.msu.edu/ Inomics® EconDirectory: http://www.inomics.com/cgi/econdir http://www.inomics.com/cgi/econdir

11. 11 Business information „starting points” – … (III) Intute: Social Sciences: http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/business/ http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/business/ Krislyn’s Strictly Business Site: http://www.strictlybusinesssites.com/ http://www.strictlybusinesssites.com/ RBA Business Information on the Internet: http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/ http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/ The WWW Virtual Library – Business and Economics: http://vlib.org/BusinessEconomicshttp://vlib.org/BusinessEconomics

12. 12 Business dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries Finding dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries: –EuroTermBank http://www.eurotermbank.com/Default.aspxhttp://www.eurotermbank.com/Default.aspx –Glossarist – Business http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/business/ http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/business/ –OneLook Dictionary Search http://www.onelook.com/http://www.onelook.com/ About.com: Economics http://economics.about.com/http://economics.about.com/ About.com: Business and Finance http://about.com/money/http://about.com/money/ Answers.com – Business http://www.answers.com/main/business.jsp http://www.answers.com/main/business.jsp globalEdge – Glossary http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/glossary.asp http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/glossary.asp

13. 13 Part B: Company information Information about different types of organizations: –publicly trade companies (listed on stock exchanges) –private companies –state-owned companies –not-for-profit organizations –government bodies Information about: –Company background – name, address, website, contacts, identification number; managers; line of business – products, services; legal status and type of a company; size, number of employees; corporate affiliations; basic financial data (income, profit or loss, turnover) –More in-depth information – company finances, competitors, history, perspectives, policies (ecological, social, etc.)

14. 14 Company information sources Directories, yellow pages, databases National/official registries Business/industry/product classifications Lists/rankings Annual reports and other formal documents Stock exchanges’ websites and services Trade magazines, journals, news services Companies’ websites …

15. 15 Company directories, yellow pages, databases globalEdge – Company Directories: http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/companyDirectorie s.asp http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/companyDirectorie s.asp Central & Eastern European Directory On-Line: http://www.ceebd.co.uk/ceebd/industdi.htm http://www.ceebd.co.uk/ceebd/industdi.htm Hoover’s: http://www.hoovers.com/free/http://www.hoovers.com/free/ Europages, the European Business Directory: http://www.europages.com/, http://www.europages.net/ http://www.europages.com/http://www.europages.net/ Kompass: http://www.kompass.com/http://www.kompass.com/ ThomasNet (USA): http://www.thomasnet.com/http://www.thomasnet.com/ Short assignment: find on the Web the yellow pages / business telephone book for your country and describe its information content

16. 16 Company identification numbers – come from: official / governmental company registers (in most countries companies and other organizations have to be registered with a government agency or a court or a statistical office – and get a national registration number); examples – Company registration around the world (links to registers) http://www.commercial-register.sg.ch/home/worldwide.html http://www.commercial-register.sg.ch/home/worldwide.html RBA – Official Company Registers http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/registers.htm#general http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/registers.htm#general UK Companies House – Worldwide Registries http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/links/introduction.shtml #reg http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/links/introduction.shtml #reg commercial information providers; the most important is DUNS Number by Dun & Bradstreet

17. 17 Global, international, local lists/rankings of companies Gary Price's List of Lists http://www.specialissues.com/lol/ http://www.specialissues.com/lol/ Forbes http://www.forbes.com/lists/http://www.forbes.com/lists/ Fortune http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ Short assignment: What type of information one can get from rankings? Check Forbes and/or Fortune lists and their information content.

18. 18 Part C: Financial information Financial information ≠ company finance Financial information = investment information Financial info: stock exchanges, quotes, charts; financial instruments – securities, bonds, shares, etc.; investment funds; bank products, credits; currencies, money, rates of exchange; insurance, retirement To understand financial information one needs to know specialized, technical terminology – importance of glossaries!

19. 19 Financial information in general-purpose search engines Google Finance: http://finance.google.com/finance http://finance.google.com/finance MSN money: http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp Yahoo! Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/ http://finance.yahoo.com/

20. 20 Securities, stock exchanges, quotes NYSE, New York Stock Exchange http://www.nyse.com/home.html http://www.nyse.com/home.html Quote.com http://new.quote.com/http://new.quote.com/ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – Investor Information http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml World Federation of Exchanges http://www.world- exchanges.org/WFE/home.Asp http://www.world- exchanges.org/WFE/home.Asp

21. 21 Currencies, currency converters OANDA, The Currency Site http://www.oanda.com http://www.oanda.com FXConverter – multilingual currency converter for over 164 currencies and 3 metals http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic Universal Currency Converter http://www.xe.com/ucc/ http://www.xe.com/ucc/

22. 22 Dictionaries, glossaries and investor education Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/ http://www.investopedia.com/ NYSE – Glossary http://www.nyse.com/glossary/Glossary.h tml http://www.nyse.com/glossary/Glossary.h tml NYSE – Investor Education: http://www.nyse.com/about/education/102 2630233386.html http://www.nyse.com/about/education/102 2630233386.html

23. 23 Part D: Markets, marketing and international trade information encompasses: information about markets – local, national, international, global – background, people (demographics, consumer behavior, income), economic indicators and statistics, etc. information about industries, market sectors and market share of a brand, firm, product information about market research, marketing, advertising, promotion, etc. information about international trade, exports/imports

24. 24 Markets, marketing and international trade information (I): National markets – countries and their economies –country background geography, climate, environment, natural resources, etc. government, administration, political system people – demographics, population, age structure, geographical distribution (urban? rural?), ethnic groups, family income and consumption, etc. culture, tradition, religion, ethics and values, lifestyle, healthcare, social problems

25. 25 Markets, marketing and international trade information (II): –country economy economy basics – type of economy, level of development, unique areas of specialization, major economic events, currency, fiscal year national accounts, indicators and statistics – GDP, inflation rates; labor force, unemployment; budget, investment, public debt; risk; etc. industries – structure and characteristics international trade – exports/imports, balance of trade, trade partners

26. 26 Markets, marketing and international trade information (III): –country infrastructure and technology communications (internet, phones, radio, TV) transportation (airports, railways, roads, etc.) –country legal system advertising regulations copyright and intellectual property regulations fiscal policy, taxes labor laws patents, standards, trademarks

27. 27 Countries’ background – finding local search tools Search Engine Colossus – International Directory of Search Engines http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/ http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/ European Search Engines, Directories and Lists http://www.netmasters.co.uk/european_search_ engines/ http://www.netmasters.co.uk/european_search_ engines/ Baltic Sea States – Web directory for the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe http://bibl.sh.se/baltic/ http://bibl.sh.se/baltic/

28. 28 Official sources offered by international organizations EU – Eurostat: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1 090,30070682,1090_33076576&_dad=portal&_schema=P ORTAL http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1 090,30070682,1090_33076576&_dad=portal&_schema=P ORTAL OECD: http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/0,3351,en_33873108_3 3844430_1_1_1_1_1,00.html http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/0,3351,en_33873108_3 3844430_1_1_1_1_1,00.html the International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm the World Bank – Countries & Regions: http://go.worldbank.org/9FV1KFE8P0 http://go.worldbank.org/9FV1KFE8P0 the World Bank Group – Doing Business: http://www.doingbusiness.org/ http://www.doingbusiness.org/

29. 29 Official sources offered by national authorities CIA – The World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/index.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/index.html Chambers of commerce and industry: –World Chambers Network http://www.worldchambers.com/default.asp http://www.worldchambers.com/default.asp National statistical offices: –ISI – International Statistical Institute – Directory of Official Statistical Agencies & Societies http://isi.cbs.nl/directory.htmhttp://isi.cbs.nl/directory.htm –National Statistical Offices – data sources and links: http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/2206_ENG_HTML.htm http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/2206_ENG_HTML.htm –Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web: http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm

30. 30 Non-official but useful information sources BusinessPatrol.com – Country Links http://www.businesspatrol.com/ http://www.businesspatrol.com/ Inside World, InsideCountries http://www.insideworld.com/, http://www.insidecountryinfo.com/ http://www.insideworld.com/ http://www.insidecountryinfo.com/