Library Guides: Midwest Entrepreneurship Case Competition: Industry Research

Get Started with Industry Research

The Complete Guide to Industry Research
From IBISWorld, a longer read about industry research and its value in different business fields.
Industry Analysis: Overview & Methods
A short article from the Corporate Finance Institute defining industry analysis methods.

NAICS Codes

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal agencies in Canada, Mexico and the United States to classify businesses based on their type of economic activity.

Image Source: IBISWorld

NAICS Search
Search for an industry using a keyword or 2-6 digit code.

Web Resources for Industry Research

Data and Industry Reports

BLS Industries at a Glance
Full list of industries in the US, with overviews, workforce and earnings statistics, industry-specific pricing information and workplace trends.
Bureau of Economic Analysis Industry Articles
Data and reports published by the BEA using U.S. Department of Commerce research
EDGAR Company Filings
10-K reports are excellent sources of information for understanding industry trends. Search for a publicly traded company in your industry and review the information in Item 1 of their most recent 10k report.
globalEDGE
Find international business-related resources, statistics, risk assessments, and events for 20 distinct industry sectors.

Trade and Industry Association Websites

Trade and industry associations are organizations made up of businesses from specific industries or sectors. Many trade and industry associations conduct research, publish educational materials, and engage in a variety of public relations and political activities. Their websites can be sources of data and information useful for industry research.

A simple Google search for an industry term + "trade association" can help you find trade associations relevant to an industry.

Examples:

Subscription Databases for Industry Research

Subscription database access will vary depending on your university or college. Any link below showing a lock symbol is restricted to UD students, however, you can often access the same or similar tools at your home institution.

FIND INDUSTRY RESEARCH RESOURCES AT YOUR INSTITUTION

IBISWorld
Provides in-depth analysis of over 700 U.S. industries at the national and state level.
This industry research database contains reports on industries in the China, Global, and U.S. markets. The U.S. content is further subdivided into: Industry Reports classified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), Specialized Industry Reports for industries not adequately covered by NAICS, US Industry State Reports, US State Economic Profiles, US Industry iExpert Summaries, US Specialized Industry iExpert Summaries, US Business Environment Profiles, and US Business Environment State Profiles. Global industry reports are strong in the manufacturing sector. Each report contains an “at a glance” overview (including SWOT analysis), performance data, outlook data, products & markets analysis, competitive landscape analysis, lists of major companies, operating conditions, and key statistics. Statistics include financial ratios and industry averages from the Risk Management Association.
Bizminer
Industry Financial Profiles offer financial ratios for industry segments. Industry Market Reports include demographics, competitor data, financial, and market activity for specified industries.
Quickly search startup and small business statistics, such as annual sales and market share, failure rates, and entrepreneurial activity rates. Reports are available for states and local areas as well as the national level. Data includes access to 9000+ markets and more than 10 million companies.
Business Source Complete
Full-text articles from thousands of scholarly business journals, magazines, and trade journals, plus company and industry profiles and SWOT analyses.
Access full-text articles from thousands of scholarly business journals, magazines, and trade journals from the fields of marketing, management, accounting, finance, and economics. Plus company and industry profiles, SWOT analyses, country economic reports, financial data, and investment reports. This database includes rigorous curation and indexing of open access (OA) journals. Full-text non-journal content includes company profiles, informational records, case studies, industry reports, business executive interviews, working papers, and over 75,000 videos from the Associated Press.