General Recommendations for Researching Companies:
Research your company in more than one company research database. When looking into the internal environment of a company and attempting to identify strengths and weaknesses, a good starting point would be to search for the company in the company databases listed below. Each database presents information from different sources or in a different manner— You may find a great SWOT analysis in one, a comprehensive focus on financials in another, in-depth executive profiles in yet another database, and so on.
Find current news and in-depth studies on your company in article databases. While many of the company research databases feature articles and current news about a company (Nexis Uni and Business Insights: Essentials are especially strong in this area), you should also research your company in business article and multidisciplinary article databases to increase your understanding of the company and awareness of news about the company.
Use the Advanced Search feature in company databases to create lists of companies by industry code (such as NAICS code) and other criteria. Company databases Mergent Intellect, ReferenceUSA, and Nexis Uni are a few of the databases that can be used to create lists of companies by industry code, geography, sales, number of employees, and other criteria.
For a demonstration of how to search some of the company databases, refer to the Company Research Video Tutorials.
Top Three Database Recommendations for Company Research:
Additional Recommended Databases for Company Research:
Explore the following databases to find venture capital firms, investors, and (if available) information about the funding rounds and investments companies have received.
Top Three Article Databases for Company Research:
The following company research video tutorial (which complements the Nuts and Bolts of Great Business Plans page of the Business Information Guide) is part of a series of four video tutorials developed by Business, Management and Entrepreneurship Librarian Stephanie JH McReynolds to support EEE 457 students as they develop their Capstone business plans. Although developed with EEE 457 students in mind, anyone who is interested in learning more about company research resources offered by Syracuse University Libraries is welcome to view. If something interests you, please check it out. For instance, maybe you already know a lot about Mergent Intellect for company research, but have never considered exploring Business Insights: Essentials.