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Course Guide

Description:

This course guide is intended as a research assistant for students in ISYS 425/625. Please read the Old Dominion University Libraries' Research Guides to Industry Information and Company Information to learn more about searching for company and industry information.

Introduction:

The extent to which an industry and/or company is globalized can be expressed and reported in different ways. Trade statistics, the commentary of industry experts, corporate publicity, and the popular media are all sources that may provide you with information about the level of globalization realized by an industry or company. Unfortunately, there is no one simple way to find this type of information for all industries and companies.

Start your research by looking at the industry as a whole. Then narrow your search to the corporate level. Use the library's business-related databases like Factiva or General BusinessFile ASAP to find structural/ownership information and to find articles about the company in business and trade journals and newspapers. You may also get information from your industry's trade associations and from statistical sources. Keep in mind that no single source provides access to all business information. You may need to search more than one source to get a complete picture of your industry and company.

The majority of resources listed below are accessible in electronic format. However, be sure to explore the print resources that are available in Perry Library. For example, Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys include information about the breadth and scope of and industry and the Directory of Corporate Affiliations provides detailed information on corporate structure, including international and subsidiary locations. Both of these sets are kept at the reference desk on the first floor of the Perry Library.

Search Tips :

There are a few techniques that you will want to use when searching in the databases listed throughout this website. By and large, these techniques apply to all the databases found on Perry Library's Research Databases page.

Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing) to broaden your search. For example, if you are searching for information on the pharmaceutical industry, also search for medicines and drugs.

Use the word "AND" to narrow your search. For example, a search on the pharmaceutical industry will yield many companies. A search on the pharmaceutical industry AND anti-malarial drugs will yield a smaller number of companies (only the pharmaceutical companies that make anti-malarial drugs), since the articles must match both terms

Use the word "OR" to broaden your search. For example, a search on the shipping industry will yield a group of articles. A search on the shipping OR ocean freight industry may yield a larger group of articles, since the articles can match either or both of the terms. "Or" is most often used to group synonyms in a search.

If you want to search for a specific phrase, like "hotel and restaurant", put quotes around the phrase to make sure the database searches for the terms as a phrase and not as individual words.

Using Internet search engines to do research is a risky technique. There are very few, if any, safeguards to ensure that the information on a webpage is accurate. That is why libraries pay a lot of money to purchase the rights to access databases. The information in the library's databases comes from reliable providers and scholarly sources. If you use an internet search engine in your research, make an effort to ascertain the credibility of your sources and the accuracy of their information.

Some commonly-used Internet search engines are:

www.google.com - www.alltheweb.com - www.metacrawler.com - www.northernlight.com - www.dogpile.com