Subject/Research Guides: Business Guide: Company Research

Databases for Company Research

For company research, you will want to use databases such as Business Source Ultimate, Company Profiles or Mergent Intellect. For product or brand research you can use Business Source Complete, Academic Search Premier or MasterFile Premier.

In addition, you can also use Google Scholar, which is accessible from the library list of databases.

Open the file below to view some screen captures on how to create a search using the Company Profiles and Business Source Complete Database to locate company information and also specific product information. We have used Apple and the iPad as examples. You can simply replace the terms with your topic to get relevant results.

Business Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window Business Source Ultimate offers a wealth of peer-reviewed, full-text journals and other resources that provide historical information and current trends in business that spark discussion on future developments and changes in the business world. Plus, Business Source Ultimate has a winning formula: Business students learn about accounting, finance, banking, marketing, management and much more with one comprehensive package that also includes full text of journals found in key subject indexes. In addition to accessing essential full-text journals, business students can delve into case studies, country economic reports and company profiles, as well as interviews with executives and analysts – the key players whose roles they are studying to fill.
Company Profiles (from Business Source Ultimate) This link opens in a new window Search company profiles using Business Source Ultimate. Enter a company name in the search box to access MarketLine Company Profile reports.
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window Mergent Intellect is a highly flexible web-based application that features a deep collection of worldwide business information that enables companies to generate insightful business intelligence. Coupling Mergent's expertise in developing products for the reference marketplace with D&B®'s private company database, Mergent Intellect offers new and existing clients a unique opportunity to access private and public U.S and international business data, industry news, facts and figures, executive contact information, the ability to access industry profiles and much more.
Mergent Archives This link opens in a new window Mergent Archives is an online database featuring a vast, indexed collection of corporate and industry related documents. The database contains hundreds of thousands of reports covering over 100 countries and industries. Mergent Archives uses a reliable and easy to navigate system designed to meet your historical research needs.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window This academic multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,600 serials, including more than 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles. This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.
MasterFILE Premier This link opens in a new window This multidisciplinary database provides full text for more than 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,774 biographies, 164,400 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 592,000 photos, maps and flags.
Business Searching Interface This link opens in a new window The Business Searching Interface (BSI) is EBSCO's highly focused user interface created especially for the business searcher. Business Searching Interface provides an easy way to both browse and search for country economic data, company profiles, industry information and market research.The BSI was designed to take full advantage of all of the diverse content available in Business Source databases.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research.

Company Profiles

Company Profiles (from Business Source Ultimate) This link opens in a new window

Search Company Profiles database by entering the company name and then click on Browse. Click on Marketline Report PDF to view Company details.

Business Source Ultimate

Business Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window

Search Business Source Ultimate database – enter company title, product or brand. Options can be checked off to refine results to:

full text - to return articles you can read immediately
publication date - to limit your results to articles written in recent years
scholarly peer reviewed articles - to return articles published in academic journals rather than popular or trade publications.

From your search results, select HTML or PDF full text to view the complete article.

Mergent Intellect

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window

Search Mergent Intellect database for Company Research.

Enter the name of the company and click on the magnifying glass.
Use the tabs in the results screen to view company information.

Help and Videos are available in Mergent Intellect after logging into the database

SWOT Analyses

A SWOT analysis is conducted to assess a company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

SWOT Analysis
Link to article and video on basics of SWOT analysis.

Find a SWOT analysis for a company:

1. Go to the library database, Business Source Ultimate (link listed on this page)

2. Enter company's name in first search box and "Swot analysis" in the second search box.(Note: A SWOT analysis will be available for most companies. If there are no results for your company, consult additional library databases, such as Mergent Intellect , Company Profiles, and external sources, such as the company's official website to gather more information.)

Business Guide