BUS 320: Final Case Study Research Guide

Overview

An industry report is a market assessment tool that takes a comprehensive look at a particular industry or market. The form and content of an industry report varies between databases. Some common elements of an industry report include definition of the industry market, industry growth rate, industry total revenues, industry segmentation, industry distribution channels, industry life cycle and forecasts, and top companies in the industry.  

1. Enter keywords describing the industry you wish to search (ex. healthcare, oil and gas, etc.)
2. Under “Publication Type” select “Industry Profile”
3. Click search 

Pro Tip: If looking for a full industry analysis, try to avoid “Snapshots” or other articles that only briefly examine one aspect of the industry. 

Not sure what industry your company belongs to? Company reports in Business Source Ultimate will often have industry categories listed on the report record. Learn how to locate company reports on our Find Company Reports/Profile page.

Industry reports within this database are built with U.S. public data. To browse, use the menu to select “Industries.” 

Type the industry name in the search bar OR browse reports by clicking the “Industry Reports” drop-down menu at the top of the page and perusing the reports available (organized by geographic area and sector). 

Pro Tip: Searching on a company name will sometimes bring up the appropriate industry report(s). However, this is generally limited to large, publicly traded companies. If you are unsure of which industry your business belongs to, please ask a librarian.

1.) Scroll down to click on "First Research"

2.) Click "Browse"

3.) Input industry name, then click "Submit" 

4.) Click "View Results"

5.) Access the desired report by clicking on its title.

6.) Download report

1. Finding Industry Reports, click on the Industry button at the top of the page. 

2. Next, click on the Reports button.

3. Select reports from one of these four categories:

• Industry, covers 11 broad industries.
• Supersector, focuses on 20 supersectors.
• ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), provides information measuring an industry's exposure to ESG issues using charts and tables.
• Mergent Reports, has data written by Mergent covering 20 of the largest global industries; coverage focuses on North America, Europe, Asia, and global geographic regions.

4. Then, scroll down to the relevant industry report and click on the Download button

1. To find industry data, click on hamburger (3 horizontal lines), then click on Browse from the drop-down box

2. Click on Industries

3. Select tab (Industry Overviews or Industry Reports) to explore data

Click on the “Reports” drop-down menu at the top of the page and choose "Industry Reports” 

Browse the reports or use the search bar to find a particular industry. Select reports from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France are available, as well as some with global coverage. 

While reports are good places to start, you should also gather and learn from the many journal articles about your industry and top competitors. Business Source Ultimate and ProQuest One Business provide access to full-text articles from scholarly journals, professional publications, magazines, and newspapers. 

Search these databases using keywords related to your industry. Mix and match terms and phrases to locate articles which indicate trends, recent events, or marketing tactics. For more information about using keywords, please see our guide: 

You can locate industry association websites by running an advanced Google search using the following format: industry description + association. You can also add site:.org to your search to ensure that you only return results that have a .org domain. 

Example search: site:.org brewery + association