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  2. Research Guides

HOD Resources on Companies, Industries, and Organizations: Home

Conducting Research on Companies and Organizations

When conducting research on a company or organization, there are three areas you'll need to research:

  1. Industry Background: includes background information on companies (competitors) with similar products and services and may include: industry size and growth, challenges and opportunities, and future trends.
  2. Company Information: what the company shares and expert opinions from external sources.
  3. Background about a company's products/services, customers, applications, technology and more.

For the list above, you'll use several library databases that you can use from off-campus with your VUNetID and some Internet sources.  Generally library databases are organized by the TYPE of information they contain.  Here are some of the types of sources to find the above information:

  1. Industry & Market Research Reports or Trade & Professional Associations and Organizations.
  2. Company generated data (website, annual reports, SEC filings, press releases) or external/outside the company (SWOTs, analyst reports, and journal articles).
  3. Background journal articles, "Thought Leaders" reports on the Internet, and Trade & Professional Associations and Organizations.

NO SINGLE LIBRARY DATABASE HAS EVERYTHING IN IT SO IT'S WORTH IT TO USE MULTIPLE ONES FOR ARTICLES, COMPANY DATA and INDUSTRY AND MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS.

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Leslie Foutch
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