Research Guides: MSF Orientation : Persuasive Speech

Databases: Articles and Statistics

Once you have explored your industry, you will want to gather additional data to persuade your classmates to work in this sector. Areas of interest may include data on specific companies or trends within an area.

Statista This link opens in a new window
Quantitative data, statistics, infographics, and related information compiled from market research institutes, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Large collection of industry reports; market size, competitors, drafting business plans, pitch books, benchmarking, forecasting, business valuations, litigation support, due diligence and more.

Business Source Complete
Source for articles on most subject areas related to business: management, marketing, economics, finance, accounting, & international business. Includes company reports, SWOT analyses, working papers, country reports, industry reports, case studies, etc. Includes Harvard Business Review.
more...less...
All current Vanderbilt University students, faculty, and staff have access, both on and off campus.

ProQuest One Academic This link opens in a new window
Access to a wide range of articles from newspapers, scholarly journals, and business trade publications. This source includes the WSJ.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Access to psychological articles, which can be helpful when looking at topics like employee satisfaction, and other work-related elements of your persuasive speech.
Coverage: 1800s to present.

e-Marketer
Publishes data, analysis and insights on digital marketing, traditional media, social media and commerce.. eStat section has statistics and graphs on Internet-related topics.
more...less...
All current Vanderbilt University students, faculty, and staff have access, both on and off campus.

Databases: Company Research

Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Details on US and international companies, executives, market research reports, and trade publications. Includes financials, subsidiaries, and trade and business news. A great source for public companies .
PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Business and financial data on major, non-publicly traded corporations: family owned, private equity owned, venture backed, and international unlisted companies. Company financials, M&A deals, valuations, venture capital funding, private equity deals, etc.
More InfoAccess Note: Users must create individual accounts. PrivCo limits Excel downloads.
PrivCo limits Excel downloads.
PitchBook This link opens in a new window
Private equity and venture capital database with in-depth information and statistics on a wide range of companies including startups. A great source for small financial firms working in tech spaces . Establish benchmarks, find real time data on deals, identify and analyze comparables, and search investor details. Users are limited to 10 downloads per day and 25 downloads per month.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
A great source for company profiles for public firms. Profiles include SWOT analyses.
Vault (Business) This link opens in a new window
Industry and career guides, including employer profiles; advice on consulting case interviews, financial interviews, and career trends. Message boards.

It's Okay to Google, but please...

Searching the internet is quick and easy, and can be a great source for relevant, quality information. Caveat Emptor: evaluate the resources you use.

Here are some guidelines to assess Internet resources, such as Web pages and blogs:

Currency - Is the information current? Is it updated regularly?

Reliability - Is the source reputable? Is it accurate?

Authority - Who created the information? Why?

Purpose/Point of View - Is there a balance of perspectives? Is the information biased?

Please see this additional information about the CRAP test as well as the Vanderbilt University presentation What The Crap?