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Researching an Industry
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Industry codes are used to describe a company's line of business. The current standard is the 6-digit North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code, but many company and industry directories continue to use the older, 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).

Searchable online North American Industry Classification Systems, 2007 (NAICS) codes: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html

Searchable online Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual: http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html

Industry Research Questions (and Answers!)
  • What are industry codes?
  • How can I find the code for a given industry?
    • Business and Company Resource Center provides easy browsing of both SIC and NAICS codes. From the main page, click on the Industry icon, then under Enter Industry Description, select the appropriate code you wish to browse.
    • Business and Company Resource Center also allows you to find the SIC and NAICS codes for companies. On the main page, do a Company Search by company name or ticker symbol, and on the Company Profile results page will be listed both SIC and NAICS codes for your company, about halfway down the page.
  • Where can I locate an industry survey for my industry?
    • Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage is a good place to start. Their Industry Surveys are in-depth, with a broad range of information across both U.S. and global industries. From the main page, click on the Industries tab, and either select from the Industry Surveys or Sub-Industry Reviews drop down menus. The Sub-Industry Reviews are very brief and contain only capsule information. It is also possible to browse all Industry Surveys from the Industries page by clicking on Industry Surveys on the left hand side. This will bring you to a page with HTML and PDF file links for the corresponding surveys.
    • MarketLine Business Information Center provides the highly reputable Datamonitor Industry Profiles, which are global in coverage. On the main page, click Browse All Industries Information. On the following page, on the left hand side, it is possible to do keyword searching, for example, India dairy for an industry report on the dairy market in India. Alternately, it is possible to first refine by industry or geography before doing a keyword search.
    • Plunkett Research Online: On the main page it is possible to select Search All and then search with keywords and geographical locations. However, this may often retrieve irrelevant or superfluous results. It is therefore better to first click on an industry on the left hand side of the main page. From there it is possible to gather PDF versions of Market Research and Trends, Statistics, and so on. Especially powerful is Plunkett’s Build-A-Report, which allows for the customization of both industry-wide and company-specific data, which can then be saved as a PDF or emailed.
    • Business and Company Resource Center: From the main page enter the SIC or NAICS code (if known), or browse the SIC and NAICS codes to get started. Once you have selected the appropriate code and clicked on it, an Industry Overview is provided which covers industry background, current conditions, leaders in the field, growth forecasts, and bibliographies, among other items.
  • How can I locate industry financial ratios?
    • Begin by doing an individual company search via Mergent. From there, click on the Competitors tab, and then select “Click here to create a competitor report”. You can choose the data to be compiled, which then will allow you to look at financial ratios among competitors within that industry.
    • Alternatively, staying with Mergent, choose the Advanced Search tab on the start page. In step 1, select the Target Universe, either U.S., International, or both combined. In step 2, Data Category, be sure to first select Industry Codes from the drop down menu, then type in the appropriate SIC or NAICS code under Search Value, and hit Add, followed by AND. Staying with category 2, go back to the drop down menu and select Ratios and then your desired data point with a dollar amount, being sure to hit Add. Finally, hit Run Search at the bottom and you will have a custom made report covering financial ratios within your industry.
  • Where can I find the company rankings within a given industry?
    • Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage provides the fastest and easiest way to get this information. From the main page, select the Industries tab, and then locate your industry or sub-industry from one of the two drop down menus. On the results page, under Industry Surveys on the left hand side, click on Comparitive Co. Analysis. This will give you company rankings within that industry. However, be sure to have pop-up blockers turned off as NetAdvantage will want to automatically download the file as an Excel spreadsheet.
  • I need to find a market research report that narrows in on specific components of my industry. What is the best way to do so?
    • MarketLine Business Information Center is the preferred means of locating narrow or specific components of market research reports within industries. On the main page, click Browse All Industries Information. From there, it then becomes possible to select a given industry, to then do keyword searching within that industry once it has been selected, and to further specify geographical location. This is different from the broader industry surveys, and bear in mind that the narrower your search becomes, the more difficult it is to find research reports. However, MarketLine provides the best resource for specific market searching within industries.
    • RDS Business Reference Suite will also provide market research reports within your industry. Enter an industry keyword in Words and Phrases, select And next to Concept Terms and highlight Market Research, select And next to Industry and highlight the appropriate one, and do the same for SIC/Product and Geo Region if needed. Then hit Search. Most difficulties in using this database come from the use of wrong keywords in Words and Phrases at the top of the page, so try using keywords that are in fact descriptive of your industry, i.e. “personal computers” and not “PCs”, “utilities” and not “electricity and water”.
  • Where and how can I find basic industry statistics on national and/or local levels?
    • The Economic Census is compiled once every five years by the U.S. Census Bureau and profiles businesses and industries from the national to the local level. It is an excellent and authoritative resource for industry statistics, and can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/index.html.
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Jessica Trinoskey
Business Subject Librarian

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Researching an Industry Guide



Last updated by jtrinosk on 07/27/2009
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