MCC LIBRARY RESOURCES

Analyzing Companies and Industries

This guide has been prepared by the MCC reference librarians to assist you with research for your class. If you need further assistance, please stop by the reference desk to consult with a librarian.

Reference Sources

Reference Sources are a good place to start your research. They can give you a concise overview of your topic, background information, facts & statistics, plus help you define and spell words, and focus your topic. Reference Sources include both books located in the Reference Collection and databases accessible on the Library Web Site under the link Reference Databases.

Call Number Title
REF HA203.C68 County and City Extra
REF HA203.U17

State Rankings

REF HC101.A131222 Business Statistics of the United States
REF HC102.D8 Million Dollar Directory
REF HC107.I3 I62 Illinois Services Directory
REF HC110.C6 O34 Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What
REF HC110.I5 R87 American Incomes: Demographics of Who Has Money
REF HD8051.H36 Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics
REF HD9727.I4 I44 Illinois Manufacturers Directory
REF HD9721.M3495 Manufacturing & Distribution USA
REF HF5415.127.M376 Market Share Reporter
REF HF5415.33.U6 L54 The Lifestyle Market Analyst
REF HF5421.A615 American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory
REF HF5681.B2 R6 RMA Annual Statement Studies
REF HF5681.R25 A45 Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
REF HF5681.R25 I525 Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
REF HG4050.B88 Business Rankings Annual
REF HG4057.A21943 Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States
REF HG4057.A28617 Hoover's Handbook of American Business
REF HG4058.C5.F57 LaSalle Banks Guide: Major Publicly Held Corporations and Financial Institutions Headquartered in Illinois
REF HG4538.A1 D5 Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries

 

Books & Media

The Stacks contain books and audiovisual items that may be borrowed or "checked out" of the library. These resources are useful when you need a more in-depth study of a topic than can be provided in reference sources alone. Use the Library's Online Catalog to determine what resources are available on your topic and the call number and location in the library. If our library does not own the necessary resources for your research needs, you may request additional items be ordered through interlibrary loan.

Possible search terms to use for your topic are:

Keywords

Subject Headings

analyzing companies

corporations

industry analysis

computer industry, banking industry, etc.

industrial statistics business forecasting

business and analysis

ratio analysis

Article Databases

Periodicals consist of popular magazines, newspapers, trade and scholarly journals. Magazine & newspaper articles can be good sources to use for very current information, to focus on specific topics or aspects of a topic, to find reviews, and for opinions. Trade journals are helpful to follow trends and career opportunities within a field, and to find practical tips and techniques to use "on the job". Scholarly journals give details of actual research studies that have been conducted and/or scholarly treatment of discipline specific topics. All of these resources can be located using the article databases located on the library web site.

Recommended Databases for analyzing companies and industries

Database Name Vendor Name
Academic Search Premier EBSCO
Business Source Elite EBSCO

DataMonitor Company Reports are available in Business Source Elite by clicking on Company Profiles in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Newspaper Source EBSCO
Regional Business News EBSCO
ArticleFirst, Wilson Select Plus FirstSearch
Chicago Tribune NewsBank
ProQuest ProQuest

Passwords to access the library databases from off-campus are available on the pink handout MCC Library Database Chart. If you have not received this handout, please ask for it at the Reference Desk.

Internet Resources

Recommended web sites for this subject are listed below. For additional web sites on this subject, refer to MCC Library's Web Sites by Subject link on the library web site.

Web Site Address
American FactFinder: U.S. Census Bureau factfinder.census.gov
Big Charts bigcharts.marketwatch.com
Bureau of Labor Statistics stats.bls.gov/
Business Research Assistant - UVM Libraries library.uvm.edu/guides/subjectguides/BIZ/
Hoover's Online www.hoovers.com/free/
McHenry County Economic Development Corporation www.mcedc.com/index.php
SEC Filings and Forms (EDGAR) www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
SIC Code Search www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html
U.S. Corporate Information www.corporateinformation.com/


Remember to carefully evaluate information found on the Internet. Unlike most traditional print sources, Internet sources may not go through any review process before the information is made available to the public. Anyone can create and publish a web site. If you need help evaluating your sources, please ask at the Reference Desk for guidance. For critieria to use to evaluate your sources refer to our handout on Evaluating Sources. It is available at the Reference Desk.

 

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