Business Research Tutorial

Finding Industry Overviews

The term "industry" is used to refer to a group of companies that offer similar products or services. You can find industry overviews in the following databases:

Industry overviews are also available from Vault, a career-related resource available to UMGC students and alumni via CareerQuest.

Industry overviews can also be found on the free web.

When searching for industry overviews, keep in mind that different databases may refer to industries differently, so you may need to try several different names when searching for information about a given industry. For instance, you may be able to find information about the industry in which washing machines are manufactured by searching for information about the home appliance industry, household appliance industry, consumer appliance industry, domestic appliance industry, major appliance industry, hard goods industry, durable goods industry, etc.

Click on the links above to learn how to find industry overviews in each of the sources listed.

ABI/INFORM Collection

First, click on the icon of three horizontal lines toward the top left-hand side of the page.

Next, click on the Browse link from the resulting sub-menu.

On the resulting page, click on the link for Business Monitor International (BMI) Industry Reports and/or the link for First Research from the "Industry and Market Research" section at the top of the page..

You can browse Business Monitor International industry reports by industry or topic as well as by country. You can browse First Research industry reports by industry.

Note that your search results will be sorted alphabetically by title by default, so you might want to re-sort them so that the most recent results are listed first.

* * * * *

You can also find industry overviews by entering an industry's name into a search box or by entering the industry's NAICS code into a search box and then using the drop-down menu next to the search box to change the selection from the default entry of "Anywhere except full text -- NOFT" to "NAICS code -- NAICS."

Then scroll down the page, and in the "Document type:" section, check the box next to Industry Report.

The search results page will contain Plunkett reports as well as Industry SnapShots, etc.

Results will be sorted by relevance by default, so you might want to re-sort them so that the most recent results are listed first.

Business Source Ultimate

Enter an industry's name into a search box. Alternately, you can enter the industry's NAICS code into a search box and then use the drop-down menu next to the search box to change the selection from the default entry of "All fields" to "NAICS Code or Description - IC."

Next, scroll down the page to the Filters section. In the Document Type section, use the drop-down menu to select Industry Overview.

Note that your search results will be sorted by relevance by default, so you might want to click on the Relevance link above your search results to change the sort order to Date newest instead, so that you'll find the most recent overviews of your industry.

Gale Business: Insights

Scroll down the page, click on the Browse All Industries button, enter an industry’s name or its six-digit NAICS code in the search box, and then click on the industry's name on the search results page.

The industry overview page contains useful information about the industry, such as the number of companies in the industry, the number of people employed in the industry, annual revenue, top companies, and more.

The reports available from the "Industry Reports" section provide industry overviews.

Hoovers

Use the search box at the top of the database's home page to enter an industry's name or NAICS code and use the drop-down menu next to the search box to select Industries.

Click on the link for a relevant industry from your search results page.

IBISWorld

Enter an industry's name or NAICS code in the search box. (Note that IBISWorld uses 5-digit NAICS codes.)

The "At a Glance" section of industry reports contains overview-type information.

Nexis Uni

Click on the Market Insight link from the menu bar toward the top of the database's home page.

From the Market Insight page, click on the Selected Industry Reports link below the search box.

Click on the link for Hoover's Industry Snapshots.

On the Hoover's Industry Snapshots search page, enter an industry's name in the search box.

Search results will be sorted by relevance by default, so you may want to re-sort your results to see the newest industry snapshots first.

Statista

Click on the Statistics link from the menu bar toward the top of the database's home page and then on All Industries to see a list of available industries and sub-industries.

Click on the link for an industry/sub-industry category of interest to see available industry information.

Industry insights may vary but typically include an industry overview, industry trends, industry leaders, and information about the state of the industry.

Alternatively, you can enter an industry's name in the search box on the database's home page -- for example:

"airline industry"

Vault

Click on Careers from the menu on the left-hand side of the Vault home page.

Click on Industries from the menu at the top of the Careers page.

Use the drop-down menu on the Industries page to select All Industries.

Finding Industry Overviews on the Free Web

There are numerous free websites that contain industry information, including:

Current Industrial Reports
This U.S. Census Bureau site provides monthly, quarterly, and annual measures of industrial activity.
Industries
This International Trade Administration site provides information about select industries.
Industries at a Glance
This U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site provides overviews for numerous industries. Information is provided about workforce statistics, earnings and hours, workplace trends, productivity, etc.
Industry Economic Accounts
This U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis site provides access to data about industries that show how they interact and how they have changed over time, etc.

Trade associations' publications and websites can also be useful sources of industry information and data. There is no comprehensive list of trade associations, but the following may provide a useful starting point:

You can also search for a trade association for an industry by using Google or Bing, etc. to search for "trade association" and the industry name/description -- for example, "trade association" "pet food".