The Universe of Business Information Introduction to Business

What do we want to know? Companies Industries Investments Demographics Economic realities Future trends

2009 From a drip to a torrent Both the sources and the way we access them have multiplied enormously Your challenge is no longer to find information, but to sift through it to find the gold. Where do you find the best?

1809 Shipping news Coffee houses Carrier pigeons Rothschilds

The Best: Categories Direct from the internet: Governments Organizations Companies Business press Analysts Video, podcasts, blogs, twitter From the library via the internet: Databases Scholarly research Books Dictionaries, encyclopedias Guides to everything

Government data All countries, also states and citiesAll countriesstatescities Industry statistics, demographics, economic trends, consumer expenditures, occupational and salary data, market reports, etc.Industry statistics, demographics, economic trends, consumer expenditures, occupational and salary data, market reports, etc. Global finance: Federal Reserve, and Central Banks all over the worldFederal ReserveCentral Banks all over the world Securities and Exchange Commission Look for.gov (in the US) Use your judgment…

Organizations International – UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank, Interpol, OECD, MOREUNWTOIMFWorld Bank InterpolOECDMORE Research – Rand, Pew, Gallup, Heritage, Center for Economic and Policy Research, MORERandPewGallupHeritageCenter for Economic and Policy ResearchMORE Industry-specific – American Iron & Steel Institute, American Beverage Association, AFL- CIO, MOREAmerican Iron & Steel InstituteAmerican Beverage AssociationAFL- CIOMORE Look for.org (in the US) Use your judgment…

Companies Company websites Public vs. Private, InternationalPublicPrivateInternational Annual reports and SEC filingsAnnual reports SEC filings Conference calls CEO statements, presentations Use your judgment…

Business Press Newspapers/Magazines – FT, WSJ, NYT, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, Barron’s, The Economist, Entrepreneur, MOREFTWSJNYT ForbesFortuneBusiness WeekBarron’sThe EconomistEntrepreneurMORE Trade Publications – BodyShop Business, Modern Baking, Risk, Plastics News, MOREBodyShop Business Modern BakingRiskPlastics NewsMORE Newswires, press releases – written by PR departmentsNewswires, press releases Bloomberg – a class by itself, in Tepper A1Bloomberg Use your judgment…

Analysts Equity analysts – Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan StanleyEquity analysts Market research firms – Gartner, Forrester, Nielsen, DatamonitorMarket research firms GartnerDatamonitor Independent publications (newsletters) – Value Line, Morningstar, Standard & Poor’sIndependent publications (newsletters) Value LineStandard & Poor’s Economic consultants – Global Insight, Moody’s Economy.comGlobal Insight Use your judgment…

Video, podcasts, blogs, twitter Broadcasts - where do these originate? 1. From all of the categories above 2. TV and radio stations – a source of business information that has never been captured before. BBC, CNN, Fox, NPR. Are they all equal?BBCCNNFoxNPR 3. Anyone at all. Use your judgment…

Your library helps: DatabasesDatabases They can search a lot at once – news, companiesnews companies They provide reports that cost $$reports that cost $$ They format data – maps, spreadsheets, chartsmapsspreadsheetscharts Tepper’s own page – tells you all you need to knowTepper’s own page Guides to choosing databases – how to learn about companies, industries, countriescompaniesindustriescountries Guide for this very class!this very class! If you’re off campus, log in with the VPN firstoff campus, log in with the VPN

Your library helps: books, journals, encyclopedias Find them in the catalog – print and onlinecatalog What is scholarly literature?scholarly literature If we don’t own the book or article you need, we’ll get it for youwe’ll get it for you You can use Pitt, tooPitt A tried and true way to truly learn about something: read a book

Evaluating sources Using your judgment! Mark Twain: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Excellent method - the Internet Detective (from British universities)Excellent method Pay attention to where information comes from Make sure YOU say where YOUR information is coming from:

Citing sources Now that you have figured out what’s good and what’s not, you need to let others know. How do you do it ? A guide to citing your sourcesA guide to citing your sources Plagiarism – a serious offensePlagiarism Someday, you’ll be cited!

Questions? Ask the librarians: Roye Werner Business & Economics Librarian Everyone else at the library who can help: search.library.cmu.edusearch.library.cmu.edu reference hours, link to chat, , etc. Tepper library page