Business Research Certificate Welcome to the Sterne Library’s Jelicia Mallory, Marketing 2011 “Obtaining my Business Research Certificate has been more beneficial to me than I could have ever imagined! It was well worth the time I invested. ” Daniel Owens, Marketing 2013 “I have been blown away by the amount and depth of information and data that is so readily available. There is no telling how much this class will benefit my future.” Licensed by Jeff Graveline under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Mechanics of the Program 8 fifty minute sessions Must complete 6 of 8 sessions Hands-on research practice Series of weekly in-class questions Offered during Spring & Fall semesters

You’ll learn to design an effective research plan You’ll learn to identify sources to meet your information needs You’ll get hands-on research experience What can you expect?

Why should you use the Library?

© BYU

There are effective ways to use Wikipedia & Google

wikiPros wikiCons wikiTips - Use it as a starting point - Look at the references & notes - Explore further readings

List all pieces of information you need Beginning your research

Market Share Industry Outlook Competitors Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Products Executives Financials Ratios Regulations Marketing Strategy Supply Chain Corporate History Subsidiaries & Affiliates External Environment Internal Environment Sales Stock Prices Market Segmentation

Brainstorm sources List all possible places to look Supplement throughout research process Beginning your research

Market Share Industry Outlook Competitors Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Products Executives Financials Ratios Regulations Marketing Strategy Supply Chain Corporate History Subsidiaries & Affiliates External Environment Internal Environment Sales Stock Prices Market Segmentation SWOT Analysis Business Source Premier Investor Relations web site Datamonitor Report Yahoo! Finance 10-K filing or Annual Report Trade Press RMA Ratios / D & B Ratios S & P NetAdvantage Hoover’s Hoover’s / 10-K filing

Brainstorm terminology Develop a synonym or alternatives list May develop throughout research process Beginning your research Airlines industry research may also be: Air transportation Air carriers Aviation Air charter Air travel

Beginning your research “Chunk” related items together Break into manageable bits Set parameters Amount & timeliness of info Create realistic timeline based on due date Begin your research Tackle small portions at a time Maintain research log Creates research trail Allows you to find info later Helps with citations

Common Types of Research Company research Industry research Marketing research Domestic & foreign markets Financial research Investing and personal finance

Sources of Business Info Books Newspapers, journals & trade pubs Company web sites SEC filings, financials, corporate governance disclosures, press releases Federal, state & local government data Stock trading data Research & market reports

Sources of Business Info Rankings & market share Trade associations Proprietary databases Indexes, directories & annual pubs Blogs, podcasts & social media NGOs, international orgs

Keys to remember Research planning saves time Begin by clearly articulating your research need(s) and where you can find specific information Work with manageable chunks Knowing general & specific sources gives you a starting point