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BUS 107 - O'Neal: Searching Library Databases for Company Information and News

This guide will help you find information about companies to prepare you for your persuasive speech.

Business Databases at TMCC

Next, you need to find information to back up your proposal - what is the history of the company, what are their products, what is the recent news about the company? The three business databases to search are:

The databases listed in this Research Guide are available only to Truckee Meadows Community College students, faculty and staff. You will need your TMCC credentials (Username and Password) to access them off-campus. Please see the short videos that show you how to search the databases.

The Gale Business Insights database also has great company histories, news and other information. See graphic below shows the some of the treasures hidden in this resource. The video on the right side demonstrates how to search the Gale Business database:

 

Company Histories contains the history of "thousands of the worlds largest and most influential companies." The profiles are rich in detail and provide additional readings so you can do even more in-depth research if you wish to.

SWOT Reports contain key financial ratios plus the classic SWOT metrics for each company profiled.

Investment Reports presents various stock analyst reports on companies in the database.

Financial Reports presents key financial data for companies in the database.

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Then you can search the business-specific collection in Business Source Elite:

  1. At the top of the page, click the Company Profiles link: 
  2. Type the name of your company in the search box, and scan the results to find it (if the company is in the database).  Your company will not necessarily be the first result. The video on the right shows a sample search:

 

In these PDF reports, you will find very helpful information to fill out your pitch for the company. There is a company history, a listing of products and services, a SWOT analysis, and a list of competitors. 

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Next search the regular Business Source Elite database for news stories about you company.  The search sears and strategy finds hundreds of great articles detailing the retailer's comeback efforts.  Limit your results to the most recent 12-16 months, because that's all you need to look at. See video below which demonstrates the database:

How to search for company information in Business Source Elite

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ABI/Inform Global is a great business database with journals, trade magazines, and business newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal.

A good strategy in ABI is to use the Advanced Search option and search for articles with the name of your company in the article title. This will be more likely to find articles about the company, and eliminate ones that just mention the company name (which happens often in the Wall Street Journal).

You also may want to limit results with a Publication Date in the last 12 months or so.  No sense in getting older material.  If you don't find enough information, you can always expand the results. See the video below for help in searching ABI/Inform:

Searching ABI/Inform for Company Information