A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence. In business research, this could be an interview in a news article, financial statements from an annual report, images of company logos, census data collected by the government, a new law that affects businesses, and data collected by an academic researcher for a new research project.
Here are some examples of primary sources available via the Library:
Financial information on 10,000+ publicly traded companies on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ exchanges, including EDGAR/SEC filings. Also includes industry analysis and private companies. Read more about this resource.
Online version of Annual Statement Studies. Composite financial data and financial ratio benchmarks for small, medium, and large U.S. companies. Search by industry keyword or NAICS. Advanced search by industry, year, region, and data type such as assets and sales.
Create custom maps using downloadable U.S. datasets. Topics covered: people (demographics, consumer expenditures, market segments, sales potential), businesses (establishments, employees, retail sales), consumer price index, crime, and weather. Geographies available: states, congressional district, counties, cities, zip code, census tract, block groups, and street address. Not all data available in all geographies.
Current data for 10,000+ advertising agencies with key accounts, 15,000+ advertiser profiles with annual spending, and 100,000+ brand names. Includes contact information for key personnel within agencies and advertisers. Does not work in Internet Explorer. Learn how to search this database.
New Feature: Winmo users can now access demographic data and social audience intelligence and track social media followers with the new StatSocial add-on for demographic insights. Search for a company or navigate to the Advanced Search and click Companies or Brands and click on Social Demographics. Learn more about the StatSocial add-on.
A secondary source uses primary sources as a way to interpret and evaluate past events. In business research, this could be a news round-up in a trade journal, a market research report, an industry profile, an annotated bibliography, a peer-reviewed article that critiques existing research, and just about any book.
Below are some examples of secondary sources available via the Library:
Business news and analysis. Peer-reviewed research. Case studies and SWOT analyses. Country reports. Includes Harvard Business Review. Read more about this resource or watch a how-to video.
TCB research is a searchable database of full-text research reports on the latest issues in business management and US and global economics. Proprietary, nonbiased research includes studies of F500 companies on business trends, leadership decisions, performance excellence, corporate governance, HR, productivity, CRM and more. Economics material includes topline US and global economic indicators and analysis and forecasts of US and international economic conditions by our chief economist.
ProQuest Ebook Central (formerly ebrary and EBL) is a multidisciplinary collection of ebooks from numerous academic publishers. Visit the help page. NOTE: Titles can be dropped by the publisher without prior notice.
This collection includes over 8,000 ebooks covering a range of academic topics. Watch a how-to video.
U.S., China, Canada, and global industry market research reports. Funded by the College of Business Administration. Read more about this resource.
A tertiary source summarizes information from primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources are a good way to get a quick overview of any given topic. Most textbooks are tertiary sources.
Below are some examples of tertiary sources available via the Library:
The GVRL collection includes encyclopedias and other reference works supporting a wide range of academic disciplines.
A collection of over 50 encyclopedias about business, counseling, criminology, education, geography, health, media, politics, psychology, and sociology.
