College of DuPage Library

The Library has many resources to help you explore international business topics. Whether you are just getting started or are ready to import specific products, the Library's collection offers sources for accurate and reliable information. Requests for books and articles that we don't own can be made online with a COD Library card.

Books

International Business Research : Strategies and Resources
Reference HD2755.5 .G535 2013

Online

AtoZ World Business
The world's most comprehensive country-by-country resource for success in international business. No other product covers so many business topics, so well, for so many countries.

Business Source Complete
Huge database of business focused articles from magazines, journals and newspapers. Also home to country trade reports and specific industry reports.

Illinois International Trade Center (ITC)
Located at College of DuPage, the ITC was established in 1989 to assist Illinois companies with their export efforts. The ITC also can provide assistance to foreign companies interested in sourcing manufactured products from the United States. Services include market research, consultations, and workshops.

International Trade Administration
This government site is a great starting point for learning about the basics of importing and exporting, for gathering statistics and trends, and for acquiring information about hot topics.

The World Factbook
The Factbook is a comprehensive resource of facts and statistics on more than 260 countries and entities.

Small Business Administration - Office of International Trade
Developed by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of International Trade as an introductory trade guide.

globalEDGE
Created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University (IBC), globalEDGE™ is a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals worldwide to a wealth of information, insights, and learning resources on global business activities.

Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA)
A comprehensive searchable directory of International Trade Web Resources. It contains more than 8,000 links to international trade/import-export websites. They are annotated and indexed.

In this class, there is often a research assignment in which you choose a public company to research. The assignment varies by instructor, but below are areas that are commonly asked for in the assignment.

How to find a public company:

This is an easy one, but one that some students get stuck on. Often, students choose companies that are big, but still privately held. In other cases, they search the brand name rather than the company name. Forbes publishes a list of the world's biggest public companies. Already have a company? Confirm that it is still public by obtaining its ticker symbol. Having this information will help you search for information about the company.

How to find company information:

History, financials, competitors, and CEO information is often requested in this assignment. Many times, this information can be found on the company's website. However, this assignment often requests that you cite from many different sources. Let me suggest that you use the following as well:

Mergent Intellect
Start here. Search by company name and obtain its profile. There are links to competitor lists, "First Research" industry reports, historical financials and even salary information for key employees.

Morningstar Investment Research Center
If you want financials or analysis, this is the database for you. Searchable by company name or ticker symbol. Look for the tab, "stock analysis" in your company's profile. You will appreciate the bulleted lists of bull and bear analysis points.

How to find recent articles about your company:

In "telling your company's story", you should include recent events as well. Companies will issue press releases all the time, but don't rely just on what you find through "Googling". To have a more balanced view of your company, obtain articles that have been published by a magazine, newspaper or journal. These articles are often more credible because they go through an editorial process. I suggest seeing what the Wall Street Journal, THE daily financial newspaper, has on your company. I would also try Business Source Complete for sources. This a HUGE database that has articles from magazines, but also SWOTs for many large public companies.

How to find the annual report:

This is easy. Find the company's website and look for a link to either "Investor Information", "Investor Relations" or "About Us". These seem to be the most common links on company websites to places where they will keep the annual reports for the company. Not sure if you have it? Mergent Intellect, Morningstar Investment Research Center and Yahoo Finance will offer links to the "official" websites of the companies.

How to find stock prices:

Need historical balance sheet information? Try Mergent Intellect. It has historical financials in each profile. If you don't see them, you have either chosen the wrong profile for the company or your company is not public at this time. Need daily stock prices for the last 15 weeks? Yahoo Finance offers that information. Search with the ticker symbol and look for the link "historical prices" on the left hand side. You can even find out the cost of the first share of its stock.

Citing your sources:

Not only will you include information from the articles either in direct quotes or paraphrased form, you are also expected to create an MLA based citation. Examples of how that looks are here. If citing is new to you, make an appointment with a writing coach in the Learning Commons for more help. It can make a difference in the quality of your work.

You will be asked to find articles to support your answers in this class. Here are some hints to better searching for articles.

Best databases to start with:

Wall Street Journal
This is THE business newspaper. Published daily. Great source for small articles about specific companies.

Business Source Complete
Biggest business focused database we have. Source for articles and reports on business and companies. To avoid being overwhelmed, use the refine buttons on the left hand side to find articles that are full-text or from a particular source.

Hints for better searching:

"Different words different results."

Instead of just searching "customer service" try these words and phrases. Combining words will also help with searches that produce too many results.

customer
customer relations
smiles
negative impressions
body language
body stance
satisfaction
turnoffs
improve
customer defection
loyalty
rewards programs
nonverbal communication
body piercing
phone training
new employee training
continuous improvement
social media
facebook
twitter

Citing your sources:

Not only will you include information from the articles either in direct quotes or paraphrased form, you are also expected to create an MLA based citation. If citing is new to you, make an appointment with a writing coach in the Learning Commons for more help. It can make a difference in the quality of your work.

The Library has access to videos in multiple formats: DVD, VHS and Streaming formats. Both DVD and VHS tapes can be reserved for your class or checked out for a limited time. Streaming videos can be searched in the Library Catalog as well as in Films on Demand. Titles can be accessed from the Internet with a library card. Specific titles can be embedded in Blackboard or shared via a link.

Below are some of the most requested searches. Check the Library Catalog if you have specific titles or subjects in mind.

• Business Ethics Videos
• Customer Service Videos
• International Business (VIdeos and Streaming Collection)

Databases

• IBIS World
  Access Industry Market Research reports for over 700 U.S. industries.
• Mintel
  Mintel offers comprehensive research on consumer markets and products in U.S. Content includes market drivers, market size & trends, market segmentation, and consumer characteristics.
• Mergent Intellect
  Use the First Research reports to understand the challenges, opportunities, and operations of more than 900 Industry Segments. Each Profile includes an Industry Overview, Forecast, Trends, Income & Balance Sheet Financials, and Industry Ratios.
• Business Source Complete
  Access market research, industry profiles, country and economic reports.

Print

In addition to these books, the collection contains videos, books and e-books on individual companies. Search by company name (Ford Motor Company) or industry (automobile industry) in the Library Catalog.

International Directory of Company Histories
Reference HD 2721 .I6x
Profiles of the historical development of the world's leading companies.

World Market Share Reporter
Ebook
This resource provides world market share data and rankings of companies, products and services. It also offers numerous graphics, a table of topics, an annotated source listing and five indexes that facilitate research.

Business Rankings Annual
Reference HD 2771 .B8
Useful for identifying leading companies by sales.

Franchise Annual
Reference HD 62.7 .B865
Actual sales expenses and/or profiles on 106 franchise opportunities.

Online

Morningstar Investment Research Center
Useful for getting basic public company history, competitors, and analyses of the sector. Searchable by company name or ticker symbol only.

ReferenceUSA
Use this database to search for known companies in that industry and their SIC or NAICs codes. A further search can then be made identifying other companies in that sector.

Business Source Complete
Use this database for articles from trade journals specific to that industry. Also useful for obtaining SWOT analyses for large public companies.

We have many resources to help you start your next business venture. Whether you are conducting market research or searching for industry trends, the Library's collection offers sources for accurate and reliable information. Below are examples of the most commonly asked about areas.

Writing a Business Plan

In addition to these sources, the collection contains books on starting specific businesses.

• Business Plans Handbook
  Reference HD62.7 .B865
  A compilation of actual business plans.
• The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies
  General HD62.5 .S833 2010
• Bplans
  Sample business, marketing and web site plans for specific businesses.

Developing Target Markets

• Find companies and competitors by using the database, ReferenceUSA. Search by industry, SIC or NAICs code. Further refine your search by geographic area, employee size, revenue, and executive titles. Download up to 300 records at one time.
• Build a list of companies using the database, Mergent Intellect. Search by industry, location, size, financial information and executive titles. Up to 2500 company listings can be downloaded in one search.
• County Business Patterns (CBP) is an online, annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. This series includes the number of establishments, employment, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. Businesses use the data for analyzing market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets.

Industry Analysis

• IBISWorld
  Access Industry Market Research reports for over 700 U.S. industries.
• Business Source Complete
  Access market research, industry profiles, country and economic reports.
• Mintel
  Mintel offers comprehensive research on consumer markets and products in U.S. Content includes market drivers, market size & trends, market segmentation, and consumer characteristics.

Local Resources

• Starting Your Business in Illinois Handbook
• Choose DuPage
  Source for local resources, reports and regulations.
• Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
  Located in downtown Glen Ellyn, the SBDC is part of a statewide network of small business resource providers sponsored in part through state and federal grants. They offer training, counseling and consulting services to Illinois businesses at no or low cost. Clients range from start-up through existing businesses that seek ways to improve, develop or finance their organizations.
• Innovation DuPage
  Located in downtown Glen Ellyn, Innovation DuPage (ID) is a non-profit venture that unites entrepreneurs and small business owners with the people, resources and programs that help them grow.

Looking for recent articles about business and economics? Below are examples of the most widely read magazines and newspapers.

Print Collection

Wall Street Journal
Located in the Newspaper section of the Library.

Crain's Chicago Business
Located in the Newspaper section of the Library.

Daily Herald Business Ledger
Located in the Periodicals section of the Library.

Entrepreneur
Located in the Periodicals section of the Library.

Harvard Business Review
Located in the Periodicals section of the Library.

Online Collection

We also have access to many business journals, magazines, and newspapers through our database collection. Below are examples of titles available. More are listed here. Not only can these titles be read online, alerts can be made so that users can receive notices of when new content has arrived.

Financial Times
Journal of Marketing
Journal of Business Logistics
Journal of Consumer Research

The business collection covers many areas. Below are some of the most popular research needs.

• Company Research
• Industry Research
• International Business
• Starting a Business

Don't see your topic? Submit your ideas for future "Getting Started" guides.