An industry report is a comprehensive market research publication that provides a generalized perspective on a given subject area. They are often highly sought after reports by businesses and investors, and are typically not found within public datasets such as government sources. One can find industry reports within the Benedictine University Library databases, such as Nexis Uni, Business Source Elite, or ProQuest One Business. A typical industry report will include the following kinds of data:
Common industry reports are funded by large corporations such as Moody's Ratings, JP Morgan Chase and Co, Fitch Solutions, Mergent, and Hoover's.
Industry trade associations, or industry trade groups, often shares discipline specific data with members of their trades. Some datasets may only be available to members of a given association, and some are open access and not behind paywalls. Wikipedia keeps a comprehensive list of industry trade groups.
List of Industry Trade Groups in the United States-- Search for your discipline or subject interest, and find their website link to check for local resources and publications for the trade group's market research analysis.
The U.S. Government is the largest collector of industry market research and labor statistics. The top four governmental data sources we will explore in this guide are as follows:
Bureau of Labor Statistics--measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making. The bureau includes maintaining multiple publications, including The Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Bureau of Economic Analysis--BEA produces economic accounts statistics that enable government and business decision-makers, researchers, and the American public to follow and understand the performance of the nation's economy. To do this, BEA collects source data, conducts research and analysis, develops and implements estimation methodologies, and disseminates statistics to the public.
Small Business Administration--"SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses." This source also provides basic market research guides for the public.
U.S. Census Bureau--Provides large datasets regarding the current U.S. population, demographics, businesses, income, and the economy.
These would include investigative journalism, trade publications, and other data that's been gathered from either one source or multiple sources.
Examples of newspapers that contain market research reports that you can access with your Benedictine University Library credentials:
And many more! You can search the various publications and publications within business databases at the Benedictine University Library's A-Z Database page for Business sources. Additionally, you can run a "Journal Search" in the library's catalog to search for a particular trade publication and search market research keywords within the trade publication.
