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GPHY 101: Library Research Guide

Accessing Articles Through GeoBase and Other Tips

 
TIPS: Try broadening your search in order to find scholarly resources. You are unlikely to find company specific information in these searches however, by broadening the search to include your industry of interest you should see more results. You may have found that your industry is located in a certain geography. You may find scholarship on industry policies, methods, and practices specific to that geography. 

Company Profiles & Directories

Covers more than 100 million private US, Canadian and global businesses and over 6000 US public companies.
Includes global corporate family trees, job search and executive search capabilities and multifaceted advanced search functionality. 
Also First Research industry reports, US census data and Key Business Ratios (KBR).

Generate company lists by size, industry, location and other criteria.

Dun & Bradstreet's The Million Dollar Database has been discontinued.
Directories from 1959-2019 are available in Mergent Archives (see D&B Manuals).

 
 
IQS Directory
a comprehensive listing of manufacturers and suppliers serving major segments of the OEM industrial manufacturing marketplace across the United States and Canada.
 
Buyer's guide providing information on more than 170,000 classes of products made in the U.S. and Canada, the businesses that make them, and their locations. Search by product, company or brand name.
 
Global manufacturers

Company Annual Reports

... are the primary source of corporate financial information for publicly-held companies. A public company's annual report, 10K(U.S. only) and sustainability reports are available on its website. If the company is private, financial detail is generally not available. More... finding annual reports.

Mergent Historical Annual Reports Archive   US, Canadian and international company annual reports in pdf format dating back to the early 1900’s and through to the present. 

ProQuest Historical Annual Reports      Annual reports of over 800 U.S. companies from 1844 - present

Is the company public or private?

Before you start searching for information on a company, you need to determine if the company is Public or Private. Typically, there is much more information, including financial information, available on public companies.

  • What is a public company?
    • A company is public if it has shares that are traded on a stock exchange such as the Toronto Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange. Companies are required to file annual reports and other documents with regulatory bodies such as the Ontario Securities Commission or the Securities & Exchange Commission.
  • What is a private company?
    • A company is private if it is closely-held (typically family owned or through private equity). It is not possible for the general public to buy shares. In most jurisdictions (e.g., Canada or the United States), private companies do not need to file annual reports or disclose financial information to the public.
  • How can I tell if a company is public or private?
    • You can use the Company search feature in LexisNexis.  The Company Snapshot indicates the company type (Public or Private).

Key Article Databases

 
Full text of thousands of business and finance, management, marketing and industry scholarly and trade publications. Includes the full-text of Harvard Business Review and other major business journals, cases, industry reports and SWOT analyses. EBSCO search platform.
 
Canadian magazine and journal articles.
 

Canadian Newsstream Canadian resource
Newsstream includes the business sections of national and leading regional papers. Access to current and archival Canadian content from over 360 news sources. Newspapers including The Globe and Mail, National Post and Toronto Star along with newswires and broadcast transcripts in full-text format.

 
Covers international news and business information. Includes general business and industry magazines, company reports, and historical market data. Contains same-day and archival coverage of key newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times.  (Access limit)