Selected Business Databases with Search Tips
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Databases by title: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

• ABI/Inform (Proquest)

  [ABI/Inform will be replaced by Business Source Complete as of July 1, 2008.]

  
  
  
• Academic Search Premier

  [Some full-text articles, Date range: Varies; Full text - 1990-present; abstracts - 1984-present, Updated daily] Time covered varies by title, many go back to 1990. Very broad coverage, includes topics of interest to business researchers. Index and abstracts for over 3000 general, humanities, social science and science journals. Full-text articles for over 1000 of these journals. Over 1700 journals are peer reviewed.

  
  
  

B

• Background Notes

  [U.S. Department of State] Provides information on geographic entities and international organizations.

  
  
  
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)

  BGMI indexes current, readily available reference sources, as well as the most important retrospective works that cover individuals from every field of activity and from all areas of the world. Includes over 12 million biographical sketches. Sources include biographical dictionaries and who's whos, subject encyclopedias, volumes of literary criticism, and indexes.

  
  
  
• Bloomberg (via the Bloomberg terminals in 1318 Van Munching Hall)

  Contains current and historical financial data on individual companies, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, currencies, commodities, and futures for both international and domestic markets.

  
  
  
• Biography Index

  [Not full-text, Date range: 1984-present] A "First Search" database. Covers biographical information from more than 2,700 English-language periodicals for a number of subject areas. BI indexes articles, books, autobiographies, and many other types of publications. Each record contains library holdings information and a bibliographic citation.

  
  
  
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

  [The Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. department of Labor] Provides economic indicators, labor statistics, and other measures of economic and social performance.

  
  
  
• Business & Company Resource Center (Gale) [Licensing restrictions apply]

  [Some full-text, Date range: varies, ranging from 1980-present] Provides detailed company histories, brokerage house reports, industry overviews, rankings, market share data and articles, most of which are in full text.

  
  
  
• Business Source Complete (EBSCO)

  [Some full-text, Date range: varies] Business Source Complete is an upgraded version of Business Source Premier. It is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the ultimate collection of bibliographic and full text content.

  
  
  

C

• CeBIT

  [Deutsche Messe AG] CeBIT is the world's leading trade show for information technology, telecommunications & networks, software & services, which takes place annually.

  
  
  
• CIA World Factbook (Free)

  [The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)] Gives an overview of each country. Provides a reference map and information on the country's climate, geography, demography, transportation, economics, education, government, and politics.

  
  
  
• CIAO : Columbia International Affairs Online

  International affairs site that "publishes a wide range of scholars from 1991 on that includes working papers from university reseach institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences.

  
  
  
• COMPUSTAT (Standard & Poor's) via Research Insight or RI-Web or WRDS or CRSPSift ( R.H. Smith Portal - Finance-Research Insight or Excel with Finance Addins or CRSPSift or WRDS)

  Contains fundamental financial and price data for approximately 10,000 actively traded and 13,000 inactive U.S. companies, as well as over 23,000 global companies in more than 80 countries. Data goes back annually as far as 1950. Financial statements, ratio and valuation reports are available in Excel. Click here for more information.

  
  
  
• Congressional Universe (LEXIS-NEXIS)

  [Some full-text articles, Date range: Varies, 1969 - present] Search this database for comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information from Congressional Information Service, Inc. Search by several ways including by subject and bill number.

  
  
  
• County and City Data Book

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Provides county and city data on population, income, crime, housing, labor, and manufacturing and water use, etc.

  
  
  
• County and City Data Book - Top 25 Rankings

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Presents data from selected tables in the 2000 edition of the County and City Data Book. Mostly on population and household rankings.

  
  
  
• Country Commercial Guides (Free)

  [U.S. Department of State, Date range: current] Present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis.

  
  
  
• Country Studies (Free)

  [Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress] On-line versions of Country Studies, covering 102 countries and regions.

  
  
  
• CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices) via CRSPSift (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Contains daily and monthly historical stock prices, returns, volume and other data on more than 20,000 stocks (inactive and active companies) from the NYSE (from 1926), AMEX (from 1962), and NASDAQ (from 1972) markets. Also includes U.S. market indices, treasuries, mutual funds, and a merged database with S&P's Compustat data. Click here for more information.

  
  
  
• Current Industrial Reports

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Provides data on production and shipments of selected products by title and NAICS codes.

  
  
  

D

• Datastream Advance (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Provides index related data across global markets including valuation measures and constituent lists, global and sector indices information, exchange-traded derivatives data, global investment research, detailed information on fixed income and equity securities around the world, current and historical fundamental data, indicative foreign exchange and money markets data, real-time financial news from the Dow Jones Newswire, closing prices for OTC bond instruments, global forecast and historical economics data, and interest and exchange rates.

  
  
  
• Digital Dissertations

  [Some full-text. Date range: citations, abstracts(1980-present), full text(UM dissertations 1997-present)] Includes 1.6 million citations for U.S. and international masters theses and doctoral dissertations.

  
  
  
• Dow Jones Interactive see Factiva
  
  

E

• Economagic

  This site offers a comprehensive list of free, easily available economic time series data useful for economic research, in particular economic forecasting.

  
  
  
• Economic Census

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Guide on how to use economic census data and provides links to the data.

  
  
  
• EDGAR

  [The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] Contains all of the filings required of public companies by the SEC.

  
  
  
• EIU ViewsWire

  [The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited.] Provides economic, political, and market developments for 195 countries as well as analysis on the implications for business.

  
  
  
• EIU Country Commerce

  [The Economist Intelligence Unit] "A practical guide to regulations, operating conditions and corporate practices in 60 countries." Good place to start when looking for information on doing business in other countries, covers business information from a regulatory perspective.

  
  
  
• EIU Country Finance

  [The Economist Intelligence Unit] "Comprehensive guide to the world's main financial systems, covering banking and associated services, government policies and regulations for 47 countries." Good place to start when looking for information on doing business in other countries, covers business information from a financial perspective.

  
  
  
• Encyclopedia Britannica

  [Encyclopedia Britannica,Inc.] Includes the complete Encyclopedia Britannica as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the Britannica Book of the Year, Britannica's Internet Guide, and The World Guide with maps, country information, and news.

  
  
  

F

• Factiva (Dow Jones & Reuters) [Licensing restrictions apply]

  [Full text] Full text access to over 8,000 business sources including national and international newspapers, magazines, wire services, web sites and industry (trade) sources.

  
  
  
• Fedstats

  [The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy] Provides access to Federal government statistics from more than seventy Federal agencies.

  
  
  
• FORBES Largest Private Companies

  [Forbes.com] Lists largest private companies by Rank, Name, State, Industry, Revenues, or Employees.

  
  
  
• Fortune Lists

  [Time Inc.] Includes detailed company and industry information, top performers, CEOs and Custom Ranking.

  
  
  
• FreeEDGAR

  [EDGAR Online, Inc.] Provides free, unlimited access to indexed SEC EDGAR filings and instant download of financial data directly into Excel spreadsheets.

  
  
  

G

• Global Insight DataInsight Web or via Global Insight DataInsight Web (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Coverage of U.S. and international financial, economic, and industry data, with analysis by more than 225 analysts, researchers, and economists on over 120 industries and 200 countries. Data available covers balance of payments, cyclical indicators, finance and financial markets, government finance, housing and construction, output/capacity/capacity utilization, merchandise trade, national accounts, labor market, population, prices, and wholesale and retail trade.

  
  
  
• Google Scholar

  Google Scholar - searches selected scholarly information across many disciplines and sources, including books, articles, theses. Use the "FindIt@UMCP" link to obtain full text of an article or to find out how else to access it. Making Google Scholar Work for You

  
  
  

H

• Hoover's Online

  [Updated: daily] Provides comprehensive profiles, in-depth financials, company overviews and histories, their competitors, products, services and operations.

  
  
  
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Codes (for import)

  [United States International Trade Commission] HTS codes are 6-digit identification codes assigned to all products imported into the United States.

  
  
  

I

• IBIS World

  [Full-text] IBIS World provides industry market research reports on over 700 U.S. industries, brief company reports on about 8000 companies as well as economic and demographic reports with focus on the U.S. economy. (Access Finance folder on R.H. Smith Portal)

  
  
  
• Ingenta

  [CARL (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries)] Ingenta is a periodical index database and document delivery service that provides articles and tables of contents from over 17,000 periodicals from all subject areas.

  
  
  
• Institute for the Study of Security Markets (ISSM) (Access via WRDS - see WRDS for access instructions)

  NYSE/AMEX/NASD Trade and Quote Database 1983-1992.

  
  
  

J

• JSTOR

  [Full-text articles, Date range: Varies] JSTOR is a full-text electronic archive of over 250 scholarly journals.

  
  
  

L

• LexisNexis Academic

  [Full-text articles, Date range: Varies] Time covered varies by source. Covers a wide range of business and business-related topics. Almost all full-text. Covers business topics from local, regional & national newspapers, some trade publications, business magazines, SEC filings, some reference sources and key accounting sources. Click here to search for subject terms in an alphabetical order.

  
  
  

M

• Mediamark

  [Mediamark Research Inc.] Use it to find detailed information about the demographics and lifestyles of consumers and media audiences. Information includes consumer demographics, psychographics/lifestyles, product and brand usage, and media preferences. (Access via R.H. Smith Portal and VBIC) First time users must register using UMD email domain. To register, go to Mediamark, click on Register for a FREE Account, and follow instructions.

  
  
  
• Mergent Online [Licensing restrictions apply]
  

  [Full-text. Date range: Current - 15 years] Mergent Online (formerly Moody's) provides company information on U.S. and International public companies. The information includes: business description, executives and directory, current pricing data, company history, joint ventures, subsidiaries with geographic breakdown, properties, long term debt, capital stock, recent financial news, SEC filings, earnings estimates, and financials.

  
  
  
• Metropolitan Rankings

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Provides metropolitan rankings list by population, income, unemployment rate, federal funds and grants, and housing, etc.

  
  
  
• Mintel

  [Full-text] Provides full-text reports on a wide range of market research studies, analyzing market sizes and trends, market segmentation, consumer attitudes and purchasing habits, opportunities, weaknesses and the future of the market.

  
  
  
• Morningstar [Licensing restrictions apply]

  [Date range: Historical data back to 1996] Find a stock or fund to meet your needs, research current or prospective holdings or see how your investments work together. Morningstar's data reports cover more than 20,000 securities.

  
  
  

N

• Correspondence between SIC and NAICS

  [U.S. Census Bureau] In order to facilitate the development of time series, the U.S. Census Bureau has prepared correspondence tables of NAICS to SIC.

  
  
  
• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

  [U.S. Census Bureau] NAICS is the current industry classification that was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America. There is a 2002 version of NAICS and the initial 1997 version of NAICS.

  
  
  

P

• Patents and Trademarks Information at the University of Maryland (UMD)

  [Compiled by James C. Miller, Patent & Trademark Librarian at UMD] Lists University of Maryland collections, Internet resources, and DVD/CD-ROM databases on patent & trademark.

  
  
  
• Portals to the World

  [The Library of Congress] Portals to the World provides selective links of the countries around the world.

  
  
  
• Price's List of List

  [Specialissues.com] Provides ranked listings of companies, people and resources freely available on the Internet by subject.

  
  
  
• PsycInfo

  [Full-text, Date range : 1987 - present] Psychinfo provides one of the most comprehensive indexes in psychology and psychology-related fields. It provides citations and abstracts to journal articles, book chapters and books, technical reports, and dissertations. Some citations have links to the full-text articles in PsycARTICLES and in the Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection.

  
  
  

R

• RDS Business Reference Suite [Licensing restrictions apply]

  [Full-text, time coverage varies by title.] This database combines all three RDS databases - RDS Business & Industry, RDS Business & Management Practices and RDS Tablebase.

  
  
  
• Research Insight on the Web(RIWeb)R.H. Smith Portal-Finance-Excel with Finance Addins

  Research Insight on the Web Standard & Poor's Research Insight on the Web delivers integrated Compustat Databases (North America and Global) via the Internet in a user-friendly Excel spreadsheet. Institutional professionals involved in equity, credit, risk and industry analysis will find Research Insight on the Web ideal for building customizable financial models and performing rigorous company analysis. Features and Benefits Fundamental and market data on approximately 54,000 global securities, with up to 20 years of annual and 14 years of quarterly fundamental data, including daily pricing back from 1988 (monthly from 1962) Standard & Poor's Equity Research for a concise picture of a company's health, along with Standard & Poor's estimates of the stock's worth Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys for industry information and economic trends on industries Current and historical original financial statements from EDGAR Company press releases and articles from newswire services for recent 90 days A new ticker entry toolbar for quick company look-up

  
  
  
• Research Insight(RIWeb)R.H. Smith Portal-Finance-Excel with Finance Addins -- see Compustat

  Standard & Poor's Research Insight Standard & Poor's Research Insight is an analytical software interface used to access and screen the Compustat database using a wide range of investment and financial criteria. Research Insight gives you quantitative management tools, accessible via Microsoft Excel, for financial modeling, backtesting, company analysis, multiple regression, industry analysis, screening and more. Statistical analysis is made easy through insightful company reports, detailed performance graphs and text documents, driving your work from analysis to insight. Available Databases Users can choose from two geographic-based data sets:- Compustat North America Up to 10 years of daily and 20 years of monthly price history on active and inactive companies. Industry-Specific data on five major sectors: Homebuilding, Retail, Airlines, Oil & Gas and Healthcare GICS Aggregate data, providing historical unrestated quarterly data, covering 99% of the U.S. market cap, aggregating statement items for sector and peer analysis Hard to find data items covering: Hedge Fund/Derivatives, Pension and Postretirement, Options, Asset Allocations, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance items and more Compustat Global Up to 20 years of monthly price history on active and inactive companies Interim historical coverage including semiannual data items for new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) items, Cash Flow, Amortization of Intangibles, Capital Surplus, Investment Income and more Currency translation with cross-translation tables for more than 180 countries International Quality Ranking (IQR) scoring model, using Standard & Poor's proprietary calculations based on historical dividends, earnings data and sales data

  
  
  
• Reuters 3000 XTRA (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Contains current and historical financial data on individual companies, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, currencies, commodities, and derivatives for both international and domestic markets, as well as business and financial news.

  
  
  

S

• Schedule B (for export)

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Schedule B is 10-digit identification code assigned to every product exported from the United States.

  
  
  
• Science Citation Index Expanded

  Virtually the only index for finding which papers have cited other papers. Strongest in life sciences and medicine; weaker in engineering where much important research is covered in technical reports and conferences that SCI does not index. (SCI is 90% journal articles and accompanying bibliographies.)

  
  
  
• Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC)

  [U.S. Census Bureau] SIC was the industry classification for many years and was replaced by the NAICS system in 1997. The classification is still used in some business databases.

  
  
  
• Simmons Study of Media and Markets - Choices 3

  A CD-ROM product available behind the Information Desk in McKeldin Library. It is used to get a profile of consumer. Choices results may be saved to a disc and uploaded into a spreadsheet such as Excel. A tutorial is available from Babson College at http://www3.babson.edu/library/electronic_resources/simmons.cfm.

  
  
  
• Social Science Citation Index

  [Date range : 1956-present] Select "ISI Web of Science" from the pull-down menu at the top of the page.

  
  
  
• Source OECD

  [Full-text. Date range : 1998 - present] SourceOECD is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It comprises 20 Book collections by theme, including monographs and reports; 24 periodicals; a reference title; and the OECD statistical databases.

  
  
  
• S&P ExecuComp Database (Standard & Poor's) (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Contains Executive Compensation Reports covering current, historical and total compensation, executive options and compensation of industry peers, and objective executive compensation data on the top officers of more than 2,400 companies. Additionally, the complete Executive Compensation database is available for downloading as a Microsoft Access database. Click here for more information.

  
  
  
• Standard & Poor's Net Advantage (Standard & Poor's)

  [Full-text documents, Date range: One rolling year - present.] Provides full-text reports, forecast, analysis, statistics and ratios of about 52 major industries. Coverage is for current and up to 4 years, depending on the industry.

  
  
  
• State and Metropolitan Area Data Book

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States at the State and metropolitan area levels. Selected data for component counties and central cities of metropolitan areas are also included.

  
  
  
• State Data Centers

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Provides access to U.S. Census Bureau data and information through a wide network of agencies in each state.

  
  
  
• State Rankings

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Provides state rankings list by population, median income, violent crimes, federal funds and grants, and housing, etc.

  
  
  
• Statistical Abstract of the United States

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States, and selected international data. Current version is 2001-2002 edition.

  
  
  

T

• Thomson Financial SDC Platinum (R.H. Smith Portal - Finance)

  Provides a common front end retrieval system for a collection of databases. They contain detailed information on new issues, mergers and acquisitions, syndicated loans, private equity, and more for the global financial marketplace. Click here for more information.

  
  
  

U

• Statistical Abstracts of the United States

  [U.S. Census Bureau] Contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States, and selected international data. Current version is 2001-2002 edition.

  
  
  
• U.S. Copyright Office

  [U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress] Provides online copyright records cataloged since 1978, copyright law, key publications and congressional testimony, etc.

  
  
  

W

• WorldCat

  [OCLC] The WorldCat is the OCLC Online Union Catalog database. It contains more than 49 million records describing books, newspapers, maps, periodicals, government documents, etc. owned by libraries around the world.

  
  
  
• WRDS (Wharton Research Data Service) (Request account here)

  Provides a common front end retrieval system for a large collection of databases. (Access ONLY for Ph.D. students, faculty and faculty sponsored class research. Access is available by account only - request account at https://wrds.wharton.upenn.edu - Follow instructions.) Click here for more information.

  
  
  
• World Development Indicators Online

  [Statistical data, Date range: 1960-present] Provides more than 550 development indicators, with time series for 200 countries and 18 country groups from 1960 where available. Export options for Excel or ASCII.

  
  
  
• World News Connection

  Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports online. Includes full-text summaries and translations from around the world of newspaper articles, conference proceedings, radio and television broadcasts, non-classified technical reports, and local media sources.