Business Research Sources -ch 1: Business Information

1. Business Information

Description of Publication: Business Information

Michael Lavin's Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It is perhaps one of the preeminent books on business reference information. It will show you a great number of business resources and how to find them and use them. Unfortunately, it is a thick book, covering over 500 pages with small print and a great deal of information you may not always need. Nevertheless, it is reader-friendly and essential for those who wish an in-depth coverage of business information. Although it is not a book about specific companies, statistics, functional areas (marketing, human resources, etc.), or regulations, it has such a comprehensive listing and description of business references that it is useful for anyone interested in business research, and it is particularly recommended for senior-level and graduate students and business faculty. The book Web site is: www.oryxpress.com. If Business Information is so good, why should you purchase Business Research Sources: A Reference Navigator? The answer lies in the depth and complexity of understanding reference works. Business Information is written for professional Cover

information analysts and students dedicated to a deeper understanding of the subject. Business Research Sources is written for those who simply need a road map to their goals of research versus those who relish the sophistication of an atlas.

The second edition is an improvement on the first and is comprised of 20 chapters, which can be seen in the following table of contents. My hypothesis, and no doubt that of a great host of educators, about the research techniques of students is succinctly stated in Lavin's book.

When confronted with a research project, or even a request for a few simple facts, businesspeople seldom know how to launch their campaign. Once started, they proceed in a lurching, haphazard manner, trusting to luck and a small network of familiar contacts.

Business Information combines knowledgeable descriptions of major business publications and databases with explanations of concepts for using them effectively. The book explains how to begin a research project, where to look for information, and how to analyze what is found. According to Lavin, a business and management subject specialist at Lockwood Memorial Library, State University of New York at Buffalo, Business Information requires no prior knowledge of economics or business. Every chapter discussion begins with an explanation of the basic concepts required to understand the resources described. Two overriding themes are found in the book: the importance of planning a search strategy, and the need to develop a critical eye when using business information. Equally important, he says, is what the book is not intended to do. First, it should not be viewed as a comprehensive guide to the literature of business, and second, the book is not a guide to the "core" resources in business since, despite their respectability, the selections represent his personal preferences and biases. He offers, "Perhaps the most notable change in business information has been the increasing importance of electronic databases, especially CD-ROMs." In the past many databases were expensive and access was limited; however, most reservations regarding this matter now have long since disappeared. Many publications are produced in several formats: a single product may be available in print, on CD-ROM from several publishers, and offered on-line through many vendors, with each variation differing in some respects.

Lavin has organized the book into five sections.

Part I introduces ideas and methods important to all business research activities. These include how business information is used, its characteristics, the sources of published and unpublished data, and the forms in which publications and databases appear.
Part IIis devoted to the tools that determine where to look for information-the directories, indexes, bibliographies, and catalogs that describe other business sources.
Part IIIsurveys the challenging task of investigating companies, both private and publicly held. Research needs in this area cover directory data, financial profiles, investment information, and specialized news.
Part IV deals with statistical data of various types: demographic, economic, and industrial. A separate chapter introduces general statistical concepts and research problems.
Part Vexplores four special topics-information about local areas, business and labor law, marketing, and taxation and accounting.

In every chapter, key concepts and terminology are introduced before the related information products are described. The number of major resources varies per chapter, from about a dozen to 25 or more. Chapters conclude with discussions of strategic issues, the research problems encountered, how to initiate a project, choosing the best tools, and how to cope with information overload, which may be the only major criticism of the book itself.

One of the most significant aspects of using information is understanding the numbers offered within the statistics. Chapter 13, "Introduction to Statistical Reasoning," is particularly useful for the novice information gatherer, who avoids statistics like the proverbial plague. In "Topics Covered", for example, special note is made of "Statistical Abuses and Mistakes: Averages, Percents, Index Numbers, Rankings, Charts and Graphs, and Tables."

If you thought trying to find some information about business in the United States was hard, wait until you try Saudi Arabia or some other such exotic place. Well, there is hope...with International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, third edition (ISBN 1-57356-3536) also published by Oryx Press ( www.oryxpress.com). It describes key international business publications and databases and provides the subject background needed to understand them.

From any national perspective, much international business information is, as the authors Ruth Pagell and Michael Halperin point out, truly foreign. The sources are different, the language is different, the coding is different, and the definitions are different. This book is designed to help its users overcome the obstacles to finding and understanding international business information. An important goal for the authors has been to provide the reader with the information and techniques needed to evaluate and select information products for international business research. They believe that identifying and explaining the problems in relation to existing international business sources will help the reader evaluate new sources that will appear after their book is published.

The material the authors looked for was authoritative, available, and affordable; things near and dear to all our hearts. Most of the sources they describe are in English or have at least partial English translations. Their book is not a bibliography. Rather, their emphasis is on what they consider the core of business research: companies, industries, markets, and finance. Most of the sources described are serial publications.

Each chapter of their book consists of a subject background followed by a description of the subject's information sources. In the preface they advise that they occasionally strayed from this plan when it seemed appropriate to describe a source while discussing a business subject. Most of the chapters, they say, can stand alone and can be consulted as needed. They also warn that the inclusion of a source in their book should not necessarily be seen as a recommendation for its use or purchase. In fact, they occasionally describe a source with the recommendation that it not be purchased. In their description of sources, they have presented hundreds of extracts of entries, tables, and records, believing that seeing an actual record, or even partial record, will often give a better sense of the contents of a source than the most elaborate description. As a practical matter, they have focused their presentation on English-language directories, yearbooks, reports, databases, and electronic files.

Throughout the book, the authors emphasize that care should be taken in the use and interpretation of international business data. Business vocabulary often changes meaning when it crosses a border. Terms and concepts familiar in the United States, such as CPI, may not be used or have different definitions abroad. Something as simple as comparing the GDP of two countries has pitfalls.

Something to Think About

Here are some other valuable sources of reference service you may wish to cosider contacting for either research or job (internships, fellowships, etc.) opportunities:

American Institute for Economic Research, (413) 528-1216.
Brookings Institution, (202) 797-6000.
Research and Development (monthly), Cahners Publishing Co., Inc., (212) 645-0067.
Review of Business and Economic Research (semiannual), University of New Orleans, (504) 283-6248.
Competitor Intelligence: How to Get It-How to Use It, by Leonard Fuld, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., (800) 526-5368; reveals how to gather business and industrial information and includes sources and critical annotations.
How To Find Information About Companies (annual), Washington Researchers, (202) 333-3533.
AUBER Bibliography, Association for University and Business Economic Research, (304) 293-5837.