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BCOM 214 - Fundamentals of Business Communication

Section 1 – Industry Overview

What you might include:

  • Background or historical information
  • Key details like valuation, performance, sub-industries, etc.
  • Context in overall economy - relationship to other industries, etc.

Search strategies

1. Think of keywords that you could use to describe your industry.

Consider these industry characteristics as you develop your keywords: 

  • Geographical focus
  • Sub-industries (narrow) or sectors (broad)

2. Learn the industry's NAICS code (North American Industry Classification System).

You can search with this code as a keyword or filter in business databases to locate information specific to that industry. Learning how NAICS describes and situates the industry in its overall structure can also help you identify additional keywords to employ.

3. Create a search strategy.

Review this search strategy tutorial for tips on developing your search strategy and using Boolean operators.

4. Use your search in library databases!

Example

The steps below follow the search strategies outlined above. In this example, we will be researching the U.S. shoe manufacturing industry.

Step 1: Brainstorm search terms (synonyms, like terms):

  • Shoes, footwear
  • Manufacturing, production
  • United States, U.S....
     

Step 2: Find the NAICS Code

  • In the top search box, type a keyword that describes your industry (e.g., “shoes,” or “footwear").
  • Browse the results to find the most relevant industry description.
  • Click the industry title to see its full definition, code, and related industries.
  • For our search, 316210 Footwear, athletic, manufacturing is our code

Tip: If you’re not sure of the exact keyword, you can also use the “NAICS 2022 Code Drill-Down Table” to browse codes by sector.
 

Step 3: Create a search string w/ Boolean operators:

  • shoe AND manufacturing AND industry AND "United States"
  • (footwear OR shoe) AND (manufacturing OR production) AND industry AND "United States"
     

Step 4: Begin searching in library databases

If you do not find what you need in Library Search, try a specialized business database:

  • EX2: IBISWorld: shoes 
    • Tip: Try using only one keyword or phrase at a time. Apply filters like country and report type to narrow results as needed.
  • EX3: Business Insights Global: 316210 (NAICS code)
    • Tip: When keywords don't bring up what you need, try the NAICS code to better target your industry.
       
Now you try — follow these steps to search for your own industry using the recommended resources below.

Recommended resources

In addition to the Library Search and the NAICS site, these three databases are good places to start as you begin conducting industry research. Focus on resource types called "reports".

Still can't find what you need? Find more industry research databases and strategies on the business research guide.

Review your results

Once you've crafted your search strategy, you'll then need to review the search results to make sure the resources fit your needs.

Consider the following when reviewing search results or individual resources:

  • Relevance to your industry: Check the title, abstract, or subjects associated with the item's record for keywords and NAICS code(s) that relate to your industry.
  • Publication date: Check the publication date to ensure the information is current. Ideally, you want information published as recently as possible for industry research. If it's older than a year or two, would the resource still be valuable if examining historical trends?
  • Geographical focus: Most industry research resources (like reports) have a specific geographical scope. This might be a state, country, region or continent, or the worldwide/global market. Make sure you know which market is being discussed so you can speak to it correctly in your report.
  • Source/Document Type or Publication Type: Reports are the ideal source type for industry research, so try to filter or review your results for these first. If you cannot locate a report, then try newspaper, magazine, or trade publication articles.