NAICS, which stands for "North American Industry Classification System" is used to classify statistical and financial information in the US, Canada and Mexico. These 6 digits codes allow for fairly specific industry categorization and are used by a number of databases.
Search the 2022 NAICS by keyword to find the six digit NAICS code for your project.
Choose a company through their name or ticker symbol. Once you pull up the company profile look under the primary industry classification section. Here you can find industry surveys on many companies. They tend to be broader though but include Porter's Five Forces Analyses.
IBISWorld is one of the greatest databases you can use for industry research and it is extremely easy to use. It covers a wide variety of industries both domestic and international as well as industries specialized reports that focus on industries outside the governments NAICS codes.
There are four ways to search in IBISWorld.
1) Simply type in descriptors for your industry.
ex.) For the meat packing industry we might look for "Meat Processing"
2) NAICS Code (explanation in the box to the left)
ex. If you were typed in the NAICS code 31161 (Animal Slaughtering and Processing) it would bring up industries related to that.
3) Type in a good or service.
ex.) If you typed in "Barbie" It would bring up industries that primarily focused on manufacturing or selling toys.
4) Type in a leading companies name.
ex. If you typed in Ford it would bring up industries that Ford is associated with.
First Research Industry Profile is less in-depth than IBISWorld but extremely easy to use. In this resource you can find extensive reports that are updated quarterly instead of annually like most resources and many times is our most up-to-date industry research resource.
Instructions for Accessing:
1)Click on the First Research Industry Profile link.
2) Type in keywords or NAICS code pertinent to your topic.
ex) "Meat" AND "packing"
3) Use the limiters in the left side of the screen to specify what type or time period the report is from.
ex) Use the "publication date" limiter "last 12 months" to find the most recent reports!
Business Insights has two great resources for industry research.
1) Industry Essay
This resource gives you a very quick summation of the industry but adds value in its inclusion of the history of many aspects of industries as well as further reading lists.
Instructions for Accessing:
1)Click on the Business Insights link above
2) Click on the Industries tab and go down to the Industry Essay section on the list.
3) Type in an keywords or the NAICS code of the industry you are interested in within the "search within results" search bar to the right.
NOTE* Make sure to not type in your search terms in the main search bar at the top of the screen.
ex.) If we were interested in the meat packing industry we could simply type in the keywords "Meat" AND "Packing".
4) Go through the list and find the Industry Essay most in line with your interests.
2) Plunkett Industry Reports
Plunkett Industry reports can be difficult to find a report on your topic but once you do they are extremely thorough.
At Marist the most efficient way to access them is through Business Insights.
Instructions for Accessing:
1)Access Business Insights
2) Click on the Industries tab and go down to the Industry Essay section on the list.
3) Type in an industry you are interested in within the "search within results" search bar to the right. Make sure to not type in your search terms in the main search bar at the top of the screen.
ex.) If we were interested in the meat packing industry we could simply type in the keywords "Meat" AND "Packing".
4) Once you have clicked on the link you want in your search list you may have to download the PDF to view the report.
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