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Science & Business Research Guide: Industry Research

Library Research

What is Industry Research?

Let's say you are interested in starting a company in biofuels. Before you start working, you want to know more about your potential competitors.

What are the key pieces of information you would want to know about your industry before you start?

You would probably want to know:

  • the key players/competitors and their strategies 
  • is your industry growing or shrinking
  • industry trends

Seeking out this kind of information is industry research. 

Figuring out your Industry (NAICS)

When you are doing industry research, many of the databases will understand keywords, like "biofuels" or "biodiesel." and this is a good strategy.

However, we can add a degree of sophistication to our search, by using our industry's North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, for databases that understand it. Incorporating the NAICS code has 3 advantages:

  1. Databases like IBISWorld understand this code and will readily give you relevant results
  2. NAICS is a universal system between Canada, America, and Mexico 
  3. Searching through the NAICS hierarchy may expose you to adjacent industries, which may give you inspiration or new avenues to research

Crafting your Search

In order to get good industry research, we need a good strategy. In this case, a good strategy is comprised of the right tools and an effective search string. 

Selecting the Right Tool

Finding the right tool can be a daunting challenge, but under Library Resources and Openly Available Resources, we have compiled great industry research tools to get you started.

To find industry research for biofuels, as an example, we are going demonstrate IBISWorld. 

Creating your Search String

IBISWorld is good at giving relevant results from a handful of keywords. Meaning that using Boolean operators, like "AND" "OR" or "NOT" is not necessary. 

Instead we can search IBISWorld using keywords, NAICS code, or company name. 

So for industry research in the biofuels industry we may be interested in:

  • Keyword example: biodiesel, ethanol
  • NAICS code example: 32519 (ethanol and biodiesel manufacturing) 
  • Company example: Greenfield (biofuels company)

Once you have your tool and search string all that is left is to try it out! 

Slide 1: Finding Industry Research - Biofuels in NAICS and IBISWorld

The NAICS 2022 homepage. The search bar is in the centre of the page. Menu options across the screen are below the search bar. The NAICS classification structure is located at the bottom of the webpage.

Slide 2: Finding our NAICS Code

To find our NAICS code, we can either manually search through the classification structure or we can use the search box.

The NAICS search result, for the term ethanol. A green arrow points to the NAICS code: 32519. The NAICS code is followed by a brief description of the code.

Slide 3: Finding our NAICS Code

Let’s use the search function! You may have to try several keywords for your industry to get a result.

The Library Home Page, with the Search function in the centre of the page, menu options across the top of the header and body, and the Quick Links menu to the left. A blue arrow points to the Quick Link “Databases.”

Slide 4: Navigating to IBISWorld

Now that we have our NAICS code, we can begin searching in IBISWorld. To find IBISWorld, go to the Library Home Page. Click on the Databases Tab.

The Database search results, with a link to IBISWorld in the centre of the screen, followed by a description of the database.

Slide 5: Navigating to IBISWorld

In the Databases search bar, search for IBISWorld.

Slide 6: Searching on IBISWorld – The Search String

Next, we need to make our search. IBISWorld is good at giving industry reports from a few search terms. So, let’s produce keywords, companies, and NAICS codes for the biofuel industry.

 For keywords we could use “ethanol,” “ethyl alcohol,” “biodiesel,” or “cooking oil.” For companies we could use “Greenfield,” or “Valley Proteins.” And our NAICS Code is 32519.

Let’s also think: what other industries might we want to research as competitors to biofuels? For example, petroleum?

Three search results. Each search consists only of one search term. These search terms are “32519,” and “cooking oil.” Each search result shows relevant reports, with brief descriptions of their contents.

Slide 7: Searching on IBISWorld – The Search String

Since IBISWorld only needs a few search terms to give accurate results, we only need to use 1 or 2 at a time from our list to get a useful report. Currently, we only have reports for Canada and America.

As we can see, searching using a NAICS code or keyword, all brings relevant results, as would a company name.

Slide 8: Searching on IBISWorld – The Results

Looking at one of the reports, we can see that we have the navigation menu on the left to help breakdown the report. We can also download the full report or chapters of a report, using the buttons on the right.

The “At a Glance” tab of the report. A list of statistics is located on the right of the screen, with more in-depth text analysis in the middle of the screen. Scrolling towards the end of the section, to the right of the screen is a SWOT analysis and to the left of the screen is a pie chart breakdown of major companies, as well as a list of key external drivers.

Slide 9: Searching on IBISWorld – Section Highlight

The “At a Glance” section contains key statistics and facts about our industry. Interestingly, a SWOT analysis of the industry is also included in this section.

The “Performance” tab of the report. 2 sample sections are shown. These sections consist of bullet point summaries of the industry’s performance, with the option to switch to paragraphs.

Slide 10: Searching on IBISWorld – Section Highlight

The “Performance” section, contains key information about our industry’s current and forecasted performance.

The “Companies” tab of the report. A list of prominent companies in the sector and their key metrics is at the top of the screen, with more in-depth descriptions below this list.

Slide 11: Searching on IBISWorld – Section Highlight

The “Companies” section gives relevant companies for our industry. This may be important if we want to do more research on our competitors.

Library Resources

IBISWorld 

How to Use IBISWorld for Industry Research?

IBISWorld contains industry reports for Canada and the United States. You can search by keyword, NAICS code, industry name, or company name. 

GlobalData Explorer 

How to use GlobalData Explorer for Industry Research

GlobalData Explorer includes industry profiles for many countries internationally. To find industry profiles, use the "Sectors" drop-down menu and search for a keyword, such as "pharmaceuticals" or "agriculture."

ABI Inform 

How to use ABI Inform for industry research? 

Search for your industry by keyword in the search fields. Scroll down to select Document Type and choose Industry Report, Market Report, and/or Market Research. ABI Inform uses Boolean Operators and keywords for effective searching: see the Library's tutorial on Advanced Database Searching to learn more about these techniques. 

Frost & Sullivan 

How to use Frost & Sullivan for Industry Reports?

Openly Available Resources

NAICS 

How to use NAICS codes for industry research? 

Databases like IBISWorld and Canadian Industry Statistics allow you to search by keyword or NAICS code. If you can't find reports on your industry, it helps to know how industries are organized by code in order to find the closest related industry. 

Canadian Industry Statistics 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Industries at a Glance 

Government of Canada Industry Sector Intelligence 

European Commission Industry Profiles 

KPMG Reports 

Deloitte 

Reports from Trade Associations

How to use reports from Trade Associations for industry research? 

Most industries have trade associations, who collect and publish information about that industry. Try searching online for your industry or topic and "association", ex. "sporting goods association Canada". 

It is important to know that there are many more potential tools, beyond these curated ones, which you could use for industry research. Depending on your topic, some of these tools may be more or less useful to you. As you get comfortable with your problem space and searching, feel free to explore beyond what's offered here.