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Industry Research

Related Subject Starter Guides Companies | Economics and Finance | Marketing

 

Checklist

Researching an industry or market for a product or service involves looking at a variety of information sources

Newspaper articles

Articles from newspapers and broadcast media, eg Factiva. see also the Newspapers guide.

Trade associations

Industry and trade associations can be a very useful source when researching an industry. Consult the Directory of Australian Associations to find out if the Industry you are researching has an association in Australia. Fo overseas industries, try the World directory of trade and business associations. London : Euromonitor, c2007, (Hawthorn) Reference 382 WOR-E5, or search the Internet for one, or see some specific links below Publications from trade and industry associations are indexed specifically in databases such as Business & Industry, Business Source Premier and Factiva. See also links to industry assocations, below.

Statistics

Statistics on Australian industries and markets can be found from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) see the Themes page and also the current Yearbook. International statistics can be found in Euromonitor GMID.
see also the Statistics Subject Starter Guide.

Government information

Government information is an important component of industry research, see some examples below.

Industry overviews

Industry overviews are a ready made source of information. Examples of these are IBIS Industry Reports. Swinburne subcribes to approximately 100 Australian industry reports. The complete database of IBIS industry reports can be viewed (in person, no printing or downloading) at one of the Victorian Business Centres.
Euromonitor GMID also has industry overviews, list of Australian industries covered is here.
You can browse a list of Industry Profiles for different countries in Business Source Premier, also.

Company information

Company information is a key component of your research, see the Subject Starter Guide on Companies.

Government sites (Australian) see also Government Subject Starter Guide

Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

  • Australian Industry Group
    represents employers in manufacturing, construction, automotive, telecommunications, IT, transport, labour hire and other industries

Industry Specific Sites and Subject Starter Guides

Authors: Jane O'Donnell (jodonnell@swin.edu.au)