2. Select a Company

The first thing you need to do before you begin your research paper is to select a company that you're going to write about. Keep in mind that private companies may not have as much information freely available as public companies do.

Start with some initial background research on your company. Start by browsing your company's website. Then try a search in the following database to learn more about your topic.

Mergent Intellect
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Intellect provides the Hoovers Online private company data from Dun & Bradstreet on over 100 million privately held global companies (plus 145 million inactive global companies).
In addition, it also provides WhitePages Pro, executive contacts on over 90 million professional decision makers, global business family tree information, Nielsen demographic data and consumer lifestyle data from Infutor, and D&B First Research Industry Reports covering over 1000 industries.

Analyze Your Company

Who

Who founded the company? Who are the top executives? Who are the competitors?

What

What product or service is offered by the company? What is the industry?

When

When was the company founded?

Where

Where is the company located? Where is their headquarters?

Why

Why does this company use SAP?

What is a NAICS Code?

NAICS stands for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Every organization has a NAICS code that describes their industry. When you're exploring a database (like Mergent Intellect), look for your company's NAICS code. Knowing your company's NAICS code will help you understand the industry in which your business operates. You can even look for area competitors by searching the NAICS code.

Microsoft's NAICS code is 511210 (Software Publishers)

Apple's NAICS code is 334220 (Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing)

Spartanburg Community College's NAICS code is 611310 (Colleges, Universities & Professional Schools)

What is a SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT analysis is an analysis of your company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). Most of the Library's business databases will provide SWOT information for your company. Reading the SWOT information can help you analyze your business and the issues they may face.