Secondary Marketing Research Certificate

Find links to resources and questions to guide your exploration.

Researching Companies

Questions to Explore

What affects the availability of company information?
Can you find SEC filings for a food truck business?

MarketLine This link opens in a new window
Provides access to U.S. and international industries, public and private companies, and country reports. Examples of Porter's Five Forces analyses in Industry reports, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) in Company reports, and PESTLE (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental) in Country reports. Databases and Analysis sections include statistics and data on industries, companies, countries, cities, and consumer products by country as well as financial deal data, news, case studies, analyst insights and more. Please note that UTSA does not subscribe to GlobalData Intelligence Centers.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive business and financial data for U.S. and international public and private companies, active and inactive. Includes executive compensation data, bonds, Country Insight, Supply Chain, Investext analyst reports and screening tools.

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) (SEC.gov)
A database which performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please note that not all documents filed with SEC are available on EDGAR. Online documents on EDGAR go back to 1996.
Using EDGAR to Research Investments

Company Directories

AtoZ Databases This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a directory of U.S. business, household, and healthcare information.

Questions to Explore

In the bottom left quadrant, go to 30 Million Businesses > Get Started. Select geography,.e.g. Bexar County > use keywords to create a list. Try food truck or screen the options for any other relevant terms.
What is the keyword used in AtoZ for this type of businesses? Add it to your list of synonyms.

CrunchBase
A free database of technology companies, people and investors.

Questions to Explore

Look up a favorite tech company. Review the types of information available in the company profile.

News Stories

Searching for news stories about a company, industry, or products is another important step in the research process. The following UTSA databases may be useful:

Wall Street Journal (Current) | WSJ.com This link opens in a new window
Register for free access to WSJ.com and the WSJ apps. Includes all WSJ articles, videos, interactive features, digital print daily edition, and more.
San Antonio Business Journal This link opens in a new window
Provides in-depth coverage and breaking news on the business communities in the local San Antonio area. Users must first register for an account using their UTSA email address to access the content.. After a personal account is created, users may login directly on the SABJ site.

Please refer to this Research Guide for additional information on registration and access.
ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Access trade publications and the Wall Street Journal.

Questions to Explore

Search for recent stories about "food trucks" or a favorite company in each of the three databases.

Researching Private Companies

Researching Private Companies

Questions to Explore

What is the main difference in researching private vs public companies?
Name at least three UTSA databases where you may find information about private companies.
Search for USAA in these databases and compare the results.
What kinds of information can you find in Form D filings?