Library Databases

Published: October 7, 2020
Updated: April 12, 2023

The Expensive World Of Business Information

Believe it or not, you cannot find everything on Google! Have you ever done an online search and found the perfect industry report only to find that it costs over $5,000? Did you know that libraries pay for many expensive databases that could be helpful in your secondary market research? 

Search engines like Google can only provide direct access to freely available information. Most of the web, including business information, lives in databases behind expensive paywalls. This paywall-protected section of the Internet is known as the deep web. Fortunately, some libraries pay to subscribe to databases so they can provide free access to their patrons — and many business databases can contain useful information such as articles, market research, and company reports.

There are several strategies you can use to access relevant business information on the deep web. First, we urge you to look up what business resources your local public or academic library can provide access to. Each database has its own arrangement, with unique interfaces and search features. It helps to know the structure and search terms of the specific database you are working with in order to retrieve effective results. 

Also, it is important to know that library databases are restricted by specific usage agreements. It can help to consult with a librarian if you have trouble navigating a specific database. They may also be able to help you find comparable information elsewhere. Libraries with robust business collections might have useful e-books, directories and trade journals. As you conduct your secondary market research you will likely need to consult both free and deep web resources.

For more information about how and why to use business databases, check out our video tutorial, Module Four: Conducting Your Industry Research.

Business Resources at Academic Libraries 

Colleges and Universities with business programs will have useful business collections you may be able to get access to through their academic library. Often these academic libraries can provide the general public with access to their collections, which include electronic resources like databases and e-books. For example, they could have alumni or community cards, and can provide temporary "guest" passes in certain situations. Contact your local college or university library to see what they can provide. Please note: you probably will not get access to their electronic resources with remote access.

Databases For Industry Research

UBC Library Business Databases

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you may have access to business databases through the David Lam Management Research Library and Canaccord Learning Commons through the links below.

Full Listing By Title or Full Listing By Subject

There are two different ways to identify databases: Use "by title" if you already know the name; otherwise you can search the list "by subject" to find starting places for undertaking market research, finding articles or researching companies. To learn more about how you can access library resources if you are a community user or temporary visitor, check out the UBC Library Community Users & Visitors Guide. Community users and temporary visitors may have additional access restrictions to specific databases because of license agreements.

Provincial Library Database Partners

How to access: Check out the database list and note the License Participants to find out which institutions have access. Otherwise, contact your local post-secondary library to see what they offer.

BC Electronic Library Network (ELN) Research Databases

ELN licenses databases with partner academic libraries. These include LexisNexis, Canadian Newsstream, Hoovers, CBCA Business, ABI/INFORM Complete and others that may be of interest to business researchers.

ABI/INFORM Collection

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Created by ProQuest this database contains full-text articles from over 1,000 business magazines and journals that track business conditions, trends, management techniques, corporate strategies, and industry-specific topics.

  • Canada infrastructure report - Q4 2020. (2020). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Global industry forecasts > quarterly industry forecasts > construction. (2020). (). Oxford: Oxford Economics Ltd. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection. 
  • Canadian construction activity dropped 41 per cent from march to April and is now recovering: Construction activity index. (2020, Aug 14). Real Estate Monitor Worldwide. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Canadian construction activity dropped 41 per cent from march to April and is now recovering: Construction activity index: Analysis of worker hours shows sharp drop in Ontario, British Columbia minimally affected. (2020, Aug 13). NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • The residential and non-residential construction industry will lead the post COVID-19 economic recovery. (2020, Jun 09). Real Estate Monitor Worldwide. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Global industry forecasts > quarterly industry forecasts > construction. (2020). Oxford: Oxford Economics Ltd. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection. 
  • Construction (building), including the construction of residential homes and apartments, commercial buildings and industrial buildings industry (2019). Houston: Plunkett Research, Ltd. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Modular construction market size worth USD 114.78 billion, globally, by 2028 at 6.1% CAGR: According to fortune business insights, the global modular construction market size is projected to grow from USD 75.89 billion in 2021 to USD 114.78 billion in 2028, at CAGR of 6.1% during forecast period. the increased infrastructure investment across glob boosting the modular construction industry globally. (2023, Jan 16). NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database.

BCC Research Centre

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource. Otherwise, contact your local library to see if they provide access.

Publishes 250 reports annually that are complete with market intelligence, five-year forecasts, statistical and analytical data, key players, market share, industry structure and dynamics, and technological shifts and trends.

  • TBRC. (2022, September.) Residential Building Construction Market Global Briefing 2022: Russia-Ukraine Global Impact. [Report Code MKB318F.] Retrieved from BCC Research Centre. 
  • TBRC. (2022, September.) Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction Market Global Briefing 2022: Russia-Ukraine Global Impact. [Report Code MKB320F.] Retrieved from BCC Research Centre. 
  • TBRC. (2022, September.) Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction Market Global Briefing 2022: Russia-Ukraine Global Impact. [Report Code MKB195I.] Retrieved from BCC Research Centre. 
  • TBRC. (2022, September.) Nonresidential Building Construction Market Global Briefing 2022: Russia-Ukraine Global Impact. [Report Code MKB321F.] Retrieved from BCC Research Centre. 
  • TBRC. (2022, September.) Building Construction Market Global Briefing 2022: Russia-Ukraine Global Impact. [Report Code MKB193I.] Retrieved from BCC Research Centre.

Business Source Ultimate

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource. Otherwise, contact your local library to see if they provide access.

Includes financial data, books, videos, company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry profiles, country reports, market research reports and case studies. Also includes information on industry trends, forecasts, outlooks, competitors, how to run a specific business and much more.

  • MarketLine Industry Profile: Construction Materials in Canada. (2022). Construction Materials Industry Profile: Canada, 1–48. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • MarketLine Industry Profile: Residential Construction in Canada. (2022). Residential Construction Industry Profile: Canada, 1–37. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Guerra, B. C., Shahi, S., Mollaei, A., Skaf, N., Weber, O., Leite, F., & Haas, C. (2021). Circular economy applications in the construction industry: A global scan of trends and opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 324, N.PAG. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Johansson, J., Berglund, L., Johansson, M., Nygren, M., Rask, K., Samuelson, B., & Stenberg, M. (2019). Occupational safety in the construction industry. Work, 64(1), 21–32. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Barnes Reports: SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (NAICS 236115). (2022). United States Single-Family Housing Construction Industry Capital & Expenses Report, 1–222. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Okpala, I., Nnaji, C., Awolusi, I., & Akanmu, A. (2021). Developing a Success Model for Assessing the Impact of Wearable Sensing Devices in the Construction Industry. Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 147(7), 1–14. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Lucy, J. (2019). The New Face of Urban America: Cities across America are enjoying once-in-a-lifetime urban renewal projects that pump billions of dollars into the electrical construction market. EC&M Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 118(5), C6–C8. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Barnes Reports: Water & Sewer Line Construction Industry (NAICS 23711). (2019). United States Water & Sewer Line Construction Industry Report, 1–196. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.

Business Market Research Collection (Proquest)

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Business Market Research Collection brings together four sources to help students more easily conduct the research they need to produce business plans, marketing plans, startup plans, market growth analysis, and strategic and financial plans. Includes access to: Hoover's Company Profiles, OxResearch, Barnes Reports, and the older Snapshots Series, which includes market research overviews on over 40 industries and 40 countries to 2008.

  • (2023). Residential construction contractors - quarterly update 3/27/2023. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Framing Contractors - quarterly update 12/9/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.

First Research Industry Profiles

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, or faculty you can access many of these reports through ABI/INFORM and/or Business Market Research Collection (Proquest).

Covers over 900 industry segments. Updated on a quarterly basis, these industry profiles contain critical analysis, statistics and forecasts to help you engage key prospects, coach key clients, and deepen customer relationships. You can search for reports by NAICS, SIC or keyword or browse by category.

  • (2023). Residential construction contractors - quarterly update 3/27/2023. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Framing Contractors - quarterly update 12/9/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.

IBISWorld Industry Reports

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

IBISWorld research is an independent, professional publisher of high-quality market research reports. These reports analyze the underlying structure and external forces that drive an industry.

  • McGrath, S. (2022, January). Apartment & Condominium Construction in Canada / CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23611BCA / CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • McGrath, S. (2022, September). Municipal Building Construction in Canada / CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23622BCA / CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • Gonzales, E. (2021, January). Commercial Building Construction in Canada / CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23622aCA / CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • DellaCamera, C. (2022, October). Industrial Building Construction in Canada. / CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23621CA / CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
  • Pigott, M. (2023, January). Construction in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23 / CONSTRUCTION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • Pigott, M. (2023, January). Commercial Building Construction in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23622A / CONSTRUCTION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • Clark, C. (2023, January). Industrial Building Construction in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23621 / CONSTRUCTION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • Al Bari, S. (2023, January). Apartment & Condominium Construction in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23611B  / CONSTRUCTION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 
  • Joskowski, E. (2023, January). Municipal Building Construction in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 23622B  / CONSTRUCTION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 

Marketresearch.com/Freedonia Focus

How to access: Check your local public or academic library to see about access. If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

While you can search this website only some Canadian libraries provide full-text access to the market research reports on industries and demographics for North American industries. They can range from 50 to 400+ pages in length, and contain charts, tables, and graphs, and key facts. Marketresearch.com has varied industry coverage and includes US and international information.

  • Freedonia Focus Reports. (2022, January). Housing: Canada. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic database.
  • Freedonia Focus Reports. (2023, March). Global Housing. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic database.
  • Freedonia Focus Reports. (2021, June). Construction: United States. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic database.
  • Freedonia Focus Reports. (2022, May). Commercial Building Construction: United States. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic database.

Freedonia Focus Reports. (2019, December). Global Construction Aggregates. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic database.

Mergent Online

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Provides access to US and international public company data. This database also contains data on companies that were acquired, went bankrupt, liquidated or merged out of existence from 1995 forward. Users can compare companies and export data into programs like Excel.

Statista

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

A simple to use statistics portal that integrates statistics from thousands of sources, on topics related to business, media, public policy, health and others. Statistics can be exported in PPT, XLS, PDF, and PNG formats. Some basic content available for free.

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  • (2022). Statista dossier on the construction market in Canada. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2022, November 30). Statista dossier on the construction industry in Canada- statistics and facts. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2022, June 28). Number of homes under construction in Canada 2001-2021. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2022, November 14). Annual growth rate of residential building construction prices in selected cities in Canada from 2017 to 2022. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2023, February 8). Project value of leading construction projects in Canada in 2019. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2023, February 17). Number of new housing starts in census metropolitan areas in Canada from 2016 to 2022, by province. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2022, November 14). Annual growth rate of building construction prices in metropolitan areas of Canada from 2017 to 2022, by type of building. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2023, March 3). Price index for residential and non-residential construction in Canada 2017-2022. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • (2022, November 11). Average weekly earnings in the construction industry in Canada as of August 2022, by province. Statista Research Department. Retrieved from Statista database. 
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WARC: World Advertising Research Center

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

WARC has case studies from major companies and advertising agencies, as well as articles from leading advertising journals and unpublished papers. It also includes company profiles, advertising spending statistics, and demographic and economic data.

  • Petio, C. (2020, May). US, Property and construction Ad/Sales Ratio. WARC: Data Points. Retrieved by WARC database.
  • (2022). Owens Corning: Annual roof deployment project exceeds goal of helping 300th veteran. SABRE Awards: Gold, North America. Retrieved by WARC database.
  • 2017. Ontario Road Builders’ Association: #SiteUnseen. SABRE Awards: Gold, North America. Retrieved by WARC database.

Newspapers and News Sources - UBC Library Research Guide

How to access: The guide can be viewed through the link below. Individual resources and databases will have different access requirements.

UBC Library has an excellent collection of current and historical newspapers from B.C., Canada, and around the world. UBC affiliates will have access to these resources.

  • Bozikovic, A. (2023, Apr 11). After demolition, building materials get a second life: Crews are finding new ways to reuse concrete, bricks and metal, which brings environmental and aesthetic benefits to new projects. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Conner, S. (2023, April 7). Our neighbourhoods: The shipyards district, reborn and revitalized. The Globe and Mail: Toronto. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Gold, K. (2023, Apr 07). Vancouver rental units: Harder to find, harder to build: The process to get approval to build new housing projects can take years. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Dingman, S. (2023, Apr 07). Tiny condos, form fitted: Built-ins come standard with developer’s studio units to maximize the use of smaller space. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Hughes, S. (2023, Apr 06). Toronto home prices rise as tight market increases competition; real estate; condo sales see largest growth in march. National Post. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Seyd, J. (2023, Apr 05). $23.7-million seismic upgrade completed; mountainside secondary. North Shore News. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Hughes, S. (2023, Apr 06). Toronto home prices rise as tight market increases competition; real estate; condo sales see largest growth in March. National Post. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Dingman, S. (2023). A look at Tridel’s tiny, fully furnished condos: Built-ins come standard with developer’s 408 sq. ft apartments. The Globe and Mail Toronto. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database.