Library Databases

Published: January 11, 2023
Updated: January 11, 2023

Library Databases

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.


 

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.

  • (2022, November 28).Video games market projected to grow with (CAGR) of 9.1% during the 2022-2028 forecast timeframe [76 pages report]. NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database.
  • (2022, June 28).The global video game market size is expected to reach $413 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 11.8% CAGR during the forecast period: A video game, often known as a computer game, is an electronic game that generates visual feedback through the use of a user interface. NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • (2022, October 25). Video game software market to reach $751.4 billion by 2031: Allied Market Research: Surge in demand for remote education policies, growing popularity of work from home culture, emergence of advanced technologies such as virtual reality and mixed reality with video game software solutions suites, and rise in internet penetration to drive the global video game software market growth.NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • (2022, Jul 04). Global gaming accessories market to hit $14.4 billion by 2030: Allied Market Research: Massive demand for virtual reality headsets and acceptance of handheld gaming consoles drive the growth of the global gaming accessories market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large section of people turned to video games as leisure. NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database.
  • (2022, Jun 27). Esports market, segmented: By device type, by streaming type, by application, by revenue stream, and region – global analysis of market size, share & trends for 2019–2021 and forecasts to 2031: Esports Market to surpass USD 8. 8 billion by 2031 from USD 1. 4 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 20. 6%. NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • (2022, Jun 21). Video game industry proves once again to be recession-proof. PR Newswire Europe Including UK Disclose Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Gross, A. (2022). Gaming tapers off post-pandemic as players return to the real world. FT.Com. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Gaming, B. (2022, Nov 17). The video game industry's acquisition fever: 2022 was A year full of giant purchases and A few disappointments. Benzinga Newswires. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Yardley, C. (2022, Oct 21). How Montreal's video game industry is changing to meet labour demands. The Canadian Press. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Fernandez, E. (2022, Nov 28). What is the best video game of the year? These are the nominees for the Game Awards 2022, up for the top award of the industry. Benzinga Newswires. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Fernandez, E. (2022, Nov 28). Video games on the downhill slope: A significant sector of the industry may be facing A considerable drop in revenues. Benzinga Newswires Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database.
  • (2022, Sep 07). Global anime market report (2022 to 2030) - increasing internet penetration and growing demand for anime video games is driving growth. NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • Espinoza, J., & Beioley, K. (2022). Microsoft’s Activision deal faces in-depth EU and UK probes. FT.Com. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database. 
  • (2022, Nov 22). Video game industry joins forces to raise awareness on climate change. (Content Engine, L. L. C., trans.) CE Noticias Financieras. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM database.
  • (2022, Nov 18). Video games, national industry. (Content Engine, L. L. C., trans.) CE Noticias Financieras. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM 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.

  • Electronic Arts, Inc. (NMS). Mergent Online. Retrieved from Mergent Online database.
  • Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NMS: ATVI). Mergent Online. Retrieved from Mergent Online database.
  • Zynga Inc. (NMS: ZNGA). Mergent Online. Retrieved from Mergent Online 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.

  • BCC Publishing. (2023, January). Video Games: Global Markets. [Report Code IFT208B]. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre database. 
  • TBRC. (2022, September). Video Game Software Market Global Briefing 2022: Ukraine-Russia War Impact. [Report Code MKB368F]. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre database. 
  • TBRC. (2022, May). Video Game Software Market Briefing 2022. [Report Code MKB368E]. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre database. 
  • TBRC. (2021, September). Video Game Software Global Competitor Market Briefing 2021. [Report Code MKB368D]. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre database. 
  • BCC Publishing. (2021, May). Innovation Spotlight: IDGA: Video Games. [Report Code IFT227A]. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre database.

 

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.

  • Morris, C. (2022). Global video games market expected to fall for first time since 2015. Fortune.Com. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Kim, T. (2022). Video Game Industry Struggles to Shake Sexist Attitudes. Bloomberg Opinion. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Anand, P., & Day, M. (2021). Amazon CEO Says Video Games Could Become the Largest Entertainment Business. Bloomberg.Com. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Cohendet, P., Simon, L., & Mehouachi, C. (2021). From business ecosystems to ecosystems of innovation: the case of the video game industry in Montréal. Industry & Innovation, 28(8), 1046–1076. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Cohendet, P., Grandadam, D., Mehouachi, C., & Simon, L. (2018). The local, the global and the industry common: the case of the video game industry. Journal of Economic Geography, 18(5), 1045–1068. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Kugler, L. (2022). How AI Is driving the esports boom: artificial intelligence is helping the esports industry take the world by storm. Communications of the ACM, 65(9), 17–18. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • COVID measures hampering esports market. (2022). China Economic Review.Com, 3.
  • Wiegand, N., Peers, Y., & Bleier, A. (2022). Software multihoming to distal markets: Evidence of cannibalization and complementarity in the video game console industry. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1–25. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Newverry, L. C. S. (2022). The Abcs of Gaming: Activision, Biden, and Covid-19 Set the Stage for Labor Unionization in the Video Game Industry. Wisconsin Law Review, 2022(4), 1027–1062. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Seitz, P. (2022, May 26). Video Game Stocks Hit Reset Button With Industry Consolidation. Investors Business Daily. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Le Roy, F., Robert, F., & Hamouti, R. (2022). Vertical vs horizontal coopetition and the market performance of product innovation: An empirical study of the video game industry. Technovation, 112. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Lehnert, K., Walz, A., & Christianson, R. (2022). The booming eSports market: a field day for fans. Journal of Business Strategy, 43(2), 122–128. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Ek, P., & Sörhammar, D. (2022). Effects of User Community Sensing Capability in Digital Product Innovation: Evidence from the Video Game Industry. International Journal of Innovation Management, 26(1), 1–30. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Hamouti, R. (2021). Alone or in Cooperation: What Is the Best Strategy for the Performance of Radical Product Innovation in the Video Game Industry? International Journal of Innovation Management, 25(9), 1–17. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Esports at HBCUs Promote Diversity in a Thriving Industry. (2021). INSIGHT into Diversity, 98(2), 16–17. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 
  • Wright, A. (2021). A precarious game: The illusion of dream jobs in the video game industry. New Technology, Work & Employment, 36(3), 429–431. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database. 

 

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.

  • (2022) Electronic Toys & Games Manufacturing - Quarterly Update 10.31/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Entertainment & Games Software - Quarterly Update 10/24/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Computer Software - Quarterly Update 1/31/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Multimedia, Graphics, & Publishing Software - Quarterly Update 3/21/2022. 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.

  • Burns, J. (2022, August. Video Games in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT NN003 / INFORMATION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
  • Burns, J. (2022, September). Video Game Software Developers in the US / US SPECIALIZED INDUSTRY REPORT OD4570 / TECHNOLOGY. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
  • Burns, J. (2022, July). Video Game Publishing Software in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 51121E / INFORMATION. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
  • McGrath, S. Software Publishing in Canada / CANADA INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 51121CA / INFORMATION IN CANADA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.
  • Ristoff, J. (2022, August). Software Publishing in the US / US INDUSTRY (NAICS) REPORT 51121 / INFORMATION. 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, April). Toys & Games: United States. Marketresearch.com Academic. Retrieved from Marketresearch.com Academic 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.

  • (2022) Electronic Toys & Games Manufacturing - Quarterly Update 10.31/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Entertainment & Games Software - Quarterly Update 10/24/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Computer Software - Quarterly Update 1/31/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.
  • (2022). Multimedia, Graphics, & Publishing Software - Quarterly Update 3/21/2022. Fort Mill, South Carolina: Mergent. Retrieved from First Research Industry Profiles.

 

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.

  • Kunst, A.. (2022, November 28). Hours spent on playing video games per week in Canada in 2022. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Kunst, A.. (2022, November 28).Digital video game purchases by store brand in Canada in 2022. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Kunst, A.. (2022, November 28). Video game purchases by store brand in Canada in 2022. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Kunst, A.. (2022, November 28). Video game usage by device in Canada in 2022. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Kunst, A.. (2022, November 28). Video game purchases in Canada in 2022. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Research Department. (2022, June 28). Video game ad spend in Canada from 202o to 2022, in million Canadian dollars. PwC. Retrieved from Statista database. 
  • Clement, J. (2022, November 14). Video gaming worldwide- statistics and facts [dossier]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Clement, J. (2022, October 18). Best-selling video games - top publishers and titles - Statistics & Facts [dossier]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Clement, J. (2022, October 18). Best-selling video games - top markets - Statistics & Facts [dossier]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Digital video game shops in Canada [dossier]. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Video game stores in Canada [dossier] Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.

  • Video game subscription services in Canada [dossier]. Statista Consumer Insights. Retrieved from Statista database.

 

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.

  • Bell, S. (2022, September). The entertainment trends taking marketers into 2023. WARC Trends. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • (2022, October). What we know about marketing via gaming. WARC Best Practices. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • (2021). Ally Financial: Ally Island, the only bank worth visiting in Animal Crossing. Account Planning Group (UK). Retrieved from WARC database.
  • (2019, November). What’s working in mobile, apps, and games. WARC Category Intelligence. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • (2022, December 2). Forget the metaverse, focus on gaming. WARC Newsfeed. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • Clapp, R. (2021, August). Gen Z spend more time gaming than using social media. WARC Data Points (Curated) Retrieved from WARC database.
  • Clapp, R. (2021, January). Gaming activity grew quickest among older Americans in 2020. WARC Data Points (Curated) Retrieved from WARC database.
  • Clapp, R. (2019, December). Gaming consumption tops nine and a half hours per week. WARC Data Points (Curated) Retrieved from 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.

  • Gifford-Jones, W., & Gifford-Jones, D. (2022, Nov 24). Game on for video games. The Lethbridge Herald. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Stone, S. (2022). Using virtual worlds to learn about the real one: Digital education firm Skewb Climate is working with utilities to get messages about energy and water efficiency through to the younger generation via bespoke video game minecraft. Utility Week, 38. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database. 
  • Silvan, R. (2022). Game on: How mobile, mega-caps, and the metaverse are transforming video games. The Canadian Money Saver, 42(2), 18. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database.