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The main point of this guide is to introduce you to a wide range of secondary market research resources but keep in mind there is great value in analyzing other information including:
SME Benchmarking Tool | Free Website
Created by Strategis/Industry Canada, this database is very useful for benchmarking financial data on specific Canadian industries. Try this short online tutorial for help.
PriceWaterhouse Coopers Canada (PwC) | Global consultancy firm that produces reports on the state of various industries.
The main point of this guide is to introduce you to a wide range of secondary market research resources but keep in mind there is great value in analyzing other information including:
Public Health Agency of Canada
PHAC’s primary goal is to strengthen Canada’s capacity to protect and improve the health of Canadians and to help reduce pressures on the health-care system.
How to Access: This resource is freely accessible to the public. Affiliation with an academic institution is not required.
PubMed Central is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine.
PubMed Central | PubMed Central is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine.
Ratios are tools that allow you to plan and assess your company's progress over time, and to compare it to other companies in the same industry. There are different kinds of ratios, including operating ratios, financial ratios, performance indicators, and benchmarks.
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.
Finding information on public companies is considerably easier than finding information on privately-held companies. Information on public companies is readily available online, or at your local library. Another good starting point is the list of resources in the next section of this Accelerator Guide: Find Competitors. Unlike public companies, private companies are not required to file with the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). Searching for private company information is considerably more difficult and will require a lot of patience, and a healthy dose of creativity.