Information sources for market research

Maria Mawson, University Librarym.b.mawson@sheffield.ac.uk

TheUniversityLibrary

Market research… why do it?• “Awareness of market trends, consumer

behaviour and your competitors will enable you to find a niche, and develop a business that fulfils your customers’ needs.”

• British Library Business & IP Centre http://www.bl.uk/bipc/resmark/index.html

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

2

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

3

Market research…different types• Primary (or field) research – the required information

does not already exist, so research is undertaken from scratch e.g. surveys or interviews

• Secondary (or desk) research – data and information that already exists and can be accessed in the organisation e.g. government statistics, news

• The two types often complement each other, and market research projects often incorporate both.

• Brassington, F. & Pettitt, S. (2007). Essentials of marketing. (2nd ed.) Harlow, England: Pearson. p.153

Sources for desk research…

• Business and trade magazines and journals

• Trade associations

• Company information

• Statistics

• Government publications

• Market research reports

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

4

A cautionary tale…

• …from the Dragons’ Den…

• Dragons' Den, [television programme, online], 21:00 23/8/2010, BBC TWO, 63mins. http://bobnational.net/record/247135, (Accessed 25/02/2015).

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/letitiavalentine.shtml (Accessed 25/12/2015)

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

5

Fee or free?

• Not all information is free, so your options may be restricted

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

6

Starting points…

• RBA Business Information Resources

• University Library Subject guide to Company & business information

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

7

SOURCES AVAILABLE TO ALL…

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

8

Government information & statistics

• UK Office for National Statistics includes national, regional and neighbourhood data

• Compendium of UK Statistics – includes population, economy, social indicators and environment

• The Library subject guide for statistics links to more sources

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

9

Trade associations

• Useful way of finding out more about a business sector

• The Trade Association Forum site includes a list of member associations

• e.g. Greeting Card Association has free information about business start up & some figures from the latest market report. Full report free to members

TheUniversityLibrary.

Sheffield Business & IP Centre• Help to start, run

and grow your business

• Free access to business and intellectual property databases and information

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

11

British Library Business & IP Centre

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

12

SOURCES FOR UNIVERSITY MEMBERS

Business Source Premier

• Content from magazines, trade publications, industry profiles, market research reports, company profiles

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

14

Nexis

• News and business information service, used by businesses to gather intelligence about markets, companies etc.

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

15

Mintel

• One of the UK’s best known providers of market intelligence information

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

16

Licence terms & conditions

• Digital resources that the University Library subscribes to are subject to licence terms and conditions, which authorised users must follow

• For more information see http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/licences/licence

15/04/23 © The University of Sheffield

17

To DiscoverAndUnderstand.