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Michele Hayslett
Data Services Librarian
michele_hayslett@unc.edu
(919) 962-1151

Davis Reference Desk
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Geography-based Research

Off-campus access to some resources is limited to UNC faculty, students, and staff.

State and County QuickFacts (Census Bureau) - a place to start, quick overview, current

County Business Patterns (Census Bureau) - industry information including number of establishments, payroll and number of employees; lots of history but not online prior to 1993; summary info of county - suppresses when an individual business could be identified

ReferenceUSA Business, Residential, Healthcare & TechUSA - information on individual businesses, including size of business by sales and number of employees. Can get stats by these categories but not find which specific businesses are of a certain size for example. No history. (This would also fit under Industry-based Research depending on how you constructed your Custom Search.) **Licensed Database**

Local Employment Dynamics (Census Bureau) - for metro areas only; detailed analysis by age, sex, new hires vs. more experienced workers, earnings, etc.; history varies by state's participation (NC - 1992)

Historical Research Subject Headings

Here are a few useful subject headings. Try these for your hometown, substituting (of course) the names and/or abbreviations of your city, county and state.

Charlotte (N.C.)--History.
Charlotte (N.C.)--Pictorial works.
Charlotte (N.C.)--Economic conditions.
Mecklenburg County (N.C.)--History.
Mecklenburg County (N.C.)--Pictorial works.
Mecklenburg County (N.C.)--Economic conditions.
Industries--North Carolina--Charlotte.
Industries--North Carolina--Mecklenburg County.
Economic forecasting--North Carolina--Charlotte.

Remember to Expand Your Search to the other Triangle institutions if UNC doesn't have what you want. You can request materials from NCSU, Duke or NCCU and get them delivered here within a couple of days. In your search results at the top of the page look for this box:

Click on that link to run the same search at all four institutions.

Local Chambers of Commerce can be very helpful with this kind of research.

Industry-based Research

NetAdvantage - Highly useful for Industry Surveys. Can also select Sub-Industry Reviews or Global Industry Surveys where you choose the region of the world and the industry. **Licensed Database**

Mintel Reports - produces market research reports for Europe, the UK, and the US. Reports cover a variety of sectors including consumer goods, travel and tourism, financial industry, internet industry, retail, and food and drink. Reports discuss market drivers, market size and trends, market segmentation, supply structure, advertising and promotion, retail distribution, consumer characteristics, and market forecasts. Does not include all industries. **Licensed Database**

SimplyMap - a web-based mapping application that enables users to quickly and easily create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using extensive demographic, business and marketing data. The data is from EASI Analytics and Mediamark Research Inc. and is derived from government and other sources. Variables include demographics, housing, income, retail sales, consumer expenditures, consumer price index, quality of life, employment and establishments by industry, historical census data for 1980, 1990, and 2000 in 2000 boundaries, 2006 estimates, 2011 projections, and EASI/MRI market research data. Export high resolution map images. Data can be exported. Only some history. (Could also be considered Consumer-based Research.) **Licensed Database**

Don't forget local Chambers of Commerce and government (especially planning) agencies!

Please Note: All licensed databases prohibit commercial use of their data.

Other Helpful Resources

All databases are are described briefly in this PowerPoint presentation given in class September 10, 2009.

Bridge Between 1997 NAICS and SIC Codes - Gives indications of where the two industry classification systems coincide and where they do not. Remember that NAICS Codes are constantly changing, so the 2002 and 2007 versions will differ from the 1997 one to some extent.

Older County Business Patterns in print can be found in the Davis Library Federal Documents collection. Come to the Davis Library Reference Desk to ask for help finding them--there are different locations for different years.