Transcript Researching Business Information and Using News Alerts FSU Law Library, Spring 2005 Created by Marin Dell, Esq. 11/6/2015

Researching Business
Information and Using News
Alerts
FSU Law Library, Spring 2005
Created by Marin Dell, Esq.
11/6/2015
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Why does a law firm need to do
business research?
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Know your industry
Know your client
Know your opponent
Rainmaking
Hiring
Marketing your firm
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Workshop Outline
Performing business research in:
• Trusted business sites
• Web searching
• News alerts
• News aggregators/RSS feeds
• Blogs
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Remember:
• Online and electronic
resources do not always
mean searching “the Web.”
• Have a list of trusted sites you
know before using a search
engine
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Develop your own trusted site list by:
• Start your list now as you encounter them
• By working with your law firm’s librarian
• FSU reference librarians
- By phone
- In person
• Local law school reference librarians
- Even law school libraries that don’t admit
the public usually allow members of the
state bar to have library privileges
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Trusted Business Sites:
• E-journals
http://www.lib.fsu.edu/resources/business.html
• Business information databases
• .gov, .org and .edu websites
• Leading industry/company websites
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Company Information
• Company history and background
• Company philosophy, outlook, and broad strategic
direction
• Names, titles, and backgrounds of key executives
• Market focus and priorities
• Organizational structure, subsidiaries, and divisions
• Links to recent articles about the company
• Stockholder information
• Recent financial filings
Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 111-2.
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Company Reports
• Report Gallery
http://www.reportgallery.com
- Annual reports and 10K reports in
HTML and PDF format
• CAROL
http://www.carol.co.uk
- Annual Reports Online for the
United Kingdom
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Company Profiles
• Corporate Library, Companies, Directors &
CEOs
http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/Researc
h/default.html
• Dun & Bradstreet - http://www.dnb.com
• Fortune Company Profiles http://www.fortune.com/companies
• Forbes 500s – www.forbes.com
• Largest corporations by sales, profits,
assets and market value
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Edgar (SEC)
• EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis,
and Retrieval system, performs automated
collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and
forwarding of submissions by companies and others
who are required by law to file forms with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
• EDGAR Spin-offs:
• FreeEDGAR, www.freeedgar.com
• EDGAR Online, www.edgar-online.com
• LIVEEDGAR, www.gsionline.com
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Remember:
• Privately held companies are not
required to report their financial
information.
• Information is harder to find on
privately held companies
• Information sources are scattered
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Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies
Local Government
• Building Department: building permit records; building
inspection records.
• Consumer Protection Agency: records of complaints
about and investigations into companies, services or
products.
• County or City Clerk or the Recorder or Register of
Deeds: real estate deeds; mortgage agreements.
• Health Department: health inspection records; some
permits.
• Planning Department: development permits; bonds
posted to guarantee construction; demonstrations of
financial ability.
• Property Appraiser or Tax Assessor: property and
building descriptions; assessed value of property.
Source: Washington Researchers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/
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Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies
State Government:
• Air Pollution Office: records of inspections for air pollution
standard violations.
• Attorney General's Office: records of prosecution for
violations of state laws; consumer complaints and records
of investigations of consumer problems.
• Commerce and Economic Development Office: state
manufacturers directories; plant locations; industry trends
and statistics.
• Corporations Division, Secretary of State's Office:
articles of incorporation, notices of consolidation, merger,
etc.; in some states, corporate annual reports.
• Environmental Protection Office: investigation records
relating to water and air pollution and sanitation,
inspections of food and lodging establishments.
Source: Washington Researchers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/
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Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies
• For a full list of recommended sources of
public information on privately held
companies
• http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/
• Publications link
• Targeted Challenges: Privately held companies
link
• Free guide link
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General Business Information
• Business Wire
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/
home/index.jsp
• Hoover’s Online http://www.hoovers.com
• Browse reports by industry sector, by
selected topics, reports by report type
• EIU.com - http://www.eiu.com
• business risk and intelligence on 60
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countries
General Business Information (cont’d)
• MSN Money - stock company reports
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/
profile.asp
• CNN Money - http://money.cnn.com/news/crc
• Reuters.com - Headlines, company
information/profiles, analyst research, industry
watch. Some data requires subscription
• http://www.investor.reuters.com/StockEntry.as
px?target=/stocks
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Directories and Portals
• Westlaw - http://www.westlaw
• Lexis - http://www.lexis.com
• CEOExpress http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp
• Links to dozens of reliable, business
related resources
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Directories and Portals (cont’d)
• Portal to International Business Resources
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp
(Michigan State University portal)
• Wall Street Executive Library
http://www.executivelibrary.com
• MagPortal http://www.magportal.com/c/bus
• magazine articles on business
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Background Checks
• Many reliable sources for conducting
background checks are available online
• Some are free public records and some
are fee based.
• Permissible uses links:
• The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Driver's Privacy Protection Act
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Background Check Websites:
• LexisNexis www.lexis.com
• Westlaw www.westlaw.com
• ChoicePoint Online
www.choicepoint.com
• AutoTrackXP www.autotrackxp.com
• MerlinData
https://www.merlindata.com/about.html
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Search Engines and News Search
Remember that not all search engines
cover the same web pages!
• Altavista www.altavista.com
• alltheweb www.alltheweb.com
• Yahoo! http://search.yahoo.com
• Yahoo! News!
http://news.yahoo.com
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Search Engines and News Search
• Google News http://news.google.com/
- includes press releases
• Google http://www.google.com –
- use advanced search
http://www.google.com/advanced_se
arch?hl=en to narrow search
parameters
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“Google search” special features
• Limit a search to PDF and/PowerPoint
documents
• Limit a search to .edu and .gov domains
• Limit a search by date of most recent
update
• Use the minus sign to eliminate pages
that are clearly irrelevant
Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 59.
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When evaluating an unknown website:
Do:
• Have pre-existing knowledge on the subject
• Get a confirming source on any factual data
• Go to any original source mentioned
• Try to find official sites to confirm the data
• Remain skeptical
Don’t:
• Build your topic knowledge from only a Web site
• Use anything directly from a Web page
• Assume its all there. Ask yourself, “what is missing?”
• Assume an organization is exactly what its title says it is
• Assume that a Web site isn’t credible just because you have not
previously encountered it.
Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 110.
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Internet Credibility Checklist
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How was the site identified?
What is the organization behind the site?
Who is the author?
How does the author demonstrate his/her
breadth of knowledge on the topic?
How does the author present his/her work?
In what manner does the author present
his/her material?
Is there evidence of bias?
How current is the material?
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Source:
Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. 243-5. 27
Business news alerts
Customize news alerts with search terms
• Google news alerts
http://www.google.com/alerts
• Bizjournals tracks company if appears in news
http://www.bizjournals.com/account/modify_em
ail_subs/
• Hoovers alerts http://alertwizard.hoovers.com/
• Feedster alerts will email you when your search
terms appear in print
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http://www.feedster.com/alerts.php
Business news alerts (cont’d)
Sites can’t be customized for news alerts
• CNN news alerts http://www.cnn.com/EMAIL/
• Fox News alerts
http://www.foxnews.com/alerts/subscribe.html
• Channel News Asia
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/enews/
• BBC news alerts (UK)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/email/breakingnews
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News Aggregators/RSS feeds
• XML software, either downloaded to your
computer or Web-based, allows you to use a
news reader that will periodically check URLs
you have subscribed to for the latest news
stories.
• Most news and business sites have RSS
technology and more are being added daily.
Look for the orange RSS icon to subscribe.
• E.g. Financial Times RSS for UK and world
news http://news.ft.com/home/us
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RSS websites
• Amphetadesk
http://www.amphetadesk.com
• “AmphetaDesk is a free, cross platform, opensourced, syndicated news aggregator - it obediently
sits on your desktop, downloads the latest news that
interests you, and displays them in a quick and easy
to use (and customizable!) webpage”
• NewsMonster
http://www.newsmonster.org/
• NewsMonster is a news, weblog, and RSS
aggregator that runs directly in your web browser.
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Business Blogs
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Get industry insider information
Get “watercooler” company talk
Usually undocumented, so be skeptical!
Use as a starting point or a heads up
Find a blogger with a good reputation
• i.e. journalist or industry insider
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Finding Trustworthy News Bloggers
• Look for mentions of specific bloggers in
the mainstream press
• Journalist or insider you recognize from
mainstream press
• Note if the blogger’s pages are ranked
highly on Google
• Try running a search on a search engine
that specifically indexes blogs, such as
www.DayPop.com or www.Waypath.com
Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 173-4.
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Some things are better in print and in the library…
• Business books – best browsed in print
• Specialized directories – many smaller
directory publishers covering niche
markets are only in print
• Media Archives – complete sets
• Primary Documents – newsletters, memos
• Librarians – A reference librarian can save
you hours of wasted searching online
Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 22-3.
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For More Information:
• The Skeptical Business Searcher
• by Robert Berkman
• Law Library HF54.56 B4685 2004
• The Lawyer's Guide To Fact Finding on the
Internet
• by Carole A. Levitt
• Law Library KF242.A1 L46 2004
• The Internet Guide for the Legal Researcher
• by Ken Kozlowski
• LAW Library Reference KF242.A1 M25 2001
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Thanks for coming!
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