ENGL 417 - Written Communication for the Workplace

This guide contains resources and learning advice commonly needed for written communication in the workplace.

Library Research Guide

Industry Reports

Industry reports can be a valuable source of information for a feasibility analysis or business plan. Reports typically present overviews of industry trends, industry revenue, and revenue projections in an easy to digest format. Though reports may cover an industry that is broader than the market you are researching (for example, Sporting Goods Stores instead of Bicycle Shops), they are still useful for understanding the environment in which a new company may be operating.

IBISWorld
Paid for by K-State Libraries
K-State Libraries subscribes to IBISWorld US Industry Reports and US Specialized Industry Reports. The US Industry reports module covers 700 industries. Reports have statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants and more. The Specialized Industry Reports complement the Industry Reports module and can be useful when researching small or new industries.

First Research Industry Profiles (available through ABI/INFORM)
First Research provides industry profiles for over 1000 US industry segments. Profiles contain critical analysis, statistics and forecasts.
Fitch Solutions Country Industry Reports (available through ABI/INFORM)
Fitch covers 20 major industries for the US and other global markets.

Consumer Research

Mintel Reports
Publication Dates Covered: 2001 - present Paid for by K-State Libraries
Mintel Reports is a market research database that publishes 200+ business to consumer reports each year for US consumer markets. Each report focuses on consumer attitudes and behaviors, including survey data to understand demographic and psychographic segmentation. Also included are market size, brand share, social media analysis, and category trends.
Statista
Paid for by K-State Libraries
Insights and facts across 600 industries and 50+ countries; includes the Global Consumer Survey. Use as the starting point of your research to get facts and insights on topics that matter, expert research in condensed form, market outlooks, analyzed markets from 150+ countries, daily infographics, visualized global stories, and global consumer survey information.