Secondary Research

There are a variety of resources that you can use to start your research; you can start with Google and the company’s website and then check the online databases offered through the Penn State University Libraries.

A company’s website will often contain relevant information in annual reports, mission statements, and communications strategies. A basic Google search can help you identify any relevant articles or data; however, make sure the online information comes from reliable sources that you can cite. Individual blog posts are often unverified and therefore inappropriate to use. Wikipedia entries can provide good background information, but reliable entries should have their sources cited—be sure to verify their information.

Moving beyond open internet sources, you can use the Penn State University Libraries databases to access archived sources and items behind paywalls.

Using the Penn State University Libraries Databases

Go to the University Libraries Public Relations Databases page. Select Articles and Databases on your screen (see Figure 2.1 below). The page will return suggested databases based on your interest in public relations.

As shown in Figure 2.1 above, in exploring public relations, you can search both Business Source Premier and ABI/INFORM Collection for relevant information. Regardless of what brand you are working with, you can use a combination of keywords to search for relevant marketing and advertising information within these databases. For example, if your brand is Starbucks, , you can use such keywords as Starbucks, advertising, marketing, or public relations (or some combination of them) to see if anything has been written on these subjects. Alternatively, you can replace Starbucks with coffee if you are interested in learning about the overall market category of coffee brands. If you do see relevant articles, please download them, saving them in a folder on your computer so that you can retrieve them later.

Now, please select Company/Industry (see highlights in Figures 2.1 and 2.2). You will be presented with additional searchable databases containing company and industry background information (Figure 2.2). Both Mergent Intellect and MergentOnline contain relevant information about companies and brands that you might be interested in.

Other databases for you to consider include the following. Click each name to see how these databases describe themselves.

 

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In conclusion, because you are all working on different brands, your research strategies will vary. There is no one-size-fits-all research strategy. Please feel free to explore other databases if you feel that you need additional information.