Reference USA. Another source of business and consumer research, which is available at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, is Reference USA. This database is especially useful for small business owners/entrepreneurs and for job seekers. (OSU does not subscribe but students can get a free public library card, even if you don't reside in Benton County.)

Market analysis can be very challenging. Not all the information you need is going to be publicly available, which is precisely why you also need to conduct primary research for your projects. Sometimes you'll have to extrapolate information from different sources to get the information you need. Market research reports created by for-profit companies are usually much too expensive for a student to afford and impossible for a library to obtain. You will need to get creative!

NAICS Lookup from the U.S. Census Bureau

What is NAICS? The North American Industry Classification System or NAICS is a federal classification system used by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data relating to the business economy.

Using the NAICS code to find distributors and manufacturers?  If the NAICS code begins with a 3 or 4 you can find more information (top manufacturers, states where they are located, etc) in the volume of three books titled "Manufacturing & Distribution U.S.A" which can be found online. Click on "Connect to this title online".

To construct a successful business or marketing plan, it is important to know your audience. Demographic tools are a good way to discover something about the people and the communities you plan to market to.

Here are several online tools to help you.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (Proquest) A comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. Tables may be downloaded as Excel or PDF files.

US Census Data: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Includes population, housing, and economic information. For more information on how to use this site, visit our Census Data Guide.

Oregon Explorer: Rural Communities Explorer: Information compiled and updated by faculty and staff at Oregon State University. Includes online information about Oregon communities (including Portland) that can't be found anywhere else.

American Marketing Association Reference Style List with examples can be found here.

Qualtrics: OSU provides a campus-wide license for the Qualtrics survey system that is available to all faculty, staff and students. Qualtrics is an industry leading web-based survey system that offers a robust capability for building and distributing surveys and supports sophisticated data analysis tools.