Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

MEL’s Database of the Week for 4/1/11

April 1st, 2011

Welcome to Database of the Week — a feature from the Management & Economics Library (MEL).  These weekly database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

If you have a suggestion for a database or research topic that should be covered, please let us know.

Database name: Plunkett Research Online, from Plunkett Research.

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: Plunkett Research Online offers company, industry, and job market information.

Start with this hint: Although Plunkett Research Online is a good resource for current information about companies and industries, what sets it apart from other market research databases is the section called Job Seeker Resources & Tools. This makes Plunkett Research Online one of the key resources for students on the CareerWiki.  The Job Seeker section has an occupational outlook, statistics on the job market, and more. Back on the home page, industries range from Investment & Securities to Biotechnology, Drugs & Genetics. For a company, search within its industry or use the Advanced Search.

Other common tools available in this database:  fulltext reports; create an alert; create a personal space for later retrieval of searches.  For use of these tools in this database, contact Mary Dugan

Why you should know this database: Plunkett Research Online company reports include international, middle market, and private sectors.  They have the expected elements such as financials and a list of competitors, and offer a section called “Other Thoughts” on the number of women officers and its rating as a “Hot spot for advancement for women and minorities.”  Industry reports have separate sections on trends, statistics, and associations.

How this database can be integrated into the curriculum: Plunkett Research Online searching is simple, and the industry and company reports are concise and up-to-date.  Job-seeking students can compile a list of contacts in the industry of choice.

Cost: Paid annually by Purdue University Libraries.

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Database of the Week comes to you from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.