This guide was prepared for Dr. Durvasula's course on marketing research methods. The guide provides sources for secondary research only.

Brief description of 3 authentication methods:

1. New Library Login (OpenAthens):  Many library resources use this method for logging in; requires no setup. When prompted, select "Marquette University Libraries (AZURE)" and then sign in using your Marquette email/password.  
2. Library Login (legacy version):  This method is quick and requires no setup.  Just login before clicking on library database links or when prompted to do so. A few library databases will not work with it. 
3. VPN (virtual private network): The VPN requires you to download an app onto both your cell phone and your computer. A few library databases require it for off-campus access. Outline of the steps required for the VPN:
   • Register for Duo Mobile if you haven't already (see "detailed VPN instructions" linked just below).
   • Download Duo Mobile app onto your cell phone. Allow push notifications for it.
   • Download GlobalProtect app onto your computer. Complete GlobalProtect setup on your computer.
   • Find detailed VPN instructions from ITS here.

The databases below offer industry profiles that are regularly updated, some quarterly, some annually, etc.  There are more industry profiles in two of our article databases, ABI-Inform Collection and Business Source Premier. 

The After Market Research (AMR) module in Workspace (formerly called Refinitiv) is another good source for industry information, but it is more difficult to use and requires registering for an individual account.  I've put the AMR module into its own box below, with more instructions for getting to the industry-wide reports. Please be aware that you can often find really useful reports in the AMR module, but it can take some time to find them.

Below are links to industry reports from individual publishers, and to databases that contain industry reports. Many of these reports are available in general business databases:  where possible, the links go directly to that content, not to a general search screen.  But where such direct linking is not possible, the links go to the main database search screen (e.g. Passport).

Two notes about MarketLine reports:

MarketLine reports are available in two different databases, Ebsco's Business Source Premier, and Refinitiv Workspace's After Market Research module (aka AMR or Investext). Each has advantages and disadvantages. 

1. For slightly easier searching, use Business Source Premier
2. For the most complete collection of MarketLine industry and company reports, use the AMR Research collection in Workspace; Ebsco does not always receive the current reports in a timely way. Notice that Workspace requires registration for an individual account. 
   Instructions for searching in the Workspace AMR collection are available here.

Links to reports from individual publishers or vendors:

These reports are pulled from large aggregator databases (ABI-Inform Trade & Industry, Business Source Premier, and Business Insights Essentials). The interfaces of these large databases allow me to create these individual links, which is not possible in other interfaces.

Links to databases:

The After Market Research module in Workspace (formerly Refinitiv) is a collection of research reports written by investment analysts from many different research companies.  Some of the 'big names' are:  Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, William Blair, AE Edwards, CitiBank, Credit Suisse, and many more; these contributor companies can and do change over time.  It also includes reports from market research companies (non-broker research companies) such as MarketLine.

About the content:

• Reports are embargoed by 2-3 weeks (i.e. we get delayed access)
• Over 1,400 providers (contributors or publishers) of in-depth research reports on companies and industries worldwide
• An industry report is defined as a report which discusses at least three companies.  Although many of the industry reports offer very valuable content, this oddball definition means that some industry reports are less useful.  Equally, the indexing or tagging for industry reports is very inconsistent. I do not recommend using this filter.
• The module is also sometimes just called Research, or AMR.  Investext is the original name of the module.

Download limitation:

For each 24-hour period, you are allowed to download a maximum of 150 pages of AMR content.  Below is more discussion about how to avoid downloading extraneous pages.

Getting to the AMR module:

The instructions below are for searching directly in the AMR module. Of course you can also get to reports for specific companies just by starting with a search on an individual ticker or company name.

Assuming you have already registered for an individual account, once you have logged in:

1. Click on Research (see screenshot below)
2. Then click on Advanced Research

The AMR filters:

The AMR filter menu is located in the left margin and has many options! 

At left is a smaller, composite screenshot of the complete filter menu. To see the screenshot full-size, right-click on the image and select "Open image in new tab".  Not ideal, but there it is. 

Below are suggestions on filters to use or consider.  The line numbers below correspond to the numbers in the screenshot image. 

To exit an opened filter menu, be aware you usually have to click on a Done button.  

1. Date range:  The default period is the current 90 days. When searching for more than just one company, change this to 1-2 years.
2. Keyword search:  Here's where you enter keywords to search WITHIN the documents.  
3. Sort By Relevance:  Notice this checkbox.
4. Contributors:  You can enter the names of specific research companies here.
5. Industry: There is an expandable hierarchical menu of industries. 
6. Report types:  You can specify that you want industry reports here; be aware that the indexing for this filter is not reliable.
7. Subjects/Topics:  The filter for Initiation of Coverage is here.  If you're starting from a company search only, this filter will only appear if the time period you've chosen includes an "initiation of coverage" report.  When the time period does not include such a report, the filter does not appear.
8. Page count:  To eliminate shorter, less substantive reports, enter a number here (e.g. greater than 10 or 15).
9. Search:  To apply the filters you have selected, click on Search.  

AMR download/viewing allowance:

You are allowed a total of 150 pages of AMR content per 24-hour period.  Since some AMR reports can be 50 or 100 pages in length, obviously you need to pick and choose carefully. 

On any AMR search results screen, you will see your remaining download allowance in red. (See arrow at right in screenshot below.) The remaining pages number will change as you use your page allowance. When you hover over the red text, the mouse-over message will appear (orange border below). 

Strategies for reducing the number of pages you download:

1. Keep track of the page numbers for each report, listed in the Pages column. (Arrow at right in screenshot below.)
2. Click on the white-on-black PDF icon in the Info column (enlarged detail screenshot at right; look for middle arrow in screenshot below).
3. Click on Doc Info (screenshot below) to see the table of contents (toc) for the report before downloading it. Do NOT click on Download Document!
4. From the table of contents menu, deselect sections such as the disclosure statement, some charts and/or appendices.

   

5. Look in the Analyst column (screenshot below): Ideally, there should be the name of an individual analyst there. If this column is empty, or only says "research team" or repeats the name of the contributor company, be wary! This makes it more likely that the 'report' was compiled or scraped from publicly available data by bots.
6. Look in the Estimate Rating and Recommendation Rating columns:  These ratings are only provided for the "top of the line" contributor companies. When available, these provide a rating of the reliability of the individual analyst as compared to peer analysts. These ratings are not for the contributor company overall.  When there are no star ratings, that means that this contributor company has either less history, less authority, or is not a sell-side research company.
   ➤  Hover over the "I" Information icons for more detail about how to understand the star ratings.