Author: Nicholas

Database of the Month: PrivCo

Nicholas

PrivCo image

Trying to find financial information on private companies?  The Bentley Library has just added PrivCo, a database specializing in hard to find data on major private companies, to its growing list of electronic databases.  PrivCo provides access to detailed information on private company financials and revenues,  private merger and acquisition deals, private firm valuations,  private equity deals, venture capital fundings, private and family ownership breakdowns, bankruptcies, and restructurings. According to its website, PrivCo has reports on over 228,000 private companies, 12,500 private investors, 44,000 private merger and acquisition deals, and 37,000 VC funding rounds.

Searching

You can search for an individual company or investor directly by simply entering the name in the search box in the upper right corner of the screen.  If you want to generate a list of companies or investors that fit certain criteria, use the Advanced Search option.   In the Advanced Search option, you can limit your search for companies or investors by:

  • Region or industry
  • Annual revenues, growth rates, and total number of employees within a certain range
  • Investor type and preferred stage of investment
  • Deal size, funding round size, and total funding raised

PrivCo2

Company Information

The amount of information contained in a company report will vary depending on the company but often includes the following:

  • Business summary
  • Overview and corporate organization
  • Competitors & comparables
  • Ownership
  • Charts, financials, and statistics, including revenues, gross profits, total employees, productivity, and total locations
  • Detailed business description, including information on strategy, products, marketing, industry trends, history, and lawsuits and controversies.

Investor Information

The amount of information will also vary by investor but will most likely include the following:

  • Investor summary
  • Recent news, updates, and analysis
  • Investor overview
  • Investor contacts
  • Private deal history, including total deal amount

Knowledge Bank

PrivCo also has a section called the Knowledge Bank which is a repository of general information on private companies, private company valuation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, and bankruptcy and restructuring.  The entries in this section are detailed and extensive and are designed to help users navigate and understand the ins and outs of the private market.

PrivCo is available through the Bentley Library’s Databases A to Z listing.  For further assistance using the PrivCo, please contact the Reference Desk.

__________________________________

 

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please Ask a Librarian. If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: Communication and Mass Media Complete

Nicholas

AcademicSP imageCommunication and Mass Media Complete is an excellent source of information and research on communication, mass media, and other closely related fields of study. If you need to find articles, especially scholarly articles, for your marketing, English & media studies, psychology, or sociology courses, this is the perfect database to use.  Communication and Mass Media Complete has full text access to over 500 journals related to these subjects , with this access going all the way back to 1915 in the case of some journals.

History

Communication and Mass Media Complete brings together the content of 2 older databases, CommSearch from the National Communication Association and Mass Media Articles Index from Penn State. EBSCO has two working groups comprised of librarians, bibliographers, and communication and mass media professionals endeavoring to enhance and develop the database further.

Browse

If you are familiar with some of our other EBSCO databases, such as Academic Search Premier or Business Source Premier,  searching Communication and Mass Media Complete will be simple and easy. The advanced search screen in Communication and Mass Media Complete is nearly identical to the advanced search screen in those databases.  You can limit yourself to scholarly, or peer reviewed, articles, articles available in full text, and articles published with a certain date range.

C&MMC image

Connect to this Database

Please visit Communication and Mass Media Complete to explore this valuable database further or visit our Databases A-Z page to view a complete list of our resources.

———————————————-

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please Ask a Librarian.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: CQ Researcher

Nicholas

CQ Researcher is a source of in depth, comprehensive reports on a range of social, political, economic, and scientific issues. The reports provide an overview, background and chronology, maps and graphs, and bibliography related to a particular issue. Each report is written by an experienced journalist and addresses a specific question related to an issue. For example, the report titled Campaign Finance Debates poses the question “Should regulations be loosened further?”. The reports go back as far as 1991 and continue to be published every week.

History

CQ Researcher was originally published as Editorial Research Reports from 1923 to 1956,  before being bought by Congressional Quarterly. During these years, Editorial Research Reports provided in depth reports on current events to subscribing newspapers.  The publication changed its name to CQ Researcher in 1991 and is currently owned by SAGE Publications.

Searching CQ Researcher for Reports

You can search CQ Researcher for reports on the topic you’re interested in in two basic ways: keyword searching and browse by topic. Use the Quick Search box at the top of the screen for basic keyword searching. This will oftentimes be enough to find a report on your topic.  When you’re looking at a list of search results, be sure to check out the date of the report on the right.  If you are interested in up to date information, an older report isn’t what you’re looking for. You can arrange the reports in chronological order from oldest to newest or newest to oldest by clicking on the blue arrows under Date.  There is also an advanced search option available where you can limit your search by date range, topic, and specific section of the report.

You can also browse for reports by topic by selecting Topic from the Browse Reports drop down menu in the upper left hand corner of the screen.  Once you select one of the topics listed, a listing of more specific topics will appear, related to the original topic.  For example, the U.S. Presidency topic brings you to a list of 4 sub-topics: Campaign Finance, Campaigns and Elections, Party Politics, and Powers and History of the Presidency.  When you click on one of the more specific topics, a listing of reports related to that topic will appear.

What’s in the Reports?

Each report has the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Overview
  • Background
  • Current Situation
  • Outlook
  • Pro/Con
  • Chronology
  • Short Features
  • Maps/Graphs
  • Bibliography
  • The Next Step
  • Contacts

The Pro/Con section provides the two sides of the argument discussed in the report, each argument put forth by an individual associated with the issue. The Next Step section lists additional published sources, mostly articles and books, on the topic of the report.  The Contacts section has contact information for government agencies, advocacy groups, and think tanks related to the topic of the report.

Each report also lists related reports in the Issue Tracker for Related Reports area in the upper right corner of the report.  The Cite Now link will create a citation of the report in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Bluebook citation styles.

Connect to this Database

Please visit CQ Researcher to explore this valuable database further or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.

_____________________

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: Films on Demand

Nicholas

Films on Demand is a digital, streaming video service which offers thousands of educational titles in many different subject areas.  Films on Demand allows users to view titles in their entirety or by smaller segments, create and share playlists,  and embed titles in Blackboard.

Content

Bentley University has access to the full Master Academic Collection offered by Films on Demand. This collection includes within it the Humanities & Social Science, Business & Economy, Science & Mathematics, and Health Video collections.  Films on Demand also offers users access to special collections by well known, respected media outlets such as Frontline, CNBC Specials, the Biography Channel, and PBS NewsHour.

Subject areas covered by Films On Demand include:

  • Art  & Architecture
  • Biology
  • Business & Economics
  • Careers & Job Search
  • Computers & Technology
  • English & Language Arts
  • Health & Medicine
  • History
  • Mathematics
  • Philosophy & Religion
  • Psychology
  • Sociology

Here is the Business & Economics subject page:

Playlists & Favorites

Films On Demand allows users to create both playlists and lists of favorite videos and to share these lists with others.  Creating playlists is particularly helpful for faculty who want their students to watch multiple videos over the course of a semester.

To access the playlists and favorites features, you must first register by clicking on Create Account in the upper right corner of the homepage.  You will just need to input your first and last name, Bentley email address, and create a password.

Off Campus Access & Blackboard

Films On Demand can be accessed both on and off campus through our databases page.

Faculty can embed both full titles and segments into Blackboard for quick and easy classroom use.  To do this, first cut and paste the Title URL link of the video listed below the brief description of the title.  Then place our proxy server prefix tag in front of this URL so off campus users can view the video.

Here is our proxy server prefix tag: http://ezp.bentley.edu/login?url=

A sample URL containing both the proxy server prefix tag and Title URL would look like this:

http://ezp.bentley.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=15162&xtid=40551

Connect to this Database

Please visit Films On Demand to explore this valuable database further or visit our Databases page to view a complete list of our resources.

_____________________

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis

Database of the Month: Academic Search Premier

Nicholas

Academic Search Premier, published by EBSCOHost, is one of the essential databases used by colleges and universities of all types and sizes. It provides access to a broad variety of information, both scholarly and popular, in a wide range of academic fields and disciplines.  This is a great database to use for any number of classes, from English and Expository Writing  to History, Psychology, and Sociology courses.

Full text coverage is available for over 4,600 journals and periodicals, with over 100 of these titles providing full text access back to the year 1975.   In addition, this database provides indexing and abstracting for more than 8,500 journals. For a full list of journals available through Academic Search Premier, with coverage and full text information, take a look here.

Searching

  • Use the Advanced Search screen to limit your search results to articles in scholarly journals, articles from a particular publication, or full text articles only
  • Use the Subject: Thesaurus Term function on the results page to narrow your search results by subject
  • Narrow your search results to articles published within a certain date range

Other Functions

  • Print, email, and export the article to EndNote or RefWorks using the Tools functions
  • Use the Cite function to create the citation for an article in 7 different citation formats, including MLA and APA
  • The Folder function allows you to save relevant search results for later viewing
  • Use the Search for a Full Text Copy of the Article function to see if an article is available through another Bentley database

For further information on this resource, take a look at the Help page here.

Please visit the Academic Search Premier database here.  A complete listing of the Bentley Library’s databases is available here.

————————-

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Database of the Month: ReferenceUSA

Nicholas

ReferenceUSA is an essential business database for any college or university. It provides access to detailed company information on 14 million American businesses.

Users can look up a specific company via the Quick Search option or generate a list of businesses by industry, geographic region, business size, or other criteria using the Custom Search option . The database includes individual stores and outlets for franchise or multi-location businesses.

Records for businesses include:

  • Location & contact information
  • Management directory
  • Business expenditures
  • Current & historical sales & employment data
  • Business demographics such as square footage and credit rating score
  • List of competitors

Search criteria for businesses include:

  • business name
  • business type via SIC & NAICS codes
  • sales volume
  • employee size
  • geographic location
  • public or private company
  • stock exchange & ticker symbol
  • executive name

ReferenceUSA compiles its information on companies from over 5,000 public sources.  Its database specialists then make over 26 million phone calls annually to verify the data and collect additional information.

For further information on this resource, take a video tutorial at the ReferenceUSA website.

Please visit the ReferenceUSA database here.   A complete listing of the Bentley Library’s databases is available here.

_____________________

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.