Database of the Month: Plunkett Research Online

Macee

Plunkett Research Online (PRO) offers business intelligence information including industry/market trends and statistics, company profiles, professional organizations, and job prospects, making it ideal for industry/market researchers, for prospect/sales management projects, and for job seekers.

Plunkett Research analysts profile approximately 8,000 companies in 28 industries, with 1,000 new companies added to the list yearly. Each industry receives a complete update once per year. The previous year’s data is archived and available to users.

Industry/Market Research

The home page provides a clickable list of 28 industries for which Plunkett’s analysts supply a mix of proprietary data and data from government sources. In addition, Plunkett provides information for groupings of companies by geographic location, revenue size, and/or company type. All types of companies are included; for example, about 20% of the companies are privately held and about 30% are headquartered outside of the U.S. Data is searchable within and across industries.

Each “Industry Research Center” offers detailed information about:

  • Industry market research and trends
  • Industry statistics
  • Company profiles
  • Definitions of terms used in particular industries and for business in general
  • Industry associations, trade organizations and professional societies

The information is cross-searchable by keyword and can also be searched using advanced options. Where available, archived data is presented as a print-style Almanac in PDF format. Depending on the industry, data goes back seven years or more.

Reporting Tools

Plunkett enables users to export company contacts and/or lists of professional organizations and societies, in Excel or plain text format.

Also, using Plunkett’s Build-a-Report ℠, the user can create a custom PDF-formatted industry report for printing, emailing and/or saving.

You’ll be able to select exactly the companies you want to target. Criteria you may select by include annual revenues, size by employee count, specific industry sector by NAICS code, city, state or country of headquarters location and more. Directory information includes corporate address, phone, fax, website, revenues, profits, number of employees, subsidiaries, and up to 27 executive names by title.

Job Seeker Resources & Tools

For job seekers, in addition to the industry and company tools discussed above, Plunkett Research offers:

  • A separate Employer Search by major (U.S.-based, 2,500+ employees) and mid-size (U.S.-based, 150 to 2,500 employees) companies, with export and print functionality in Excel or plain text
  • Job market trends and statistics
  • Tips on the job search process
  • External links to the government publications Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to Industries
  • Links to career websites and temporary employment agencies

MyResearchAccount

Sign up for a free research account and receive the following benefits:

  • Set up your own personal research profile and create a history of your searches
  • Save your searches and save comments about the search results
  • Receive alerts about new data posted to Plunkett Research Online

Connect to this Database

Please visit http://ezp.bentley.edu/login?url=http://plunkettresearchonline.com to start your research. Begin with the video tutorials at http://www.plunkettresearchonline.com/ResearchCenter/videos/tutorial.aspx, or explore what the database has to offer on your own.

This database is included in the following Library Research Guides:  Company Research,  Careers,  Industry & Market Research,  Researching Employers, and Residential Real Estate Market.  You can also 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 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.

RSVP to Save Your Spot at our Citing Sources Workshop!

Liz

Reminder! The Library and Writing Center are joining forces next week to offer two sessions of a workshop on Citing Sources: Why, When, and How. Get a leg up on research and on your classmates! RSVP to library@bentley.edu to attend.

Citing Sources Workshop (presented jointly with the Writing Center)

Why do your professors spend so much time talking about citations? Does it feel like busywork? Come learn how to cite sources for any format. We’ll show you how to do it, where to find resources, and why you should care.

Have sources or a bibliography you need help with? Bring it with you!

Two sessions:

  • Monday, October 17, from 5:00 to 6:00
  • Tuesday, October 18, from 5:00 to 6:00

(The workshop will take place in the Research Instruction Center (Room 11) on the library’s lower level)

October is Massachusetts Information Literacy Month

Liz

National Information Literacy Month 2011 BadgeGovernor Deval Patrick has proclaimed October 2011 to be Massachusetts Information Literacy Month. Never heard of it? The official proclamation says that information literacy:

“provides the tools and skills to find, evaluate and use credible information from all sources in our constantly evolving world”

and that:

“Individuals who are comfortable working with the informational resources available in the digital world are able to seek highly skilled jobs and compete at high levels in the global economy.”

Information literacy is crucial to seeking and understanding information, whether you’re writing a research paper, making health-related decisions, or trying to find unbiased news coverage.

Want to see what the Bentley Library does to promote information literacy? Visit our Information Literacy and Instruction Research Guide to learn about library instruction and initiatives related to finding, evaluating, and using information of all kinds.

Curious about what this has to do with being a member of the business community or of a business university? Come to the library’s October 26 event “Who Wrote This and Why Should I Care? Evaluating and Understanding Information in a Business Context.” A panel of experts will discuss the challenges of evaluating information, and being information literate, in an ever-changing information landscape. More information can be found in this blog post.

For even more information on information literacy, click on the badge in this post to be taken to the website of the National Forum on Information Literacy.

Upcoming Workshop: Citing Sources: Why, When, How (with the Writing Center)

Liz

The Writing Center and Library are joining forces to offer a workshop that takes the mystery out of citing sources:

Citing Sources: Why, When and How

Why do your professors spend so much time talking about citations? Does it feel like busywork? Come learn how to cite sources for any format. We’ll show you how to do it, where to find resources, and why you should care.

Have sources or a bibliography you need help with? Bring it with you!

Offered at two different times:

  • October 17, 5:00-6:00
  • October 18, 5:00-6:00

Both sessions take place in the Research Instruction Center (RIC), Room 11, on the library’s lower level.

Presented by: Greg Farber-Mazor, Interim Director, Writing Center and Liz Galoozis, Reference Librarian

Email library@bentley.edu to reserve your seat now – and tell us which session you’ll be attending!

Columbus Day Weekend Hours

Lisa

Columbus Day Weekend holiday hours will be in effect from Saturday, October 8 through Monday, October 10, 2011:

Saturday, October 8
Library is open 9:00am to 5:00pm
Cafe is open 12:00pm to 4:00pm

Sunday, October 9
Library is open 1:00pm to 9:00pm
Cafe is open 3:00pm to 8:00pm

Monday, October 10
Library is open 10:00am to 2:00am
Cafe is open 1:00pm to 9:30pm

The library and cafe will resume regular hours on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. For more information about our hours please check our online hours calendar.

September Acquisitions: New Books, DVDs & Audiobooks

Lisa

Check out our book, popular reading, DVD and audiobook acquisitions for the month of September. Go to our New Books & DVDs page to browse by subject or format.   If you find something you want, simply hit the “Request” button to place a hold on it.

Art Gallery Exhibition: Jason Scuilla / Arto Fantasma

Lisa

Open October 3 through October 31, the current exhibit at The McGladrey Art Gallery features works by artist/printmaker Jason Scuilla in an installment titled Arto Fantasma. All are invited to meet the artist at the opening reception on Thursday, October 6, from 4:30pm -6:30pm, with an artist talk and Q&A session occurring at 5:00pm. To learn more about the artist, please visit his web site at http://www.jasonscuilla.com.

Jason Scuilla
Arto Fantasma
October 3 – October 21, 2011

Opening Reception
Thursday, October 6, 2011
4:30pm – 6:30pm
Artist Talk and Q&A at 5:00pm
light refreshments will be served

Located on the main floor of the Bentley Library, The McGladrey Art Gallery is free and open to the public. Check the online hours calendar for information about the Library’s hours.

It’s Banned Books Week! Banned & Challenged Books are On Display.

Katy 1 Comment

From September 24 through October 1, the Bentley Library joins libraries around the country in observing Banned Books Week. During Banned Books Week, we celebrate the freedom to read by bringing attention to efforts to curtail that freedom. From classics to children’s books to nonfiction, hundreds of books are challenged in the US each year for a host of reasons, with the most frequent from 1990 to 2010 being sexually explicit content, offensive language, and violence. Real numbers are much higher since so many challenges are never reported to the American Library Association, which has been tracking challenges since 1990. Most challenges take place in schools, school libraries, and public libraries, but academic libraries are not immune to questions about controversial materials, and academic libraries’ dedication to research and free inquiry means that we have a particularly strong obligation to protect access to ideas and information of all kinds.

Stop by the library to view our display of banned and challenged books. You’ll find a sampling of classic and contemporary titles that have been at the center of controversy at schools and libraries in the United States and abroad, along with a description of why each title was challenged.

You can celebrate Banned Books Week in many ways: