This guide lists recommended databases and websites to use for company research including resources that provide information on company financials, overviews, articles, SWOT analyses, ratios, organization charts and historical company data.
SWOT analysis is a means of evaluating the internal and external factors that impact an organization in order to formulate business strategy. The technique takes its name from the four elements it evaluates: (1) the company's Strengths, (2) its Weaknesses, (3) the Opportunities in its competitive environment, and (4) the Threats in its competitive environment. SWOT analysis was developed by Kenneth R. Andrews (1916–2005) in the early 1970s, and it continues to be used with only minor modification and development into the twenty-first century.
Covers numerous topics in management theories and applications, such as aggregate planning, benchmarking, logistics, diversification strategy, non-traditional work arrangements, performance measurement, productivity measures, supply chain management, and much more.
Find a SWOT analysis on your company using these recommended library databases:
Type the company name and wait for the auto-suggestion.
Select your company from the list of suggestions.
Now, look at the company report. Select SWOT (if available) from the left-hand side menu.
If no SWOT analysis is present, review the different items listed on the left under "Core" and "Advanced" to see if they give insight into the 4 elements of SWOT.
Now, look in the results list. Select the most current year.
If the results did not find the company you are researching - check the company name. Did you spell it correctly? Is this an abbreviation of the company name? You need to find out the full name of the company and try the search again.
Select specific content type: Company & Financials.
Select Company profiles.
In “Publication” box (NOT Publication Type): type SWOT; then Search Within Results for your company name.
What do I do if there isn't a published SWOT analysis for my company?
You might not find a SWOT analysis for your company. But there are other options. An annual report on Form 10-K filed for a publicly traded company at the Security and Exchange Commission contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public companies to submit financial reports – including 10-Ks and other filings.
On the homepage, left side menu – select Company Filings.
Search for your company.
Find a 10-K Report, and look for the section: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
This section (and other parts of the report) contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties for the company.
Official Canadian site that provides access to most public securities documents and information filed by issuers go to: https://www.sedar.com/homepage_en.htm
Of course, you can search for articles in our journal databases for information on each of the 4 aspects of the SWOT. You may want to consult a librarian for suggestions on specific search strategies to find such articles.
There are some alternatives besides a SWOT for strategic analysis. You can read about SCORE, NOISE and SOAR here:
Also PESTEL analysis or PESTLE analysis (formerly: PEST analysis) stands for: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal. There are also some other variations. It is a strategic business planning tool used to identify the macro (external) forces facing an organization. They will not be found as a feature in our databases like SWOT, but the concepts can be searched in the journal article databases. Try using this template as a basis for searching for articles.
