Research Guides: Industry Research: Researching Niche Industries

Strategies for Researching Niche Markets

Niche markets are very specific market segments within a broader segment. The competitors might be large companies which have a division/subsidiary devoted to a niche line. Or a list of competitors might consist of many small players.

Library Databases

Try these databases to see if they include your chosen small market segment:

Gale Directory Library This link opens in a new window
Gale Directory Library is a database consisting of several resources. They can be cross-searched all at once or searched individually. Use them to identify organizations (link to their website) and publications that cover your niche industry.
Congressional Publications (via Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Might there be a regulatory issue with this industry? If so, federal bodies may collect info. or hold hearings on an industry, which may reveal industry secrets or how the industry is structured.

Small Business Resource Center (via SF Public Library)
Small Business Resource Center (via SF Public Library; you'll need an SFPL library card barcode) (e.g,. look at a sample business plan for a home staging business)

Encyclopedias & Directories

Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries by Gale Cengage Learning (Editor)
Publication Date: 2017
Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries is a resource within the Gale Virtual Reference Library database. Examples of niche industries are boutique wineries, real escape rooms and organs on a chip.
Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S.
Search your niche by keyword more than 23,000 organizations in categories such as trade, business, and commercial; legal, governmental, public administration, and military; cultural; educational; veterans, hereditary, and patriotic; athletic and sports; fan clubs, and more.
Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media
Search your niche by keyword to see if there are magazine or journals that cover it.
Research Centers Directory
Search your niche by keyword North America’s top nonprofit research and educational organizations
Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory
Search your niche by keyword U.S. & Canadian consultants, representing more than 400 specialties.

Discovery (via EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Discovery searches many of the library databases and websites in one-click. Use the Discovery search box to learn more about a topic, identify keywords and phrases for more advanced searching, and review lots of search results that can be filtered by discipline and publication date. Help Guide

Library Catalog
Search for some eBooks.

Ebook Central (via Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Find relevant ebooks and chapters; read online; search within the ebook; and highlight, take notes and bookmark pages in your online copy, stored on your bookshelf for you. Help Video
eBook Collection (via Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
Save and print eBook chapters, export citations, cite information, and search within chapters. Help Video
O'Reilly eBooks and Video This link opens in a new window
More than 40,000 eBooks, videos, and interactive tutorials. Especially strong for IT and business-related resources

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias & Directories

Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries by Gale Cengage Learning (Editor)

Publication Date: 2017

Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries is a resource within the Gale Virtual Reference Library database. Examples of niche industries are boutique wineries, real escape rooms and organs on a chip.
Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S.

Search your niche by keyword more than 23,000 organizations in categories such as trade, business, and commercial; legal, governmental, public administration, and military; cultural; educational; veterans, hereditary, and patriotic; athletic and sports; fan clubs, and more.
Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media

Search your niche by keyword to see if there are magazine or journals that cover it.
Research Centers Directory

Search your niche by keyword North America’s top nonprofit research and educational organizations
Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory

Search your niche by keyword U.S. & Canadian consultants, representing more than 400 specialties.

E-Books

Search Articles & E-Books

This tool searches across many, but not all, library databases simultaneously. Help Guide
Ebook Central (via Proquest)

Find relevant ebooks and chapters; read online; search within the ebook; and highlight, take notes and bookmark pages in your online copy, stored on your bookshelf for you. Help Video
E-Book Collection (via Ebsco)

Save and print eBook chapters, export citations, cite information, and search within chapters. Help Video
O'Reilly eBooks and Video

More than 40,000 eBooks, videos, and interactive tutorials. Especially strong for IT and business-related resources