Market Research & Entrepreneurship: Start Here

Your guide for entrepreneurship & market research resources for Lab-to-Market classes & other activities using UC San Diego Library resources.

Start Here

Welcome!

This guide will walk you through the most useful UC San Diego resources for market research. Guide content is arranged by tasks shown in the left nav bar.

NEW LOOK - this layout is new and easier-to-navigate. If you are a returning user, you will be able to find the same trusted contents with tabs oriented on the side now. There are updated listings for e-books, audiobooks, interwoven throughout.

2024 MBA Orientation Slide Deck
Overview of business information sources, and the information infrastructure available to Rady MBA students. Also information and links to Library services and locations of special interest..

2024 MBA Orientation Worksheet
After our session on 9/13 try out these seven activities to set yourself up for success using the resources.

2024 Summer IGE Handout
IGE visitors, see Infostation Computers on this page for more information.

Most-used Resources

Below are the top three popular resources that serve a number of research needs.

Gale Business Insights
- This link opens in a new window
GBI is a great first-stop for business and management information. It includes information on companies and industries from business and trade journals, academic journals, industry reports, newspapers, newsletters, and classic business reference sources. Search on a company name. In the search results, click on individual companies to open well-organized company profiles.
Business Source Complete
Dates of coverage vary, some journals back to early 20th century. Abstracts and full text in virtually all subject areas related to Business, Management and Finance. Journal and magazine articles; also books, industry reports, company profiles, SWOT analysis, much more
IBISWorld Industry Intelligence
IBISWorld contains U.S. and global industry market research reports, including a specialized collection of China Industry Reports. It also provides U.S. business risk ratings, and selected economic and demographic data. Contents are downloadable as full reports or selected elements, such as SWOT analyses, statistical tables and graphs.

Background on the Market Research Process

Below are materials from class presentations on market research using UCSD's tools.

2024 MBA Orientation Slide Deck
Overview of business information sources, and the information infrastructure available to Rady MBA students. Also information and links to Library services and locations of special interest..
2024 Summer IGE Handout
IGE visitors, see Infostation Computers on this page for more information.
StartBlue Handout, April 2024
Quick guide to market research resources for StartBlue incubator.

Full Grad Students Guide
Here's the general guide. It also has the info about Libby and other public library sources in our region. Ideal for finding access to San Diego Business Journal in our collections, too!
Campus Calendars: Academic & Administrative

Market Research Workshheet
This handout that prompts you to consider many types of intelligence sources. 10/13/20 update: this is the page Adele mentioned in the GPIM 472 presentation
Decision Tree Handout
This document provides a visualization for the types of the market research resources you have available to you.
Business Model Canvas
This widely-used tool for creating your business model. Original source: Strategyzer. See also the e-book Business Model Canvas: Let Your Business Thrive with this Simple Model
Value Proposition Canvas
Another tool from Strategyzer, this one helps you define your market by prompting you to think through your customers in a methodical way.

Previous Guides

Tsukuba Workshop Slide Deck, Winter 2023

Getting Started Guides
This is the online version of the handouts I brought to orientation. They are broader introductions to resources that highlight specific, broad disciplinary resources:
- Arts and Humanities
- Biological, Health and Marine Sciences
- Physical Sciences and Engineering
- Social Sciences.

L2M Slide Deck (Winter 2024)

GPIM 472 Class Guide, Fall 2023
Market research and other useful Library resources
Winter 2023 Basement Guide to Market Research Resources This guide can be used by anyone in a campus Design Lab program who needs to understand what resources are available for understanding markets and their competition.
Spring 2023 Translational Science Handout Guide for the current capstone cohort in the TS certificate program.

Market Research & Entrepreneurship: Start Here

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