LibGuides: Business & Entrepreneurship: Find Web Sources

Business & Economics Internet Resources

Annual Reports.com
Search for company annual reports by Exchange, Industry, Sector, or Alphabet.
Economy-Wide Statistics - U.S. Census Bureau
Data on numerous economic statistics important for businesses and regular results from the business owner survey.
Edgar: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Files of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as corporate 10K (annual) reports
Statista
The world's largest statistical portal focused on businesses, industries, and media. Also includes infographics and charts.

***Please make sure you do not pay for anything - just use free services.
Yahoo! Finance
Business finance, stock market, quotes, news, mortgage rates, and more.

Annual Survey of Manufacturers- U.S. Census Bureau
Provides statistics on employment, payroll, detailed capital expenditures, and more.
Business & Industry Economic Statistics- U.S. Census Bureau
Portal to all of the economic statistics, reports, and surveys related to business and industry available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
CNN Money
Latest national and international business news, stock market prices, currency rates, industry trends, and small business information.
Economic Census- U.S. Census Bureau
Interactive tables of statistic that focus on U.S. national and local economies. The census updates every five years.

Bplans
This website has hundreds of actual business plans for businesses of all kinds and sizes
Create Your Business Plan
From the Small Business Administration, simple step-by-step instructions.

Trade Associations are a great source of industry information.

To Find Trade Associations in Google:

Type the name of an industry, a product or a profession
Add the word association
Add the phrase site:.org
Hit Search

Example: hairdresser association site:.org

Use the CRAAP Test to Evaluate Web Sources

This test takes you through a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Keep in mind, the different quality measures will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

Currency: How old is this information?

When was the information published or posted?
Has the information been revised or updated?
Does your topic require current information?
Are the links on the site functional?

Relevance: Does this information help me finish my assignment?

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
Who is the intended audience?
Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too easy or advanced for your needs)?
Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is the one you will use?

Authority: Is whoever created this an expert on the subject?

Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
Does the URL (.edu/.gov/.com) reveal anything about the author or source?

Accuracy: How much can I trust this information?

Where does the information come from?
Is the information supported by evidence?
Has the information been reviewed or verified by someone other than the author?
Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
Are there spelling, grammar, or typing errors?

Purpose: Why was this information created?

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain, persuade?
Is the information factual, opinion, or propaganda?
Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?