IBISWorld

Welcome to the IBISWorld database tutorial. In this tutorial you will become familiar with the different types of industry information available to you in IBISWorld Industry Reports.

IBISWorld is a database containing proprietary industry information, which means it includes content created by highly trained professional analysts who generally provide their research output for a fee.

Accessing IBISWorld

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Are you on campus right now? If so, you should already be able to see the opening screen for IBISWorld with a message that says "Welcome Butler University." 

If you're off campus, you may see a screen asking for your Butler ID and password. If so, enter this information now to access IBISWorld. 

TIP:  This tutorial works best on the Chrome browser.  If you are using Firefox or another browser, and you do not see the IBISWorld database on the right screen, switch over to the Chrome browser to open the tutorial.

Accessing IBISWorld

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On the homepage for IBISWorld, you should see a box that lets you search by keyword, company, or code (such as a NAICS code). You should also see an option to browse a list of the many types of IBISWorld reports. 

For this tutorial, we will be focusing on the US Industry Reports. These provide a good overview of an industry and will include key statistics on the market, operating conditions, an industry forecast, competitive landscape and more.

Searching for an Industry Report

1 of 3To clarify the difference between databases that focus on companies and databases like IBISWorld that focus on industries, think about McDonald's.  McDonald's is a leading company in what industry?  If you said "fast food," that would be correct.  You would also be correct if you broadened your definition to include McDonald's as being part of the "restaurant" industry.

The reports in the IBISWorld database focus on overall industries-not on individual companies.  So while a report on fast food would likely include some mention of McDonald's, it would go into greater detail on factors that impact all companies that are part of the overall industry--things like supply and demand, products, industry outlook, etc.

Searching for an Industry Report

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Let's now search for a US Industry Report for the fast food industry by entering the keywords "fast food" in the box and then clicking enter. 

On the results page you should see listings of all the IBISworld reports that have information on the fast food industry. 

Searching for an Industry Report

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Notice a couple of things in the listings of reports:

1.  The code in the title of each report refers to the NAICS code for the industry.  NAICS codes may be 2 to 6 digits in length, with the six-digit codes being the most specific.  IBISWorld reports use a five-digit NAICS code.

Tip:  If you need a refresher on using NAICS codes, go to the NAICS code tutorial.

 2.  The first report listed is the US Industry Report.  As you scroll down, you will notice other types of reports, including industry reports for states and other types of IBISWorld reports such as Risk Reports. 

For this tutorial, we are going to review the US report titled "Fast Food Restaurants in the US."  Click on that title now to open the report.

How an IBISWorld Industry Report is Organized

You should now be looking at the US Industry Report on Fast Food restaurants:

All IBISWorld reports share a common format.  For example, you should see the date and author of the report in the upper right corner.  The report is recent and will be updated on a regular basis by the analyst (author) who is an expert on this industry.

Also notice the table of contents, with each chapter accessible by clicking on a menu button found across the top of the screen.  The first chapter, which is the opening page of the report is titled "About this Industry."  Let's take a look at this chapter now.

Report Sections

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"About this Industry" is an overview section that includes a definition of the industry and its supply chain.  This section also helps you identify related or similar industries for which you will find other IBISWorld reports. 

Scroll down this page of the report to see these important sections:

• Additional Resources:  See these to find trade sources on the industry.
• Industry Jargon and Glossary:  Keywords often used by experts to describe the industry.

Report Sections

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Sometimes students review only the first section of an IBISWorld report, and in doing so, they miss out on helpful details found in the other sections.  For example, go now to the "Products & Markets" section by clicking on that heading in the menu button at the top.

This section provides more information on the various segments of the industry (ex:  burgers, mexican, etc.) and also describes the consumer market for fast food.  Scroll down in this section now to find the U.S. map that shows Business Locations for the industry.

Saving and Printing the Report

One last thing to note before you complete this tutorial:  You should see several icons at the top of the report that look like this:

By clicking on these within a report, you have the option of downloading a PDF of the report or printing it directly from the IBISWorld database.  If there are related reports, such as a Risk report, you can get to it from the icon.

 

Wrapping Up

Congratulations!  You've now completed the tutorial on IBISworld Industry Reports.  You can get to IBISWorld later for your research by going to the Databases A-Z link on the Library website.  In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact your Business Librarian.

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