Our intrepid BUS 345 students will be doing some primary research on J.Crew and clothing retail this term. If you're in that class, see below for some initial thoughts on resources that might be helpful.

(And if you're not in that class, but just want a sample topic to use as you explore our powerful market research resources... read on!)

<Read on for lots of great resources!>

There's an old saying that "twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend."  In the last half hour I've spotted three new cannabis/marijuana business related resources in our collection, tipping us over into trend territory.

Such a trend toward information on the business aspect of marijuana isn't really a surprise: with legalization just around the corner, businesses have been scrambling for months (if not years) to line up a good starting position.  The people who produce the reports, data, and ebooks needed to support new businesses have also been scrambling to fill this new niche.

If you are among those who are looking into this new market (academically or entrepreneurially), check out these new resources available through the SFU Library: 

<Click here for the resources!>

Maybe it's just because it's lunchtime and I'm hungry... 

but when I scanned a word cloud of the titles from all the reports downloaded in our Statista database last month, there seemed to be a strong trend toward research about foods & beverages: lunch, candy, milk, drink, restaurant, consumption, cutlery, cocoa... 

< click for more (unless you're too hungry)... >

There's absolutely no arguing that much work is still required for equality, safety, and success of women in the workplace.

Issues such as glass ceilings, sex discrimination in employment, sexual harassment of women, and pay equity are all still far from resolved in most countries, Canada included.

However, in celebration of International Women's Day, I thought I'd highlight some of the positive stories and practical guidance about (and from) women entrepreneurs, leaders, and employees... 

<Read on for lots of great ebooks, books, and more!>

In addition to cheese, the other major primary research topic for BUS 345 this term is J.Crew (clothing retail).  

If you're in that class (or if you just have a burning desire to learn about our market research resources and want to use this as an excuse/example to explore them), see below for some...

<Read on for more!>

I understand that our BUS 345 students might be doing primary market research on cheese this term.  If you're in that class¹, see below for some initial thoughts on resources to help you understand the cheese market and consumers, especially in Canada.  

<Read on for lots of cheese research tips!>

I just received the latest usage report on our Statista database and thought I'd share some interesting trends: 

During the month of October, SFU researchers used Statista to:

• view almost 5000 charts, topic reports, dossiers... more than 160/day;
• download over 580 images, slides & documents; and 
• research topics ranging from... <Read on for more!>

I'm sure you've been following the news about the NAFTA discussions, right? 

As with most negotiations, these early stages are full of drama and posturing, so it can be hard to avoid getting emotional about the whole thing.  This may be a librarian thing, but when I'm stressed, I seek out more information. Here's a quick run through a few resources that might help...  <Read on for more!>

Most of my posts about our Statista database have focused on the thousands of barcharts on topics ranging from airlines to zoos -- over 1.5 million such charts, in fact -- but I've given far less space to the other formats in which you can find Statista's information.

No more!  Today I'm going to highlight a couple of the more interesting ways that Statista packages their wealth of information: Outlook Reports and Toplists.     <Read on for details!>

I see that Statista has just published a new edition of their Made-In-Country-Index (MICI), and, as subscribers to the Statista database, SFU researchers have full access to the entire 127-page MICI report!

Non-subscribers can still download a free summary, an interview with the study author, and several infographics highlighting key trends in the MICI data, but you'd have to go to the full report via the SFU Library site to find out that...    <Read on for details...>