Research Guides: SI 501: Contextual Inquiry and Consulting Foundations: About Your Organization, Industry or Topic

Business/management best practices/guidelines

SkillSoft Books
Business, leadership, management and technology how-to books

O'Reilly Safari Learning Platform: Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Access to 40,000+ technical books, videos, tutorials, case studies, etc. Focus on information technology, design, entrepreneurship, business, management, engineering topics and more.

Education resources

Many of you are working with U-M departments or other clients that are in the field of education. The resources listed below bring together education journals, reports, white papers, conference proceedings or other education-focused materials.

ERIC [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related literature.
Education Abstracts (with Full Text) This link opens in a new window
Covers 400+ English-language periodicals and yearbooks on every age and sector of the educational community from preschool through college.

Education
by Karen Downing Last Updated Mar 22, 2023 605 views this year

Your client's own website

Start by searching your client's own website for information such as:

annual reports
organizational charts
marketing material
company/organizational history
news clips
mission statement

Industry/company/market info

Kresge Library Services (part the Ross Business School), is a good source for content related to business and industry. Many resources mentioned below are provided by Kresge. You may also contact Kresge librarians directly with specific questions.

Business Source Complete (business and industry news)
ABI/INFORM Complete (business and industry news)
IBISWorld Industry Market Research Reports (industry reports)
D&B Hoovers (formerly OneSource) - company info
ReferenceUSA - business directory and company info
Gartner (technology markets and industries)
Mergent WebReports (company information)
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
ProQuest Historical Annual Reports (company info, history, financials, etc., for primarily Fortune 500 companies)
Mintel (consumer behavior, consumer market info)

Kresge guides (suggested resources on business-related topics)

About Nonprofit Organizations

GuideStar This link opens in a new window
GuideStar is the best database for finding in-depth information about individual U.S. nonprofits including an organization's mission, programs, officer's compensation, financial statements and IRS 990 forms. The site also provides free reports, news and other publications helpful to nonprofits.
Foundation Directory Online This link opens in a new window
Has your organization gotten a grant? FDO profiles over 105,000 U.S.-based foundations, describing programs, areas of funding, and types of support, along with lists of recent grants made.

Research guide for finding information on nonprofit organizations
Many additional suggested resources for researching nonprofit organizations

All about U-M

Michigan Daily Digital Archives (1890-2014) U-M's student newspaper; searchable archive. Includes page images.
Michigan Daily (current articles)
U-M Office of Budget and Planning Facts and figures about faculty, staff, students, budget, and finance
U-M Faculty and Staff Salary Record, 2002-2018 Salary data for all U-M faculty and staff

U-M HR Data Reports Current salaries, along with other salary, demographic and personnel-related reports from U-M Human Resources office

The Michigan Almanac The go-to website for data about the UM Ann Arbor campus.
U-M Office of the Provost Variety of administrative areas fall under the office of the Provost. View reports on faculty, engaged learning, and diversity; as well as university budget

U-M Organizational Charts

U-M Board of Regents Searchable archive of meeting minutes for the Board of Regents, the governing body of the university.

U-M Standard Practice Guide (SPG) University policies, procedures and guidelines