Government Information & Data: Essential Resources for Business Research

An Overview of Government Documents
According to the Federal Library Depository Act of 1962, a government document is "informational matter which is published as an individual document at government expense, or as required by law (44 U.S.C. § 1901)." Government documents are published – and made accessible – in variety of formats and venues including books, pamphlets, periodicals, maps, microfiche, CD-ROMs, DVDs, databases, electronic bulletin boards, audiovisual materials, and digitally through the Internet. To qualify as an official government document, it must meet the above definition. Generally, if a government publication is available on the Web, it needs the extension ".gov" or ".mil”.

Government agencies collect, publish, store and maintain a wide range of business-related information including statistical, industry, market, demographic, trade, financial, and economic data. These data provide authoritative information for high-level marketing research. The Census Bureau, for example, collects data on United States populations that include race, age, income, employment, education, geographic, spending patterns, and other demographic-driven information.

Local governments produce their own documentation at the city, county, state and regional levels. In addition, government agencies also contract with private industry to collect information, conduct studies and publish reports (fee-based).

The GPO is currently experimenting with technology that can certify authentication of electronic government publications with an integrity mark. Official government documents are made accessible to the public for free at any Federal Depository.

Superintendent of Documents Classification System
The Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification system was developed to uniquely identify, logically relate, organize, and physically group together and arrange publications so that all publications of a single agency or department may be found together. The classification system includes a variety of authoring bodies – from Agriculture to Veterans Affairs.
The classification table provides researchers with a list of key compilers of government data at the federal level.

The Future of Government Publications
The Office of National Bibliography Program Planning, together with the Office of Bibliographic Services, has the goal to develop a comprehensive and authoritative National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications to increase the visibility and use of Government information products, and to develop a premier destination for information searchers. The National Bibliography is a “comprehensive index of public documents,” including “every document issued or published … not confidential in character.” This is derived from the statutory requirements for cataloging and indexing codified at 44 U.S.C. §§1710-1711 and 44 U.S.C. §4101(a).

These sources provide important demographic, lifestyle, economic, geodemographic and competitive data. Most government agencies provide online access to statistics and other useful marketing information. Today more than seventy agencies spend at least $500,000 annually on the collection and provision of statistical data, and eleven of them have such activity (combined with dissemination) as their primary mission. These agencies are:

Economic Research Services (Department of Agriculture); National Agricultural Statistics Service (Department of Agriculture); Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce); Bureau of Economic Analysis (Department of Commerce); National Center for Education Statistics (Department of Education); Energy Information Administration (Department of Energy); Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Justice); Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor); National Center for Health Statistics (Department of Health and Human Services); Statistics of Income Division (IRS, Department of Treasury); and Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of Transportation).

Figure 1 illustrates how researchers can incorporate a mix of resource types into the research design.

Figure 1. Utilizing a variety of resource types and formats (commercial, government, online, print) in the data collection process adds depth to the research findings.

Select Federal Web sites

GPO Access

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Fedstats

FirstGov

Government Search Engines

UncleSam

Yahoo! Government

Business-Related Web Sites

Technology Administration

Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations

Economic Census

Annual Survey of Manufactures

Patents and Trademarks

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - Basic Facts About Trademarks

Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS)

Trademark Registration of Internet Domain Names

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - Electronic Business Center

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - General Information Concerning Patents

California Web sites

California State Home Page

California Department of Food and Agriculture

California Farmers Union

GPO Access

GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. Online locator tools, developed by the GPO and partners, link to government information products in the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC) and at other Federal government agency sites. The following GPO Access resources are of particular importance to researchers:

GPO Access Federal Resources Organized by Topic
This Web site includes GPO Access Resources, Browse Topics (Federal Government Resources), Federal Publications for Sale, and FirstGov.gov ( the official Web portal for the U.S. government).

GPO Access Databases
The GPO Access Databases Web site provides a comprehensive A-Z resource list.

GPO Access Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications provides an index to print and electronic publications created by Federal agencies. When available, links are provided to the full-text of these publications. Additionally, the locate libraries feature enables users to find libraries by state or area code that can make print publications available for their use.

GPO Access Subject Bibliographies
Subject bibliographies are guides to the more than 12,000 different books, periodicals, posters, pamphlets, and subscription services for sale from the Superintendent of Documents.

GPO Access Search the Federal Government
This GPO Access finding aid is designed to assist the public to locate information throughout the Federal Government and uses the FirstGov.gov online search index.

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. The Census Bureau generates and publishes and extensive variety of reports, tables, databases, and summaries of potential usefulness to marketers.

Demographic and Population Figures/Data
Census resources provides a solid research framework for gathering demographic-related information.

County Demographics and Business  
The County and City Data Book provides a vast collection of data including: Area and population; Vital statistics; Education, income, and poverty; Crime, Housing, and building permits; Labor force and private business establishments; Personal income and earnings; Farm population, farm earnings, and agriculture; and Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade.

County Business Patterns
County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. The series is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark for statistical series, surveys, and databases between economic censuses. Businesses use the data for analyzing market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets. Government agencies use the data for administration and planning. County Business Patterns covers most of the country's economic activity. The series excludes data on self-employed individuals, employees of private households, railroad employees, agricultural production employees, and most government employees.

This annual series includes a separate report for each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and a U.S. summary. The divisions of the economy covered are agricultural services, forestry, and fisheries; mining; contract construction; manufacturing; transportation and other public utilities; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and services. Large data sets are available for downloading.

Economic Census
The Economic Census provides a detailed portrait of the Nation's economy once every five years, from the national to the local level. The 2002 Economic Census covers nearly all of the U.S. economy in its basic collection of establishment statistics. There also are several related programs, including statistics on minority- and women-owned businesses. Censuses of agriculture and governments are conducted at the same time. Results from the census are being issued on the Internet and on DVD-ROM. Only a few summary reports will be issued in print. The Economic Census is the primary source of detailed facts about the Nation's economy. Census data are essential for government, business, and the public.
Census Data can be used to: gauge the competition; calculate market share; business-to-business data for targeting strategies; design sales territories and evaluate new business opportunities to name a few.

NAICS Data
Search by keyword to locate related NAICS, industry data, category definitions and rankings within ranges.

Retail and Wholesale Trade
The Retail and Wholesale Trade Web site provides the following retail data: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services; Monthly Retail Sales and Inventories; Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales; and the Annual Retail Trade Survey. In addition, the Web site provides wholesale data including: Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey and the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey.

Geographic Information Services (GIS)
GIS captures, stores, analyzes, and displays geographically referenced information; that is, data identified according to location. Practitioners also define a GIS as including the procedures, operating personnel, and spatial data that go into the system. GIS is a powerful marketing tool used to create visual images of data sets, territories, demographics, and other market-driven information. Companies such as ESRI are developing high-level GIS products for business that bring geographic information systems, marketing analysis tools, and demographic data products together. BusinessMAP, for example, utilizes the latest technologies that add value to market research findings. These technologies allows marketers to:

• See a visual representation of customer locations
• Plan targeted marketing campaigns by identifying prospects in a given geographic region by ZIP Code, county, and so on
• Query Dun & Bradstreet's 16 million businesses to locate potential customers
• Analyze competitive activity and demographics to help determine where you should develop new stores and offices
• Create meaningful reports with maps, demographics, sales analysis, territories and more in Microsoft Office documents such as Excel and Access

Census Bureau Geography Home
The Census Bureau Geography has developed – and makes available – a variety of geo-technology tools that enhance and optimize market research. These technologies allow large data sets to be transformed into visual information images that managers (and researchers) can use for effective knowledge-based decisions. The Census Bureau Geography Web site offers researchers a wide-range of technology-driven online resources including:

Geographic Products Release Schedule

Census 2000 Geographic Products

TIGER, TIGER/Line and TIGER-Related Products

LandView6

U.S. Census Bureau Maps and Cartographic Resources

Census Tract Resources

Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity

Gazetteer

In addition, the Census Bureau offers a wide-range of reference resources including:

Geographic Terms and Concepts

Understanding Census Bureau Geography

StatUSA
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a single point of access to authoritative business, trade, and economic information from across the Federal Government. STAT-USA/Internet consists of two main databases:

State of the Union
Use State of the Union data to gauge the direction of the U.S. economy and access a repository of economic indicators on topics such as employment, wholesale and retail prices, monetary and housing trends, gross domestic product, etc.

Global Business Opportunities (GLOBUS) & the National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) Locate overseas buyers discovered by U.S. officials in the field. GLOBUS & NTDB provides access to over 200,000 current and historical documents on export opportunities by industry, country, and product; political and socioeconomic conditions in hundreds of countries; and other related data.

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
The mission of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is to promote a better understanding of the U.S. economy by providing the most timely, relevant, and accurate economic accounts data in an objective and cost-effective manner. The BEA is an agency of the Department of Commerce. Along with the Census Bureau and STAT-USA, BEA is part of the Department's Economics and Statistics Administration. BEA produces economic accounts statistics that enable government and business decision-makers, researchers, and the American public to follow and understand the performance of the Nation's economy. The BEA collects source data, conducts research and analysis, develops and implements estimation methodologies, and disseminates statistics to the public.

Uses of BEA Measures
The BEA supplies valuable data for marketing research including: GDP and National Accounts; Industry Data; International Trade and Investment Data; and Regional Estimates including State Personal Income, Gross State Product, and Regional Multipliers.

Survey of Current Business
The BEA provides online access to Survey of Current Business -- a valuable collection on data ranging from personal income to estimates of GDP by industry (NAICS).

NAICS-Based GDP-by-industry time series from 1947-
These GDP-By-Industry estimates provide the first consistent long-term view, from a NAICS perspective, of industry contributions to U.S. economic growth and inflation. These estimates fill a major remaining gap among NAICS-based economic time series, and they represent a significant improvement over the previously-published historical estimates, which were based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS provides industry detail that allows for a better understanding of the services sector’s continuing growth as a share of the economy.

Consumer Expenditure Survey Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program consists of two surveys collected for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Census Bureau — the quarterly Interview survey and the Diary survey — that provide information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics.

The American Time Use Survey
The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, commuting, and socializing.

SBA State Economic Profiles
The economic condition of small businesses in the United States, each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories is illustrated in Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories, published in 2005. Each state profile contains sections on the following topics: the number of firms, industry composition, small business income, banking, women and minority business ownership, and employment. For additional information, detailed historical data may be found in the Small Business Economic Indicators

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

IRS Home

Personal Wealth Data Tables
Personal wealth data for the living population are derived from estate tax data. The estimates are limited to that segment of the population for whom personal wealth is at least equal to the estate tax filing threshold in effect for the estimation period.

KENNEDY LIBRARY

Kennedy Library Holdings
Federal, state, county, and city data supply the crucial - and authoritative - information needed to stay on top in today's competitive business market. The Kennedy Library is an official selective depository for Federal, California State, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents. The Library houses a large variety of other publications provided by government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. Municipal planning documents, agricultural experiment station bulletins, state budget projections, federal environmental protection guidelines, United Nations publications, and detailed USGS maps are only a sample of the breadth of information available to researchers.

Related Research Guides

Agricultural and Food Web sites

Economics and Economic Indicators

Statistics

<<Back to Research Guides

 

Business Research Portal | Agribusiness Research Portal | Industrial Technology Research Portal |
Cal Poly Home | Kennedy Library | Orfalea College of Business | Agribusiness Department |

Frank Vuotto, M.A., M.L.I.S.
Business & Agribusiness Librarian, Faculty
California Polytechnic State University
Robert E. Kennedy Library
San Luis Obispo, CA 93420
fvuotto@calpoly.edu

Last updated May 8, 2006

© Copyright by Frank Vuotto 2003