Business Analytics, Data, & GIS Information

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Business Analytics

Business analytics is the process of transforming data and information into insights that will produce useful information for business professionals. A majority of business analytics deals with things like big data, but it's also helpful to check some of the major journals (listed below). 

View additional resources from the University of Iowa.

Sources of Data

Data is available in just about every business-related source, but not always in easy or usable formats. The resources below offer data in common, downloadable formats.

  • Wharton Research Data Service (WRDS) has financial, business, and market data from a variety of sources. Users must sign up for an account before getting access (free access for NC State students and faculty).
  • Data-Planet contains census, government, and proprietary data about a variety of topics from industry & commerce to housing & construction, and transportation & traffic, and more.
  • IHSConnect offers international labor-related statistics. Click "Economics" in the top left corner and look under the "Data Browser" heading for categories.
  • CalcBench grants access to the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) filings for public companies. Includes an Excel add-in to access data easier.
  • USA Trade Online gives access to import/export data in the United States, with customizable content and easily-downloaded data.

Social Media Data

The best option for social media data at NC State is the Brandwatch Consumer Research database, which allows analysis of Twitter, Reddit, blogs, and other social media data.

Home-grown or prepackaged webscrapers can be used (usually requires an agreement with the company).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Geographic data can be helpful for understanding existing businesses in an area, what a market population looks like, and more. The resources listed have built-in GIS, or allow searching by geographic boundaries.

  • Business Analyst Online gives access to geographic data with built-in infographics for things like Tapestry Segmentation, the ability to explore market potential, census data, and more. To get access, log in through https://ncsu.maps.arcgis.com/ and click the Sign-in link in the upper right.  Then click the blue button that says "North Carolina State University (Single Sign On).  At this point, enter your UNITY ID and password to authenticate through Shibboleth. Once logged in, click on the menu next to your name and look for the Business Analyst button.
  • DataAxle’s U.S. Businesses module allows advanced searching by region, and is useful for getting lists of businesses in a particular industry in a geographic area (all the bicycle shops in Raleigh). Anyone living in North Carolina with a public library card can access DataAxle through NC Live.
  • Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is useful when you want to compare thousands of data sets, which can be difficult to download through DataAxle.

Software & Computing

NC State Libraries has software programs installed on computers throughout the D. H. Hill Jr. and James B. Hunt Jr. Libraries. View the software available in the libraries to find location details.

  • The Data Experience Lab (DXL) is the campus hub for data science, visualization, digital research and scholarship. Dedicated data workstations require reservations. Reserve a workstation in the DXL.
  • The Libraries has one Bloomberg Terminal on the 9th floor of D. H. Hill Jr. Library which can access financial, economic, and commodity information. You can sign up at the Terminal for the free Bloomberg Market Concepts certification, a 12-hour tutorial on the Terminal functions.
  • Poole College of Management (PCOM) students have access to the Virtual Computing Lab (VCL). The VCL allows students to “spin up” a new desktop from anywhere in the world through specialized software through a remote desktop. Make a Reservation by logging in, click "New Reservation" and a dropdown menu will appear with various options.

Get help from a data consultant.

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