New Venture Competition

To conduct market research you will need to know the NAICS code for the type of business you are planning. The North American Industry Classification System is hierarchical, and assigns numbers to industries. You may need to think of broader terms, for example: the term Food truck is not used; look under Food, where you will find Mobile Food Stands and the like. For assistance, ask a Librarian.

Downloadable PDF. If your business will be international, you will need to know the ISIC code for your industry to conduct market research. ISIC rev. 4 is the world-wide equivalent of the NAICS code. This page contains a concordance. ISIC is maintained by the United Nations.

To research the products (goods or services) you will be selling, use the North American Product Classification System. NAPCS is a comprehensive, market-based, hierarchical classification system for products. It is not industry-of-origin based but can be linked to the NAICS industry structure. NAPCS is consistent across the three North American countries, and can be cross-walked to international classification systems, such as the Central Product Classification System of the United Nations

Downloadable PDF. If you will be marketing your products internationally, use the Central Product Classification system (CPC) maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division. It serves as an international standard for assembling all data requiring product detail, including: industrial production, national accounts, service industries, domestic and foreign commodity trade, international trade in services, balance of payments, consumption and price statistics. For more information, see the UN Statistics Division Classifications page

Note: Current volumes, and the entire series, are available at Allen County Public Library. Lists, cross-references, and contact information for all associations incorporated in the United States. Professional, industrial, scholarly, trade, etc.

An Introduction to Survey Research is for those who want an overview of the survey process. It is intended to describe fundamental survey components to help both students and managers understand and use surveys effectively and avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey construction and inappropriate methods. The authors discuss how best to identify the information needed and the best approach to get that information. They also highlight the processes commonly involved in conducting a survey including the value of both obtaining a representative sample and dealing with the types of errors that can distort results. Each chapter focuses on one of the key components of constructing and carrying out a survey, including the elements to consider when developing a survey, the modes of survey delivery, writing good questions, conducting the survey, and presenting the results.