Penn State - Brandywine Campus - Vairo Library
Country Profiles & Market Research:
Electronic & World Wide Web Sources
The following resources will help you learn more about the economy, culture, and politics of the country you have chosen for your marketing proposal. If you have any questions about using or connecting to these and other sources, the Vairo Library staff will be happy to help you.
Country Profiles
CIA World Factbook
The CIA World Factbook is produced by CIA's Directorate of Intelligence. The Factbook includes facts
and statistics on more than 250 countries and other entities. [http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/]
Background Notes (U.S. Department of State)
Background Notes include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions,
economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.
The Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs
as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus. Within each Background Note, click on the link under
"OFFICIAL NAME" to go a "country page" containing additional information and special report links in the left column.
[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/]
Country Studies/Area Handbooks
Country Studies/Area Handbook profiles describe and analyze the historical setting, the social, economic, political, and national security systems, and the institutions of a country. Profiles also examine the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Army, the original intent of the series was to analyze lesser known areas of the world
or regions in which U.S. forces might be deployed. As a result, only 101 countries and regions are covered. The date of
information for each country appears on the title page of each country and at the end of each secion of text.
[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html]
Consular Information Sheets and
Current Travel Warnings
Consular Information Sheets are available for every country of the world. They include information such
as location of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country, unusual immigration practices, health
conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security
information, and drug penalties. Current Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a country.
[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html] [http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html]
Market Research and Investment Climate Reports
EXPORT.GOV (U.S. Government Export Portal)
Export.gov links to country and industry market reports and much more... a wealth of information to help you
assess a product's potential in a given market. Export.gov also includes a section on How to Perform Market Research (http://www.export.gov/performresearch.html) with step-by-step instructions.
[http://www.export.gov/marketresearch.html#MarketResearch(Non-Agricultural]
Investment Climate Statements: 2006
Investment Climate Statements describe the overseas environments in which U.S.
investors must operate. The statements cover general characteristics, such as openness to foreign investment and
treatment of foreign investors, as well as details about procedures for licensing and similar administrative matters.
[http://www.state.gov/e/eb/ifd/2006/]
General and Business News
Yahoo! Newspapers Online
Yahoo! Newspapers provides a comprehensive collection of links to electronic newspapers worldwide.
[http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/By_Region/Countries/]
Lexis Nexis Academic (Academic Universe)
Lexis Nexis Academic Academic is an excellent database for current and worldwide news coverage.
Its nearly 6,000 sources include domestic and international newspapers and news wires, magazines and
journals, radio and TV news broadcasts. [http://www.lias.psu.edu/dballpsu.html#ACUNIVERSE]
Factiva (formerly Dow Jones)
Factiva's News Pages/Newsstand section includes more than 85 of the world's most influential
newspapers and general business magazines, browsable by date and by section. The archive for browsing is two
weeks for daily publications, and the most recent three issues for weekly and bi-weekly publications.
It is also possible to search acrosss Newsstand publications.
[http://www.lias.psu.edu/dballlib.html#DOWJONES]
Weather
Currency Conversion
Citing Electronic Resources
Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association
Follow these examples to prepare a bibliography of World Wide Web sources used in your research. [http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html]
Questions? Contact Susan Ware (saw4@psu.edu)
Penn State - Brandywine Campus - Vairo Library
Last Updated: May 2006
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