Business & Economics Research Guide

Industry research, like company research, includes looking at different aspects of an industry: major companies, market trends, market share, ratios, finances. We have several resources that will help you get an overview, but you will need to use multiple sources to get a full view of an industry. Find information on industry classification codes below.

Many of the resources used for company research are used for industry research. Industry and company research go hand in hand--you can rarely do one without the other.

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What are industry classification codes? They are codes created by the US government used to collect industry-wide statistics. Many reference sources use them as a way to organize industry and company information. NAICS replaced SIC in 1997, but some sources use both, some still use SIC only

North American Industry Classification (NAICS)
Created by the Census Bureau in 1997, NAICS replaced the SIC. Each industry is assigned a unique number is a code used to identify and describe North American (US, Canada, and Mexico) industries. It is hierarchical and classifies each industry by broad group and then subdivides each into smaller, more specific classifications.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
SIC system hasn't been updated since 1997, but you can still search the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) SIC search engine. SIC used to describe the structure of American industries. A hierarchical system, industries are organized into broad industry groups and then subdivided into smaller groups. Each industry carries a unique four-digit classification code ranging from 0100 to 9999. The SIC was replaced in 1997 with the North American Industrial Classification System but many sources still use the SIC. You can still search the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA) for