This guide focuses on free and open resources to support biotechnology industry research for HMB491.

Please note that some of these tools will contain information that is behind a paywall.

Please note that University of Toronto Library business databases are not permitted for use in student internship contexts. Any requests for access to these tools should be reported to your instructor.

For support using databases provided by your internship locations, please refer to the database help or support sections, or search for how-to videos on platforms such as YouTube.

Applied business research is the research you do to create a company, product, or service, rather than to conduct a research study or academic article. This kind of research is less well defined than traditional health sciences literature searching.

For those who are used to the latter, it's worth pointing out that business information sources featured in this guide are: 

• Created for a corporate audience 

• Not typically peer reviewed or published in an academic journal 

• Built on reputation and trust, rather than empirical method 

• Arranged into competing "walled gardens" with unique taxonomies (no MESH headings) 

• Behind paywalls and not indexed in Google or the U of T Library catalogue 

• Provide information to test assumptions and reduce risk 

• Future predictions based on past behaviour (not a crystal ball!) 

• Finding a clear answer is by no means guaranteed 

Compiled by David Gerstle, UTM Library. Used with permission.