From its inception in 1998 by a sales professional who identified a correlation between industry knowledge and sales success, First Research has provided industry analysis with working professionals in mind. Despite these origins, the data provided continues to appeal to a wide range of researchers, including students, faculty, and small business owners. In 2007, First Research, then based in North Carolina, was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and merged with their Hoovers division (Davis, 2008). While First Research has incorporated some company information from their Hoovers database into First Research industry profiles, the two products remain distinct. Now based in Austin, Texas, First Research is distributed to the library market by Mergent, Inc. First Research is included in a subscription to Mergent Intellect (along with Key Business Ratios), but can be purchased as a standalone product. While First Research offers industry reports useful to students and business professionals alike, it also provides profiles of US states, Canadian provinces, and countries around the world, and an industry prospector, plus sales and marketing templates.

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第一项研究：销售专业人员的行业概况

First Research 于 1998 年由一位确定行业知识和销售成功之间相关性的销售专业人士创立，First Research 一直在为专业人士提供行业分析。尽管有这些起源，但所提供的数据继续吸引着广泛的研究人员，包括学生、教师和小企业主。2007 年，总部位于北卡罗来纳州的 First Research 被 Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) 收购，并与他们的 Hoovers 部门合并（Davis，2008 年）。虽然 First Research 已将其 Hoovers 数据库中的一些公司信息纳入 First Research 行业概况，但这两种产品仍然不同。现在，First Research 总部位于德克萨斯州奥斯汀，由 Mergent, Inc. 分发到图书馆市场。First Research 包含在 Mergent Intellect（以及关键业务比率）的订阅中，但可以作为独立产品购买。虽然 First Research 提供对学生和商业专业人士有用的行业报告，但它还提供美国各州、加拿大各省和世界各国的概况、行业探矿者以及销售和营销模板。