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MKT 310: Marketing Research: Search Examples: [11:00am]

Created by Dana Gordon, Acting Business & Economics Librarian, Spring 2010; Revised and updated by Terrence Bennett. Latest update: Fall 2024

Search Strategies and Examples: section 01

Search tip: for very recent insight into issues in higher education -- including, for example, how colleges and universities are dealing with the interaction of pandemic problems with the topic that your group has chosen -- search for articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education (TCNJ Library database) and Inside Higher Ed (free online).


Search tip: for any public company that may be relevant to your topic (including Sodexo, Planet Fitness, Barnes & Noble; Panera; etc.)

Several other business LibGuides include guidance for finding information about a company, or information about the overall industry in which a company operates.  See, for example, the Company / Industry Information tab from the ACC 498 LibGuide.


Note: All of the article databases operate on the same principles, although each has a slightly different search interface, and some will be better suited to your topic than others. 


Search example: Campus food service (including Brower Student Center / The Lions Den, Education Cafe; Traditions, Eickhoff / Sodexo, the Library Cafe; Blueberry Kitchen + Tap and other Campus Town and off-campus dining options)

ABI / Inform Global https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "college" and "food service"
  • Look at Related Searches for suggested terms to refine the search
  • Sort results by type: scholarly journals, newspapers, trade publications, etc.
  • Sort results by relevance (or by date).

From the results list:

Liang, X., & Zhang, S. (2009). Investigation of customer satisfaction in student food service. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 1(1), 113-124. 

Theodore S. Glickman, Jennifer Holm, Devlin Keating, Claudia Pannait, and Susan C. White. "Outsourcing on American campuses: National developments and the food service experience at GWU." The International Journal of Educational Management  21, no. 5 (July 30, 2007): 440-452. 

Search tip
Colleges & universities is a subject term in ABI / Inform. By selecting these words as a subject of an article, rather than as a phrase that appears anywhere in the article text, your results are likely to be more on point. You can combine this term with the concept or service that defines your project (e.g. "food service", which in this case is also a subject term in the database). Use the Advanced Search form and the Recent searches function to combine these terms with others related to your project:

Examples:
colleges & universities (subject) AND food service (subject) AND . . .

 . . . market* (finds market or marketing) OR 
 . . . satisfaction OR
 . . . survey OR
 . . . study  OR
 . . . students OR
 . . . undergraduates OR
 . . . off-campus dining OR
 . . . polls & surveys OR
 . . . entertainment

From the results list:

Porter, J., Conner, D., Kolodinsky, J., & Trubek, A. (2017). Get real: An analysis of student preference for real food. Agriculture and Human Values, 34(4), 921-932. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10460-017-9785-9

Holligan, S., Yi, S., Kanetkar, V., Haines, J., Dergham, J., Royall, D., & Brauer, P. (2019). Preferences for vegetables among university foodservice users. British Food Journal, 121(12), 3338-3349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-09-2018-0597


Search example: Financial Aid (including the Office of Student Accounts)

Business Source Premier
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/business-source-premier/

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "college" and "admissions" | or "college" and "financial aid"
  • Use the features at the left side of the results list to limit your results and refine the search
  • Select results by type: academic journals, newspapers, etc.
  • Refine your search with specific subject terms from relevant results [for example: College applications; University & college admission; Student financial aid; Psychology of students; behavior]

From the results list:

Carter, A., Gutierrez, S., & Pulido, M. (2021). College Completion Rates: Does the type of financial aid received influence student college completion? Issues in Political Economy, 30(1), 4–17.

Bowman, D. C., & Messinger, J. (2021). How to Think...About College Planning in a Pandemic. Journal of Financial Planning, 34(1), 32–36.

Dearden, J. A., Li, S., Meyerhoefer, C. D., & Yang, M. (2017). Demonstrated Interest: Signaling Behavior in College Admissions. Contemporary Economic Policy, 35(4), 630–657. https://ezproxy.tcnj.edu:2083/10.1111/coep.12216

Clotfelter, C. T., Hemelt, S. W., & Ladd, H. F. (2018). Multifaceted Aid for Low-Income Students and College Outcomes: Evidence from North Carolina. Economic Inquiry, 56(1), 278–303.

Goldrick-Rab, S., Kelchen, R., Harris, D. N., & Benson, J. (2016). Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion. American Journal of Sociology, 121(6), 1762–1817.


Search example:  Library [includes library study rooms; student use of library resources]

Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text (LISTA)
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/library-information-science-technology-abstracts-lista/

  • Try "college students" and "marketing"
  • refine results with suggested topics accompanying the results list [e.g. Subject: "college students"; "academic libraries"; "social marketing"; etc.]

From the results list:

Jameson, J., Natal, G., & Napp, J. (2019). Evolving and Enduring Patterns Surrounding Student Usage and Perceptions of Academic Library Reference Services. College & Research Libraries, 80(3), 366–385.

Dresselhaus, A., & Shrode, F. (2012). Mobile Technologies & Academics: Do Students Use Mobile Technologies in Their Academic Lives and are Librarians Ready to Meet this Challenge? Information Technology & Libraries, 31(2), 82–101.

O’Connor, L., & Lundstrom, K. (2011). The Impact of Social Marketing Strategies on the Information Seeking Behaviors of College Students. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 351–365.

Datig, I. (2014). What is a Library?: International College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40(3/4), 350–356.

Scarletto, E. A., Burhanna, K. J., & Richardson, E. (2013). Wide Awake at 4 AM: A Study of Late Night User Behavior, Perceptions and Performance at an Academic Library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39(5), 371–377.

Bonus! The results from the TCNJ Library 2011 LibQual Survey have been published. The 102-page document is here. [This survey is now a bit dated, but the range of questions (and responses) could provide some useful context for your project.]


Search example: Recreation and Wellness [includes Rec Center; Physical Enhancement Center; CampusTown Fitness Center]

Sports Medicine & Education Index
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/physical-education-index/

  • Use the Thesaurus feature to find relevant terms and create complex targeted search strings
  • Example: (DE=("exercise attitudes" or "health attitudes" or "physical education attitudes" or "recreation attitudes" or "sports attitudes")) and(DE="college students")
  • Example: DE="college students" and DE="body concept"

From the results list:

Miller, K. H., Noland, M., Rayens, M. K., & Staten, R. (2008). Characteristics of users and nonusers of a campus recreation center. Recreational Sports Journal, 32(2)

Behrens, T., & Dinger, M. (2003). A preliminary investigation of college students' physical activity patterns. American Journal of Health Studies, 18(2-3), 169-172.

Shaffer, D. R., & Wittes, E. (2006). Women's precollege sports participation, enjoyment of sports, and self-esteem. Sex Roles, 55(3-4), 225-232. doi:10.1007/s11199-006-9074-3

[Note that if any of the articles listed above are not available in full text in Sports Medicine & Education Index; you can follow the Search for Full Text link to see if they can be found in another online database or in print at the Library. If not, then request a copy of the article via Interlibrary Loan.]

Search tip
The college department or service you're looking at may not be an official subject term in the database, so you may have to try different terms to  find what you're looking for. To get the best results from article databases and online searching, think broadly about the wording of your topic.  For example, the Physical Enhancement Center is also a "fitness center", a "recreation center" and it deals with "physical fitness" or "recreation


Search example: Parking Services

ABI / Inform Global
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "parking" and "campus"
  • Look at Suggested Topics to refine the search
  • Example [Subject] "Colleges & universities" and "parking facilities"

From the results list: [Follow the link in the database to Search for Full Text]

Lipscomb, C. A., & Koford, B. C. (2011). Conservative dichotomous choice responses in the active policy setting: The case of university parking. Applied Economics Letters, 18(1), 39. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/822926099?accountid=10216

Klassen, K. J., Kumar, A., & Trybus, E. K. (2002). Parking needs analysis for multiple facilities using multiple lots. The Service Industries Journal, 22(4), 73-92. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203354034?accountid=10216

[Follow link to "search for full text"]

ERIC
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/eric/

  • Use the Thesaurus to find precise search descriptors (e.g. find descriptors related to "parking" and "college") [(DE "Facilities" AND DE "Motor Vehicles") AND ("parking")]
  • Use the features at the left side of the results list to limit your results by date, type of publication, and possibly subject term
  • Sort results by relevance or by date

From the results list:

Klavon, P. (2005). The Business Case for Commuter Benefits at Colleges and Universities. CUPA-HR Journal, 56(2), 2-7. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ798777&site=ehost-live

Millard-Ball, A., Siegman, P., & Tumlin, J. (2004). Solving Campus Parking Shortages: New Solutions for an Old Problem. Planning For Higher Education, 33(1), 30-43. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ847964&site=ehost-live

[Note that the first result listed above is not available at TCNJ. Use interlibrary loan (ILL) to request copies of articles that TCNJ does not have: http://libguides.tcnj.edu/ILLiad


Search example:  Center for Global Engagement (global studies; study abroad; intercultural exchange programs)

Education Full Text (Wilson Web)
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/education-full-text/

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "college" and "study abroad"
  • Look at results for subject terms to refine the search
  • Try combinations of "Colleges & universities" "foreign study" "academic achievement" etc.

From the results list:

Serrano, R., Tragant, E., & Llanes, À. (2012). A Longitudinal Analysis of the Effects of One Year Abroad. Canadian Modern Language Review, 68(2), 138-163. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=74664634&site=ehost-live

Olson, J., & Lalley, K. (2012). Evaluating a Short-Term, First-Year Study Abroad Program for Business and Engineering Undergraduates: Understanding the Student Learning Experience. Journal Of Education For Business, 87(6), 325-332. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=79472942&site=ehost-live

Salisbury, M., Paulsen, M., & Pascarella, E. (2011). Why do All the Study Abroad Students Look Alike? Applying an Integrated Student Choice Model to Explore Differences in the Factors that Influence White and Minority Students' Intent to Study Abroad. Research In Higher Education, 52(2), 123-150. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=57318567&site=ehost-liv