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 topic that seeks to consider the effects of COVID-19 (such as resuming on-campus operations at TCNJ; or athletic events and COVID compliance; etc.) be sure to consult the COVID-19 and the Coronavirus Pandemic Information Resources LibGuide.
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/
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: Residential Education and Housing (Res Ed)
ERIC https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/eric/
Wode, J. (2018). Identifying the Factors That Motivate Students to Choose Off-Campus Housing. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 44(2), 44–63.
Kortegast, C. A. (2017). “But It’s Not the Space That I Would Need”: Narrative of LGBTQ Students’ Experiences in Campus Housing. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 43(2), 58–71.
Sun, J., Hagedorn, L. S., & Zhang, Y. (2016). Homesickness at College: Its Impact on Academic Performance and Retention. Journal of College Student Development, 57(8), 943–957.
Erb, N. M., Sinclair, M. S., & Braxton, J. M. (2015). Fostering a Sense of Community in Residence Halls: A Role for Housing and Residential Professionals in Increasing College Student Persistence. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, 3(2), 84–108.
Long, L. D., & Kujawa, K. (2015). Is Three a Crowd? Exploring the Development and Satisfaction of Students in Triples. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 41(2), 62–77.
Search example: Campus bookstore
Business Source Premier
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/business-source-premier/
Search tip
For some projects, searching for results that specifically focus on college campuses may be unnecessarily limiting. The important issues in book retailing, for example, are not limited to book sales on college campuses. If you expand your search to cover topics in bookselling (e.g. consumer behavior, ebooks, online book sales, etc.) irrespective of location, you may expand the number of results that are useful for your analysis.
From the results list:
Rosen, J. (2018). Rethinking College Stores. Publishers Weekly, 265(9), 4–6.
Lin, H. (2007). Predicting consumer intentions to shop online: An empirical test of competing theories. Electronic Commerce Research & Applications, 6(4), 433-442. doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2007.02.002
For the above citation, the full text is not available in Business Source Premier; follow the Search for Full Text link to find the full article in another online database.
From the results list of a similar search in ABI / Inform:
Marjerison, R. K., Yiwen, G., & Jin, H. (2021). The dilemma of brick and mortar bookstores: An exploration of trends, consumer motives and perceptions, and possible paths to sustainability. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 10(3), 39-67.
Hall, W., & Gupta, A. (2010). Barnes & noble, inc.: Maintaining A competitive edge in an ever-changing industry. Journal of Business Case Studies, 6(4), 9-22.
Wu, S. (2006). A comparison of the behavior of different customer clusters towards internet bookstores. Information & Management, 43(8), 986. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/237012511?accountid=1021
Search example: Health Services
ABI / Inform Global
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/
From the results list [Scholarly articles]:
Anderson, E. A. (1995). Measuring service quality at a university health clinic. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 8(2), 32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229690842?accountid=10216
Canel, C., & Anderson Fletcher, E.,A. (2001). An analysis of service quality at a student health center. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 14(6), 260-267. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229693426?accountid=10216
Russell, J., Thomson, G., & Rosenthal, D. (2008). International student use of university health and counseling services. Higher Education, 56(1), 59-75. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-007-9089-x
Search example: Campustown Fitness Center; Rec Center; Physical Enhancement Center
Sports Medicine & Education Index
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/physical-education-index/
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: CUB [also Student Government; Student Finance Board]
Education Full Text (Wilson Web)
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/education-full-text/
From the results list:
Heller, R. (2021). The Developmental Value of Extracurricular Programs. Phi Delta Kappan, 102(8), 30–34.
Krebs, S. R., & Fry, W. (2013). Hey - You Tricked Me! Campus Activities Programming, 45(6), 7–9. https://login.tcnj.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=85803623&site=ehost-live
Cheng, Y., Zhou, X., & Yao, K. (2023). LGBT-Inclusive Representation in Entertainment Products and Its Market Response: Evidence from Field and Lab. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(4), 1189–1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05075-4
Wilson, J. (2015). Successful Late-Night Events Need Balance. Campus Activities Programming, 47(7), 50–52. https://login.tcnj.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=109201423&site=ehost-live
Note: Some of the above results are from a magazine called Campus Activities Programming , to which TCNJ does not subscribe. You can request these articles through interlibrary loan (a simple process, usually with very quick results). Note also that recent issues of this magazine are available online from the National Association of Campus Activities [NACA].
Search example: Parking Services
ABI / Inform Global
https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/
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/
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