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MKT 310: Marketing Research: Search Examples [12:30pm]

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 02

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; Apple; 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 Find Company/Industry Information tab from the ACC498 LibGuide.


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


Search example: Campus food service (including the 1855 Room, Traditions / Brower Student Center / The Lions Den, T-Dubs, Eickhoff / Sodexo, the Library Cafe; and Campus Town and other 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. doi: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. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-09-2018-0597
[Note that the full text of this article is not available from  TCNJ; make an interlibrary loan (ILL) request to receive a copy.]


Search example: Campus bookstore

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

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "college" and "bookstore"
  • 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, SWOT analyses, etc.
  • Sort results by relevance or by date

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.

  • Search "bookstore" and "consumer behavior"

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:  Career Services

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 "career services"
  • Use the Refine results tools on the left side of the results page to view the list of subject terms included among the results, and choose one (or more) to refine the results list [e.g. "college placement services"]

From the results list: [Use Interlibrary Loan to request copies of articles not available at TCNJ]

Maples, M. R., & Luzzo, D. A. (2005). Evaluating DISCOVER’s Effectiveness in Enhancing College Students’ Social Cognitive Career Development. Career Development Quarterly, 53(3), 274–285.

Jones, C. F. (2002). Step by step: creating a strategic management system for career services delivery. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, {v62, 21–27.

Nagle, R. A., & Bohovich, J. (2002). A report on NACE’s 2002 graduating student & alumni survey: how college job seekers view their prospects. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, v62, 28–34.

Allen, C., Collins, M., & Mulligan, B. (2000). Key trends in career services and college recruiting. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 60(4), 24-39.

Bonus! The third article cited above refers to a survey conducted by NACE: the National Association of Colleges & Employers. You can use this as a search term to find articles that describe other reports and surveys from NACE, and see what's available from this organization's website.


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: Center for Student Success [Tutoring Center;  academic support services;  etc.]

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

  • Go to the Advanced Search screen
  • Try "college students" and "academic success"
  • Look at results for subject terms to refine the search
  • Try combinations such as ("college students" and "college dropouts -- prevention"); or ("college students" and "mentoring")

From the results list:

Apprey, M., Preston-Grimes, P., Bassett, K. C., Lewis, D. W., & Rideau, R. M. (2014). From Crisis Management to Academic Achievement: A University Cluster-Mentoring Model for Black Undergraduates. Peabody Journal of Education, 89(3), 318–335.

Edman, J. L., & Brazil, B. (2009). Perceptions of Campus Climate, Academic Efficacy and Academic Success among Community College Students: An Ethnic Comparison. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 12(3), 371–383.

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 "academic coaching"
  • Look at results for subject terms to refine the search
  • Try combinations such as ("college students" and "college dropouts -- prevention"); or ("college students" and "social support")

From the results list:

Baker, C. B., & Robnett, B. (2012). Race, Social Support and College Student Retention: A Case Study. Journal of College Student Development, 53(2), 325-335. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=74030232&site=ehost-live

Donjanea, W. (2011). The Impact of Career Workshops on Freshman College Students At-Risk for Dropout: An Action Research Study. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 13(1), 37-62. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=64884935&site=ehost-live


Search example: Student Life (including Greek life and other student organizations)

Academic Search Premier
https://library.tcnj.edu/research-help/search-tools/databases-a-z/academic-search-premier/

  • Start with an Advanced Search with relevant terms such as college and student life
  • From the results page, use the Thesaurus feature to find relevant phrases to create complex targeted search strings
  • Example: Narrow by Geography - united states; Subject - social skills; Subject - student attitudes; Subject  - college students
  • Try sorting results by Relevance or by Date, Newest to see different results first

From the results list:

Routon, P. W., & Walker, J. K. (2016). Attitude Changes and Self-Perceived Skill Gains from Collegiate Greek Organization Membership. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 97(3), 807–822. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12310

Hamilton, L. T., & Cheng, S. (2018). Going Greek: The Organization of Campus Life and Class-Based Graduation Gaps. Social Forces, 96(3), 977–1008.

Peacock, J. (2022). Relationships between prosocial factors and college student health. Journal of American College Health, 70(2), 347–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1750413

Lohani, M., Pfund, G. N., Bono, T. J., & Hill, P. L. (2023). Starting school with purpose: Self‐regulatory strategies of first‐semester university students. Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being, 15(2), 723–739.