MKTG 382: Consumer Behavior: In Depth Research Report: Secondary Marketing Research
Factbooks and IPEDS
Using Business Source Complete
NAICS & SIC Tutorial
IBISWorld Tutorial
Higher Education Research
For this assignment you will need to research universities, student enrollment, and student retention/persistence. You will be doing work specifically related university business schools at to public or private, non-PhD-granting universities, like Western's College of Business and Economics.
Note: Colleges and universities are defined by Carnegie classifications. Western is a Master's granting, regional university. Western's Budget and Financing Office created a list of 25 peer institutions. You can find the list here and the criteria for the list on the Budget & Financing page.
Where to Start
Use a combination of Business Source Complete and ERIC (educational database) to get a better understanding of issues related to business schools and higher education. Use ERIC (an educational database) and PyscInfo (a psychology database) to find information related to challenges facing students and applying and succeeding in higher education, including issues related to attitudes, socio-economic, and systemic issues. Keep in mind, when searching for anything related to human behavior, PsycInfo will often have articles that will go in-depth into human behavior and what drives it--so consider it when searching for info on donor and consumer behavior.
IBISWorld has industry reports related to educational services, like Educational Services in the US and Colleges & Universities in the US. There isn't a report that will directly related to business schools, but the overall challenges to higher education and student experience and retention will be relevant to business schools and students.
Educational Data
Public universities make much of their data available online through Factbooks. Western's Factbook is available through the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (linked below). A Google search for "university factbook" will result in a list of factbooks from various universities.
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Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)AACSB oversees accreditation of business schools. Aimed towards business schools, providing info related to the relevancy and trends of business education.
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AACSB 2021 Business School Data GuideAnnual report that features AACSB member school data on topics including programs, finances, faculty and staff, and students. The 2021 Business School Data Guide includes data collected for the academic term prior to the pandemic, providing a benchmark for understanding the pandemic's impact moving forward.
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WWU FactbookWWU Factbook provides several different datasets related to College enrollments, graduation rates, and more.
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Institute of Education Sciences: National Center for Educational StatisticsThis link goes to Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data Services (IPEDS). Postsecondary education institutions file statistics related to cost, admissions, enrollment, retention, and more. WWU has IPEDS data on their Factbook page. You can search for similar schools through the College Navigator.
Current Trends and Background
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Business Source Complete [EBSCO]Use Business Source Complete together with SPORTDiscus to find articles related to outdoor recreation, the industry, consumer behavior, and market segmentation--among other things. Articles in Business Source Complete will have a more business and consumer viewpoint.
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IBISWorldA database of industry market reports for more than 700 U.S. industries, organized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Reports cover several categories: key statistics, market segmentation, market characterization, industry conditions, key factors, key competitors, industry performance, and outlook.
Technology Use
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Pew Internet & TechnologyIn-depth, researched reports on how technology is used. Includes tech and lifestyle to the type tech usage.
Consumer Behavior
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Simmons Insights [MRI-Simmons]A database that reports on American consumer purchasing habits, viewing habits, demographics, and psychographics. Their information is based on in-person and mail-in surveys of more than 26,000 households.
Librarian Subject Team
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Social Science & Professional Programs Team Librarians:
Sylvia Tag
Elizabeth Stephan
Emily Spracklin
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