Please email me for help or an appointment. Appointments can be done via Zoom, individually or as a group.
Interview
Opinion Polls
Surveys
Observations
Physical store audits
Visiting online review sites (Yelp, etc.)
Experian Marketing Forward Blog: Freely available data, infographics, and reports on consumer behavior and trends.
Harris Interactive, a market research firm that conducts the Harris Poll of consumers, has the following freely available information:
Marketing Charts: This web site compiles data from other companies about consumers' interactions and habits with media including TV, Internet, social media, direct mail, and more. Data also shows the success of these campaigns, as well as ranking top media for advertising. Scroll down the screen to see charts arranged by most recent date first, search by media category, or do a keyword search for your topic.
The Nielsen Holdings N.V. company measures what consumers watch and buy.
Their web site has several great, free sections where you can get consumer news, trends, data, and reports:
Pew Research Center: A non-partisan research group that collects and presents data, opinions, and reports on American attitudes, activities, and trends.
Time Use Survey: Bureau of Labor Statistics: US Labor Department: Data on how American consumers use their time.
Consumer Expenditure Survey: Bureau of Labor Statistics: US Labor Department:
Statistics and reports on consumer expenditures, unemployment rates, and much more.
United Nations Demographic and Social Statistics Includes information on demographics of countries, income and consumption, and more. Also includes demographic yearbooks here, and demographic and social topics here.
US Census Bureau International Data Base (IDB) Statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for 227 countries and areas of the world.
Interviews
Opinion Polls
Surveys
Observations
Physical store audits
Visiting online review sites (Yelp, etc.)
Company's web site: Start with the company’s web site; look for Investor Relations, About the Company, etc. There may be a CEO message, or you can also find mission statements, values, financial information, and other information to help you analyze the company’s strategies.
Forbes Magazine's Company Lists
Don't forget books, you can sometimes get great overviews of a company in a book. Search your company in our library catalog here
International Directory of Company Histories This online directory contains detailed histories of over 11,000 worldwide companies. Information includes merger and acquisitions information, highlighted key dates and events, subsidiaries, and more. Search Within Series for your company.
Digital Marketing Spending Survey: Charts and figures for digital marketing spending by major industry categories, and breakdowns of how the spending is allocated. This is a summary of findings from the survey.
Marketing Charts: This web site compiles data from other companies about consumers' interactions and habits with media including TV, Internet, social media, direct mail, and more. Data also shows the success of these campaigns, as well as ranking top media for advertising. Scroll down the screen to see charts arranged by most recent date first, search by media category, or do a keyword search for your topic.
State of the News Media: An annual report by Pew Research Center that examines how consumers use news media, what formats they prefer, and more!
For specific media cost information, go to the web site for the major media outlet you are interested in (ex. Wall Street Journal)
Adverblog: Showcases digital advertising and marketing.
Inspiration Room: Promotes creative marketing in a variety of media.
Seth Godin: The highly ranked blog by Godin, a marketer, entrepreneur, and writer.
Digital Buzz: Trends, insights from the global digital marketing industry.
MarketingProfs: A clearinghouse and community of ideas, training, best practices in marketing. Free registration required.
Multicult Classics: Highlights the lack of diversity and misappropriation of culture in advertising.
Whenever you do research, you will need to cite the information sources that you use. Most business scholars use APA style. Here are some tools that can help you with this task:
There are several ways to obtain assistance with your research. Read on!
The School of Management has a library liaison named Penny Scott, and you can contact her for help.
Her contact information is: email: plscott@usfca.edu * phone: 415-422-5389
It is best to call or email ahead, or make an appointment, to make sure she is available!
If Penny is not available, or any time you need help, you can always get help, just Ask a Librarian!