Marketing students unhappy about losing research database

10/26/09Students in the Marketing Communication program are frustrated at the loss of one of their marketing research tools.

Participants in the Emerson chapter of the American Advertising Federation began conducting research last month and quickly realized that MarketResearch.com was no longer on Iwasaki Library's database section. In the past students relied on the database for gathering information about demographics, consumer goods, advertising and various industries.

AAF is a yearlong competition between colleges across the country. Each year participants create a fully integrated marketing campaign for the same client and present their work to judges in the spring. Last semester Emerson's AAF chapter earned 2nd place at the regional awards. The year before that they went on to earn 5th place at Nationals.

John Keane, SGA Marketing senator and an AAF member, says he is just as puzzled as his classmates about the disappearance of MarketResearch.com. He said more communication between library staff and students could help mitigate confusion regarding the databases chosen to be put on Iwasaki's website.

Keane is working with Daniel Crocker, the coordinator of electronic resources and reference, to learn more about the database selection process.

Crocker said decisions about databases such as MarketResearch.com are made through an on-going review before the fall semester begins, with most changes taking place in July. Trials are set up before the college decides to officially add a new database to its list of sources.

Students, however, say they don't know when resources are eliminated until after it happens. Stephanie Costa, a marketing senior at Emerson, said she was aggravated when she tried to access MarketResearch.com this semester for AAF and found it was gone. Like Keane, she believes better communication is needed.

Crocker said faculty members are notified about new additions or deletions from the reference section with the assumption that they will tell their classes.

Costa says she and her classmates are in the dark, though. She said she believes tuition dollars are not going toward resources that should help students succeed.

Money was a key concern during the database review process this year. MarketResearch.com came with a high price tag and PDF problems that, according to Crocker, posed a "hindrance" to using the databases effectively. There was a glitch that prevented certain PDF's from downloading successfully, Crocker said. In the end, however, it was a yearly cost of $6,000 to $7,000 that was too much for the library to invest in one database.

According to Crocker, Library officials reviewed Mintel Academic Reports, one of the remaining market research tools, and found that its content was superior to what MarketResearch.com offered. They also considered MarketResearch.com a better fit for marketing studies, while Mintel's reports specialized in advertising. Snapshot is another resource that Crocker considers "valuable across the board."

Costa, on the other hand, considers MarketResearch.com a "user-friendly" resource that offers much more information than the other available databases. Taking it away puts marketing students at a disadvantage because they lose access to information that other schools competing in AAF may have, she said.

Crocker said MarketResearch.com could possibly return next year, although it is difficult to tell without knowing how much the database will cost yet. He says students are always welcome to utilize Iwasaki's staff directory and suggest potential research tools directly to him. Student involvement helps tailor the database selection and ultimately gives them the best resources for their research studies.