Foster Business Library


Consumer Behavior Resources



Foster Business Library research guides are aimed at University of Washington students, faculty, and staff, highlighting resources available to them; users not currently affiliated with the university may be unable to access some of these resources.
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Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.

  • EconLit:   Produced by the American Economic Association, EconLit is the fundamental research tool in economics. The database provides bibliographic citations, with selected abstracts, to the international literature on economics since 1969. Econ Lit corresponds to the Journal of Economic Literature and the Index of Economic Articles, covering journal articles, books, and dissertations, as well as articles in collective works, such as conference proceedings and collected essay volumes.

    A search in this database for Consumer Behavior produced more than 600 references.

  • EIU Online:   One of the world's top sources for country intelligence, the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) employs 500 analysts who research almost 200 nations. The Foster Business Library provides access to their Country Profiles, Country Reports, Country Commerce, and Country Finance in print editions and this database provides online access to these publications, often in both HTML and PDF formats.

    A search in Viewswires for Consumer Behaviour (this is a British database) produced over 75 articles.

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under List of All Business Databases.   The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research; go to Business for three major business sources:   the Encyclopedia of American Industries (4th ed., 2005), the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2001), and the Encyclopedia of Small Business (2nd ed., 2002).

    See Consumer Behavior, in the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. See also Consumer Psychology in the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology.

  • Gartner Research:   Under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. The Gartner Research database provides in-depth analysis and market intelligence for the information technology industry. It covers the full range of products and technologies associated with computer hardware, software, communications products, financial services, electronic business, and healthcare application software worldwide. Ten industries are covered in depth:   banking, education, energy, government, healthcare providers, insurance, investment services, manufacturing, media, and retail. Access to this database, on campus or off, requires a valid UW Net ID.

  • JSTOR:   JSTOR is a subject searchable index of 360 journals, with full-text backfiles of scholarly journals, some of which date back to the 1800's. Among the collections of scholarly journals on this site are ones for Business and for Economics, encompassing 72 journals.

    Searching in business and economics journals for Consumer Behavior produced more than 200 articles, searching for this term in full text; searching for this term in abstracts cut the list to 176 articles.

  • MarketResearch.com Academic:   This database contains comprehensive full-text market research reports covering a broad range of markets, industries, and companies from reputable market intelligence sources such as Packaged Facts, Icon Group, and many others, for U.S. and global markets, covering over 2,000 industries and products.

  • PsycINFO:   This database contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports in the field of psychology and on the psychological aspects of many disciplines including business. Over 1,300 periodicals are surveyed by this database, dating from 1987 for English language material. This database is produced by the American Psychological Association which adds 55,000 references annually.

    A search for the keywords Consumer Behavior produced a list of over 6,200 citations.

  • Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS):   This database indexes articles from over 1,400 journals along with thousands of government documents, statistical directories, reports, pamphlets, conference proceedings and books in the broad field of public and social policy issues, dating back to 1980.

    A search in this database for Consumer Behavior produced over fifty references.

  • Social Sciences Citation Index:   This database "is a multidisciplinary index, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social sciences. It indexes more than 1,725 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals. It "provides access to current information and retrospective data from 1956 forward."

    A search in this database for Consumer Behavior produced more than 1,200 references.

    CD-ROM databases:

  • Mediamark Reporter:   Library CD-ROM Network.   CD-ROM version of Mediamark Research, a tool for market research, with information on demographics, product and brand usage, and advertising media preferences based on survey responses from a sample of over 25,000 consumers in the United States. Print copies of Mediamark Research are available in over 20 volumes in the Foster Business Library reference collection, call number HF5415.3 .M43, dated spring 1998; the online version offers 2001 data. Search tips for using this database are available by clicking here.
    Available only in the Foster Business Library, on all public and Access Plus computers; not available from off-campus.

  • Simmons Choices III:   Library CD-ROM network.   CD-ROM version of the Simmons Study of Media and Markets, a tool for market research; a print version of this resource, in many volumes, is available in the Foster Business Library reference collection, dated 1993, with the call number HF5415.3 .S78 1993. Choices III provides marketing data that can be cross-tabulated to create demographic and psychographic profiles of consumers. Search tips for using this database are available by clicking here.
    Available only in the Foster Business Library, on all public and Access Plus computers; not available from off-campus.

    Web resources:

    Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.

  • American Customer Satisfaction Index:   This organization "reports scores on a 0-100 scale at the national level and produces indexes for 10 economic sectors, 43 industries (including e-commerce and e-business) and more than 200 companies and federal or local government agencies.  In addition to the company-level satisfaction scores, ACSI produces scores for the causes and consequences of customer satisfaction and their relationships." It is associated with the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. See their Scores By Industry information and Scores By Company.

  • The Encyclopedia of Psychology:   This online encyclopedia of psychology is maintained by professors at the Jacksonville State University, with links to academic articles on a wide variety of topics in this field. See their Consumer Behavior information and Consumer Links.

  • Marketing links (Advertising World):   This University of Texas site serves as a portal to links and sources of information on 75 topics, from account planning to web site promotion. See their few Consumer Psychology links.

  • The Psychology of Consumers:   This site, prepared by a marketing professor at San Diego State University, provides information on consumer behavior, segmentation, demographics, and more. The professor also publishes an online Consumer Psychologist Newsletter.

  • Wikipedia:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia, Wikipedia, can be a good starting point for an orientation to a topic. See their brief entry for Consumer Behaviour.

    Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

    The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.

  • The entertainment, media and advertising market research handbook.
    This paperback covers how consumers use their leisure time, key players in the entertainment, media, and advertising industries, with profiles of major companies in each industry as well as rankings. There are also chapters on branding, including top brands; on direct marketing and outdoor advertising; on sponsorships and licensing, including sports, plus naming rights; on entertainment marketing, on television and TV advertising and programming; on TV stations, cable, pay per view, satellite, video on demand, film and video, film studios, recorded music, radio, satellite and internet radio, and print media; sports; and a series of chapters on the demographics of various markets, from children to seniors, ethnic markets, gay and lesbian, and faith-based media.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: GV174 .E58 2007.

  • International marketing data and statistics.
    Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania; companion volume to European marketing data and statistics.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA42 .I56 2003.

  • Statistical abstract of the United States
    Information about many industries as well as demographic and marketing information; check index for references to tables. The sources for each table are often a valuable source of additional information. See index page 978 for many tables about consumers.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA202 .U56 2006.

  • 2002 county and city extra.
    This annual reference work provides extensive data on U.S. states, counties, and cities in a wide variety of categories, including population, households, vital statistics, health, crime, education, labor force and employment, trade, federal funds, etc.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA203 .C68 2002.

  • The sourcebook of zip code demographics.
    This thick paperback provides up-to-date demographic information, by zip code, for every residential and non-residential zip code location in the U.S., with population, households, ethnicity, age, income, spending potential on financial services, home, entertainment, and personal, dominant lifestyle segmentation, business data including number of businesses and dominant industry, forecasts, etc. See Washington state on pages 348-A to 354-C; for Seattle, see zip codes 98001 to 99403 on pages 506 to 508, and pages 653 to 655.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA203 .S66 (Annual)

  • European marketing data and statistics.
    Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for European countries.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA1107 .E87 2003.

  • Best customers: demographics of consumer demand.
    Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this volume indicates who the best and biggest customers are, for 300 specific products and services, with an analysis of household spending by age, income, race, region, etc.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC79 .C6 .B45 2006.

  • MSA profile: metropolitan area projections to 2025.
    Population, employment, earnings, personal and household income and retail sales data and projections for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025 for states, regions and metropolitan areas. Data includes white, black, other, and hispanic populations.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC106.8 .M77 (Annual)

  • The Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of marketing.
    This paperback is arranged alphabetically by marketing topic, with short definitions of each topic (one to several paragraphs long). See pages 27 to 36 for Consumer Attitudes, Consumer Buyer Behavior, Consumer Decision-Making Process, Consumer Learning, Consumer Marketing, and more.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .B455 (volume 4).

  • Encyclopedia of business ethics and society.
    This five-volume reference work includes 900 essays by scholars, arranged alphabetically by topic, on all aspects of business ethics. See entries for Consumer Fraud, Consumer Goods, Consumer Preferences, and Consumer Rights, in volume one.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .E53 2008.

  • Demographics USA: county edition.
    This large paperback provides in-depth demographics, for people, races, households, and businesses, for U.S. states, cities, and counties, with consumer and buying power data. Also included is retail sales and employment data.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF3007 .S96 (Annual)
    (See also Demographics USA: zip edition, call number HF5415.3 .D463)

  • Market share reporter.
    Annual two-volume compilation of market share data on companies, products and services, both U.S. and international, arranged by SIC code and with indexes by product, company and topic.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .M35 (Annual)

  • The IEBM encyclopedia of marketing.
    This volume includes twelve-page essays on about five dozen topics, under such headings as marketing management, the marketing mix, marketing in practice, and special topics. See Consumer Behaviour on pages 670 and 671.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5412 .I32 1999.

  • The handbook of marketing.
    This handbook consists of twenty-one essays on marketing and society, marketing strategy, marketing activities (such as branding and product development, sales force management and compensation, and marketing communications, marketing management, and special topics (including global marketing, and marketing and the internet). See index pages 569 and 570 for many references to consumers.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415 .H18665 2002.

  • Demographics USA: zip edition.
    This large paperback provides in-depth demographics, for both people and businesses, for U.S. zip codes.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.3 .D463 (Annual)
    (See also Demographics USA: county edition, call number HF3007 .S96)

  • Marketing know-how: your guide to the best markeing tools and sources.
    Consumer trends, marketing information, and federal, state and local sources of marketing information, plus articles on these topics.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.2 .F69 1998.

  • Marketing scales handbook.
    Volume three presents 941 scales culled from articles, on marketing scales in consumer behavior, published in the top marketing journals between 1994 and 1997; volume four provides all new or new uses of previously developed scales in consumer behavior and advertising that appeared between 1998 and 2001, with 654 scales. These volumes include two indexes, by author and by publication.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.3 .B785 volumes 2001, 2005.

  • The lifestyle market analyst.
    Market analysis information including demographic, geographic and lifestyle information to identify who customers are, where they live, how they spend their time and money and how to reach them.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.33 .U6 .L54 (Annual)

  • Research alert yearbook.
    This volume collects marketing research data from over 1,000 market research reports on a very wide variety of topics, including advertising and marketing, age groups, demographics, apparel, spending, entertainment, food and beverages, health, internet, sports, etc.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.33 .U6 .R47 2006.

  • Perfect phrases for customer service.
    This small paperback is subtitled "hundreds of tools, techniques, and scripts for handling any situation," covering the basics of customer service and how to deal with sixty specific customer situations.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.5 .B23 2005.

    Foster Business Library Books:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

    To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

    If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

    The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

    A keyword search for the term Consumer Behavior retrieved over 470 records in the UW Libraries, including more than 200 records in the Foster Business Library, including:

    Other relevant subjects suggested by these searches include (with results limited to the Foster Business Library's collections):

    Foster Business Library Periodicals:

    Foster Business Library Articles:

    Articles in academic journals, magazines, trade periodicals, and newspapers are one of the best sources for any kind of research. While the Foster Business Library offers a large periodicals print collection, comprising over 800 titles, articles are most easily accessed online, 24/7, in such fulltext article databases as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases are available in the library or from off-campus, and provide access to over 10,000 periodicals and millions of articles.

    Library access to most ProQuest databases will terminate at the end of spring quarter 2008, except for ProQuest NewsStand, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Historical New York Times, and the Historical Wall Street Journal. For more about this change, see UW Libraries Providing New Databases. After this change, comprehensive article searches should be performed in EBSCO Business Source Premier, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest NewsStand. Also, after this change, links to the articles below will be broken.

    ProQuest Databases:

    This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide.

    Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article.

    A topic search for Consumer Behavior produced a list of more than 35,000 articles, with links to over 380 associated narrowing terms. Examples include:

    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Advertising), over 2,400 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Age), over 120 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Baby Boomers), over 200 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Children & Youth), over 400 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(College Students), over 50 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Consumer Spending), over 800 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Customer Relationship Management), over 25 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Demographics), over 1,200 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Fashion), over 180 articles;
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Teenagers), over 230 articles; and
    • SUB(Consumer Behavior) and SUB(Trends), over 3,800 articles.

    Examples of articles, from the searches above, include:

    Help:


    17 March 2004; updated 8 May 2008.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu