NOT LOGGED IN  | HOURS & DIRECTIONS | SEARCH WEBSITE | SITE INDEX | MY ACCOUNT |
|
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Market Research Market research is essential for any business organization that wishes to stay in business. This guide includes pointers to several important sources of statistical data on income, consumption, and demographics, to help you understand and define the market for your product or service. A. Starting Points
For an overview of the whole process of market research, you can read
How to Prepare a Market Analysis on the Biz Info Library. The U.S. Small Business Administration also has a guide for Market Research as part of its Small Business Planner. American Demographics is once again freely accessible for recent articles on consumer and demographic trends. Many articles and reports are also available from the Population Reference Bureau. Topics include Employment, Income/Poverty, Race/Ethnicity, and Youth. Some other publications of interest include:
You can also consult the Market Research Portal's Market Research Glossary or the IMRI Glossary of Market Research Terms. The Market Research Portal also offers a small Library of Research Articles. 
B. Government Data SourcesThe mother of all data sources is the U.S. Census Bureau, with county profiles at State and County QuickFacts. For population data from the U.S. Census 2000 (as well 1990), start with American FactFinder and click on the "Data Sets" link. You can also click on the "Fact Sheet" link to find the latest data from the 2006 American Community Survey. Other related tables include:
The last five titles from the U.S. Census Bureau can also be found in print format in the Rutgers University Libraries. Kids Count is an interactive database from the Anne E. Casey Foundation, with geographically-organized data based on the 2000 U.S. Census. The Urban Information Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis has made available Demographic Profile 3 Trend Reports Using Data From SF3, 1990 & 2000 which will present trend information by geographic codes (e.g. metro area, census tract, ZIP code, etc.) To find Census data using maps, consult Social Explorer. This site provides access to selected data sets for censuses from 1940-2000, with the display of graphical maps. PolicyMap also displays many popular categories of demographic information as maps, including population, income, home ownership, and education. The underlying data is derived from both government and commercial sources. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics periodically conducts the Consumer Expenditure Survey which provides information on consumers and their expenditures. As a result of the Occupational Employment Survey, the BLS publishes the Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Other data sets are available from the Occupational Employment Statistics Home Page. The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Estimates obtained from the CPS include employment, unemployment, earnings, hours of work, and other indicators." The U.S. Census Bureau conducts several other periodic surveys, including the following:
The Local Area Personal Income tables, derived from the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Accounts Data, provides over thirty years of historical information. Particularly useful are estimates of per capita personal income by county.
Some historical employment data is available from the HUD-sponsored State of the Cities Data Systems, along with demographic profiles for cities. Detailed Occupation Statistics based on the 2000 Census are also available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Administration on Aging has a growing collection of
Aging Statistics with links to other government agencies and research centers. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has created Tables for Race and Ethnic Distributions in the United States for states, metropolitan areas, counties, and selected places, based on U.S. Census 2000 data. The U.S. Census Bureau has also generated graphical representations of data e.g. Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity, which shows total population and population percentage change since 1990. Current socioeconomic statistics on various groups are covered by the U.S. Census Bureau:
For New Jersey data, start with the New Jersey Annual Demographic Profile from the New Jersey Department of Labor. Detailed population, demographic, and housing statistics for Northern New Jersey counties, derived from various Census Bureau files, may be found on New Jersey Data Sets from the Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers-Newark. Census Profile: New Jersey’s Asian American Population is a report prepared by the Census Information Center of the Asian American Federation of New York, baed on data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses.
C. Commercial Data Sources"The Right Site" has hundreds of thousands of free demographic profiles, based on Census of Population and Housing data. EASI Census 2000 Quick Reports are available for area codes and TV markets, as well as the usual geographic divisions. (Registration is required.) More modestly, the firm ESRI offers free demographic and lifestyle data with their ZIP Code Lookup, which include household income, home values, and a description of the predominant ACORN™ (A Classification of Residential Neighborhoods) lifestyle segment. A similar ZIP code lookup site with neighborhood lifestyle segmentation information is You Are Where You Live, offered by Claritas. Another site with metro area, county, and state data on population, employment, income, and expenditures is the Community Demographics Library from Development Alliance. The information presented here is aggregated from a variety of government and commercial sources. (Registration is required.) City-Data.com consolidates information from many sources for its profiles of towns and cities, including crime data, housing, businesses, political contributions, weather, hospitals, schools, libraries, as well as race, income, ancestries, education, employment statistics on the residents. You can also use the Basic Family Budget Calculator to generate itemized budgets for families of different sizes in over 400 metropolitan areas. Summaries of consumer opinion polls, some of which deal with consumption or shopping patterns, can be found at Maritz Poll and The Harris Poll. DialogSelect allows you to search for market research reports from many sources around the world. The reports themselves are available for a fee but many summaries may be found at Market Research Findings compiled by the Market Research Portal. Other High-Cost Market Research Sources are listed in the KnowThis.com Marketing Virtual Library. IMRI's International Directory of Market Research Agencies is organized by country and by areas of expertise.
D. Research Centers & Other Data SourcesA good starting point is CensusScope, which is a portal to Census 2000 data, charts, graphs and maps. This site is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. Several other research centers do provide summaries of their findings on their websites:
Other websites that have collected together demographic and social statistics include:
E. Library ResourcesI. Market Research ReportsMintel Reports (Rutgers-restricted Access) offers product and industry market research reports covering US and International marketplaces. Each report combines data and analysis of the competitive landscape, supply chain, market-share size and trends, and consumer profiles. Complex demographic issues are broken into easy-to-understand sections, explaining consumer behavior and demonstrating the structure of the market. Data is compiled from consumer survey research firms such as Simmons National Consumer Surveys and Harris Interactive, as well as retail sales figures from Information Resources, Inc. and trade associations. II. Indexes to Data SourcesLexisNexis Statistical (Rutgers-restricted Access) is the unified online equivalent to the American Statistics Index, the Statistical Reference Index, and the Index to International Statistics. Full text or web links are provided for some citations, and the complete text of the Statistical Abstract of the United States is included in the database. TableBase (Rutgers-restricted Access) specializes exclusively in tabular data on companies, industries, products, and demographics. Find market share, company and brand rankings, industry and product forecasts, production and consumption statistics, imports and exports, usage and capacity, number of users/outlets, trends and more. III. General Data SourcesSocial Science Electronic Data Library (Rutgers-restricted Access) consists of six collections of data sets, covering studies in many areas including Aging, Disabilty, and the American Family. Current Population Reports are special studies in six series, put out irregularly by the Bureau of the Census. First consult the Subject Index to Current Population Reports as well as the Census Catalog & Guide (Population section). (ALEXANDER, CAMDN, DANA U.S. DOCS) The full-text of many of these studies are now available online from the U.S. Census Bureau. Demographics USA is published by Trade Dimensions every year, with demographic, income, retail sales, and establishments data for counties and states. (DANA, KILMER REF HF 5438.4 .S87) Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand by the Editors of New Strategist Publications covers many categories of products and services. (KILMER REF HC 79 .C6 B478) A related title is Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What, with hundreds of consumption and expenditure tables based on published and unpublished data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, referred to in the Government Data section above. (CAMDEN, DANA, REF HC 110 .C6 A666) The Study of Media and Markets from the Simmons Market Research Bureau used to be published annually, but is no longer available in print. (CAMDEN CD-ROM, DANA, KILMER REF HF 5415.2 .S554) Three compilations of statistical tables are:
Social Change in America: The Historical Handbook
Statistical Portrait of the United States: Social Conditions & Trends
Official Guide to Household Spending IV. Resources for Special Populations
New Jersey Legislative District Data Book from the Bureau of Government Research of Rutgers University also has annual data.
The New Jersey Municipal Data Book provides annual information on municipalities, towns, cities, and counties in New Jersey. From Gale Research:
Statistical Record of Asian Americans
Statistical Record of Black America
Statistical Record of Hispanic Americans
Statistical Record of Native North Americans From New Strategist Publications:
American Incomes: Demographics of Who Has Money
American Women: Who They Are & How They Live
The Baby Boom: Americans Born 1946 to 1964
Generation X: Americans Born 1965 to 1976
The Millennials: Americans Born 1977 to 1994
Racial and Ethnic Diversity: Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Whites
Older Americans: A Changing Market From Oryx Press:
Statistical Handbook on U.S. Hispanics
Statistical Handbook of Women in America V. Guides to Market Research
You can do no better than to consult John Ganly's Data Sources for Business and Market Analysis, now in its 4th edition. Hundreds of sources are described here.
An other useful book is the AMA Complete Guide to Marketing Research for Small Business by Holly Edmunds, which provides instructions for conducting both qualitative and quantitative primary research. Finally, there is an online tutorial from KnowThis.com, the Marketing Virtual Library: Finding Secondary Research.
| |||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||||
