All posts by Tess

Research Example #6

Hill, Jennifer Ann. 2011. “Endangered Childhoods: How Consumerism is Impacting Child and Youth Identity.” Media, Culture & Society 33 (3): 347-362. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.redlands.edu/10.1177/0163443710393387. http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/1928299552?accountid=14729.

For the last research exercise, I wanted to find research that more closely relates to the final reseach question that I have been tweaking for the last few weeks. My article for this assignment is called Endangered Childhoods: How Consumerism is Impacting Child and Youth Identity and it was found through ProQuest.

This article discusses the extensive presence of consumerism in children’s lives, using information and data from a plethora of previous research conducted From a very young age, children are bombarded with advertisements and images displaying consumer products, encouraging them to buy them or beg their parents to. Due to this, children’s identities are created and affected by the ways in which they consume. The author’s purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of consumerism, in order to assess identity formation and development in youth. This articles topic is about the lasting effects that consumerism has on children’s identities, and the research question is “In what ways does consumerism affect youth identity in the United States?” The type of data needed to answer this question would be acts of behavior and events. However, this author did not conduct her own research and instead used existing research from other authors. The author use meta-analyis to collect information from various studies to create a more compelling argument. The method of data analysis is both qualitative and quantitative, because there was numerical and non-numerical data assessed in the report.

I think this author used compelling evidence from a multitude of studies, and the article itself is published in a legitimate journal. The author cited about 51 sources, which indicates to me that she thoroughly inspected existing research and is very educated on this topic. I think if the author conducted her own research, perhaps her evidence would be a little more updated and accurate, as some of the research cited is slightly dated. The most interesting part of this article for me was learning how much time and resources companies spend on advertisements geared towards children. Companies are focused on “cradle-to-grave” marketing which means they begin gearing advertisements towards children early on, in order to create and ensure brand loyalty in the future.

Research Example #5

 

Isaksen, Katja Jezkova, and Stuart Roper. “The Commodification of Self-Esteem: Branding and British Teenagers.” Psychology and Marketing29, no. 3 (February 7, 2012): 117-35. Accessed March 24, 2018.

The Commodification of SelfEsteem: Branding and British Teenagers, by Katja Jezkova Isaksen and Stuart Roper. I found it through Wiley Online, using the Redlands library website.  According to the article’s abstract, the study explores the role that consumption has in British adolescents’ lives in terms of their own perception. It particularly focused on its role in forming and maintaining self-esteem. In order to answer their research question, the authors examined concepts like materialism, brand loyalty, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status. The authors found from the focus groups that as a result of peer pressure and the desire to “fit in” among their peers, consuming the right things at the right time is crucial for social acceptance, forming friendships, and thus, self-esteem as a whole. I chose this article because it touches on socioeconomic status and the way that can affect some children’s access to these commodities that help them “fit in.” According to the study, however, children from low-income families were actually more eager to want to purchase the more expensive brands. This article’s topic is about the role consumption plays in forming self-esteem in adolescents. The question is “What role does consumption play in the formation and maintaining of self-esteem in British adolescents?” The type of data needed to answer the question is reports of acts, behavior, and events. In order to collect this data, the authors used six focus groups comprising of 20 individuals. This study is qualitative, as the data is not numerical, and comes from focus groups.

This research is extremely interesting to me, and closely relates to what I want to answer with my own research question. The research is published in a respected journal, so that leads me to believe that the authors are trustworthy and the data collected was done so properly and in accordance with guidelines. The conclusions that the authors came to are logical and make sense sociologically, but I would like to build on their conclusions with my own proposed research question. The most interesting aspect of this research is that the authors concluded that while adolescents have the most awareness regarding the role of branding, advertising, and peer pressure, they are seemingly unable to resist them.

Research Example #4

FISCHER, MARC, FRANZISKA VÖLCKNER, and HENRIK SATTLER. “How Important Are Brands? A Cross-Category, Cross-Country Study.” Journal of Marketing Research 47, no. 5 (2010): 823-39. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.redlands.edu/stable/20751546.

The article that I chose for this research example is called, How Important are Brands? A Cross-Category, Cross-Country Study, and it was published in the Journal of Marketing Research. I chose this article because previously I was looking for research already done regarding my specific research question, which was difficult to find. I was not focusing on the larger picture, which is about the social significance of brands overall. This article and the research discussed proved to be very valuable to my own reseach.

The main topic of this article explores the importance of brands across different countries and different categories of items. In other words, it focuses on the measurement of overall importance of brands for consumers’ decision-making processes. The measurement is something called “brand relevance in category,” or “BRiC,” which the authors tested across multiple countries and categories, in order to find out whether or not brand importance matters. The type of data needed to answer this research question is reports of acts, behavior, or events. In order to collect this data, the authors sent out a 19-item questionnaire to a sample of 578 graduate students from France, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The method of data analysis was qualitative, because the data was non-numerical. I would assume this article’s topic is “brand importance” and the question is “How important are brands in the decision making process of consumers across multiple countries.”

 

This research is the first I’ve come across that measures the importance of brands to consumers across multiple countries, so I was very intrigued and interested throughout the entire article. I think it is valid research and logically makes sense. The creation of a measurement called BRiC makes the data more legitimate because the authors have distinct areas in which they are measuring. I think if given more time and a larger budget, the authors could have surveyed more people since they wanted to make determinations about five different countries, rather than just one like the United States. I don’t think 578 people is a large enough sample, but overall the research and data are still significant. Additionally, I also think the authors could have expanded the survey in order to collect more data.

Research Example #3

Moav, Omer, and Zvika Neeman. “Saving rates and poverty: the role of conspicuous consumption and human capital.” The Economic Journal, September 2012, 933-56. Accessed March 11, 2018.

For this research example, I chose to find an article from Google Scholar. The article I chose is called, Saving Rates and Poverty: The Role of Conspicuous Consumption and Human Capital. It is published in The Economic Journal by Omer Moav and Zvika Neeman. This article is about the conspicuous consumption behavior of low-income individuals. The authors suggest that some lower-income individuals care about economic status, and interpret this behavior as conspicuous consumption intended to provide a status symbol. According to the authors, they show that “If human capital is observable and correlated with income, then a signalling equilibrium in which poor individuals tend to spend a large fraction of their income on conspicuous consumption can emerge.” The article offers a different perspective on saving rates and income, and why those who have a higher income and professional title do not feel the need to purchase conspicuous goods as much as those who make significantly less and do not have a certified accomplishment that conveys social status.

The article’s topic is about conspicuous consumption and human capital, and it’s research question is, “What is the relationship between human capital and an individual’s choice to spend more of their income on conspicuous goods? As this research was published in an economic journal, the type of data that is needed to answer this question is economic. The authors created a model showing the relationship between income and conspicuous spending, and included proofs. To access the type of data they needed, the authors used public and private records to find their economic data. Since the data used is numerical, the method of data analysis is quantitative. I think this research seems legitimate and well thought out. I think since the research was published in an economic journal that it is valid and the authors can be trusted as reliable researchers in their field. However, I do not have a background or a proficiency in economics, therefore the model showing the relationship between income and conspicuous spending did not make much sense to me and I’m not sure how to understand the mathematics behind it. Nonetheless, I think this article was very interesting because it shed a new (mathematical) light on why some low-income people spend more on goods that do not help alleviate poverty, but rather display a symbol of status. It goes to show how important status is in our society, and how important it can be for those who do not have access to education, a high paying job, etc.

Research Example #2- Tess Karnes

 

Lee, Jaehoon. 2011. “The Self, Interpersonal Relationships, and Conspicuous Behaviors:Consumption and Helping.” Order No. 3473370, The University of Texas at San Antonio. http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/896114299?accountid=14729.

For this research exercise I used ProQuest to find my article. This article looks at social class differences within certain patterns of conspicuous consumption, as in selecting a gift. The author of this article, Jaehoon Lee, tests whether or not certain social classes have a larger tendency to purchase conspicuous gifts for other people or for themselves. The author concluded that this only happens when a conspicuous gift is associated with a certain social status. He also concluded that this happens due to a desire to gain a higher status and fit in with other lower class individuals who are trying to also portray a higher status. Lee stated that lower class individuals have stronger desires for status and conformity, as compared to more higher class individuals.

The article’s topic is social class differences and conspicuous consumption purchasing behaviors. The research question is, “What are the conspicuous shopping habits of lower class people when buying gifts for others?” To answer this question, the author needed to collect reports of acts, behavior, and events, as well as use demographic and financial data. The data gathering method that this author used is in-depth interviews as well as economic data, because he compared the amount individuals from different social classes spend on lavish celebrations like weddings. The method of data analysis is both quantitative and qualitative because the author analyzed reports of acts, behavior, and events, as well as analyzed numerical financial data. The financial and demographic data used is interval/ratio data. I think this research is logical and valid. I think the author was able to collect very insightful data and deep answers from people of different social classes, as well as analyze financial data, which resulted in reliable conclusions. Personally, I agree with what the author found about people of lower classes valuing status more than wealthier people. I also agree with the conclusion that conspicuous consumption is more crucial to lower social classes because it conveys a certain status to others. An interesting part of this article that surprised me was that the author found through his research that consumption patterns vary by cultural capital rather than by economic capital. Before reading this article I would have assumed it would be the opposite.

Research Example #1

For this research exercise I used JSTOR to find a scholarly article on my topic, which is about the relationship between conspicuous consumption and socioeconomic status. This article is called Low-income Families and Coping through Brands: Inclusion or Stigma? and it is featured in the academic journal, Sociology. This article covers the “coping strategies” used by low-income families in regards to conspicuous consumption. According to the author, low-income families engage in conspicuous consumption of popular brands in order to provide their children with access to these brands. Access to popular brands allows children to feel accepted and apart of a larger group. Without access to such brands, children may feel stigmatized and ostracized, because they are not part of the group. Material items are a form of scrip for children. This allows them to interact with other children, and provides a means for social acceptance. This article uncovers the powerful control that brands have over our lives, especially among children.

I would assume this article’s research topic is conspicuous consumption and low-income families, and the research question is “What are the social effects of conspicuously consuming popular brands among low-income families and single mothers?” Because this study is comprised of 30 in depth interviews with different families, the type of data needed to answer this question is reports of acts, behavior, and events, and the data gathering method is in depth interviews. The method of data analysis is qualitative, because the author did not count the reports of acts, behavior, or events, but rather describe them. Overall, this data appears to be legitimate and trustworthy because it appears in a well respected academic journal, and the conclusions came from deep and thoughtful results that arose from the in depth interviews.

Journal Exercise #2

Reed, W. Robert. “The Determinants of U.S. State Economic Growth: A Less Extreme Bounds Analysis.” Economic Inquiry47, no. 4 (October 2009): 685-700.

Since there are not many academic journals in the periodical section of the library that fit my topic about consumption and socioeconomic status,  I chose an article from an economic journal. This article covers U.S. state economic growth from 1970 to 1999. It investigates the robust determinates to figure out what exactly contributed to the economic growth between that time period. The author pulls from other research and also introduces his own new method for addressing “model uncertainty” issues associated with the growth equations that he’s using. Some of the potential explanatory variables include population/labor force characteristics, economic characteristics, public sector variables, etc. The article’s research topic is U.S. economic growth factors, and the research question is “what factors caused U.S. state economic growth during 1970 to 1999?”  The type of data the author needed to collect to answer his questions is economic data. The author utilized public and private records for his data collection, including the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data collected is quantitative, and it is interval/ratio data. The author uses it to compare different factors of economic growth between the set years. In my opinion, I think this research is valid and trustworthy, because the article appears in a peer-reviewed academic journal. The author pulls certain aspects of research from other related projects to help his own research, and also implements new strategies and methods for determining the characteristics of economic growth.

Journal Exercise #1 – Tess Karnes

Warren, Rachel Meltzer. “The New Super Bowls.” Consumer Reports, October 2017, 42-47.

My topic for our research project is about the relationship between socio-economic status and conspicuous consumption in the U.S. I could not find many periodicals about my topic, so I used the October edition of Consumer Reports to find my article. The article I chose discusses the trendiness of “super bowls,” which is a new food craze consisting of whole grains, vegetables, and protein all packed into one dish. There’s a lot of publicity and hype surrounding this new food trend, and a lot of misconceptions have formed due to misleading advertising. Many restaurants and companies that sell frozen meals are capitalizing on this trend, but misleading the consumer with advertising and a high price tag that leads them to believe it is a healthier option than it is. This article takes 26 popular power bowls and researches their nutrition facts to determine whether or not they are as healthy as advertised, or if the business is just trying to capitalize off the consumer. Overall, the research showed that many bowls were not as healthy as advertised, and appeared to be a marketing ploy to attract wealthier consumers with the promise of a trendy and healthy meal.

This article’s research topic is about the healthiness of “super bowls.” The Research question is “How do the 26 most popular power bowls compare to each other based on the nutrition facts?” This article wanted to compare the nutrition facts to see if companies are really providing high quality meals for a justified price, or if they are targeting a specific segment of consumers who are interested in conspicuously consuming trendy foods that are marketed to be “healthy.” To answer this research question, the author of the article needed expert knowledge from nutritionists. They needed to ask nutritional experts about the standards for what each person should be consuming each day, in order to determine if each meal was actually healthy or not. The author also needed personal opinions on the taste of each bowl, as that is another category she wanted to research.

In order to collect the data on each super bowl, the author used shallow interviews with nutritional experts to gain a better understanding of the healthy portions of vegetables, grains, and proteins that each person needs on a daily basis. By gaining this knowledge, the author was able to determine from the nutrition facts of each power bowl if they were actually healthy or just a marketing ploy used to attract conspicuous consumers. The author also tested each bowl herself, so she used her own personal opinion and experience to report on the bowls. The data found is both quantitative and quantitative, because there is numeric data and nonnumeric data (like descriptions of taste) to formulate a conclusion. The article lists every power bowl tested, and lists its nutritional information, price, and description of taste.

Overall, I think this research is somewhat valid, but could have tested more power bowls across the market in order to get more accurate results. I think the method of analyzing the nutrition facts and cross-referencing that with an expert’s opinion as well as a personal opinion allowed for semi-accurate conclusions, but also a biased conclusion because taste was only evaluated by the author, not anyone else.