Research Analysis

Running Head: PURCHASING STUDENT TEXTBOOKS

Chris Ward

George Mason University

This project was prepared for

PRLS 450, section 001

Instruction: Mrs. Joyce Johnston 

INTRODUCTION:

Each school year, all college students go through the same process, purchasing new textbooks.  The two most popular ways students purchase textbooks are either through their university bookstore or by ordering them online.  Why do students choose to buy their books the way they do though?  Factors that influence the way students decide to purchase their textbooks include costs, effectiveness, wait time and accessibility.  Based on these factors, one of these ways of purchasing textbooks is becoming more and more popular.  When college students purchase textbooks, they are more likely do so online instead of at the university bookstore.  The main reason students are buying them online is because it is usually cheaper than the bookstore and is more effective to order them all at once at the click of a button.  On the other hand, when students order their books online, there is a wait time to receive them and students don’t have access to them right after the purchase.  From here, it is important to weigh the influencing factors involved and see how much of an impact each of them have on where textbook purchases are made.  

LITERATURE REVIEW

Article 1: Consumer tradeoffs in on-line textbook purchasing

Like the study above, the article discusses main factors that influence the reason students purchase textbooks online or at the university bookstore.  Whether or not the book(s) were in stock at the bookstore was the number one variable as to why students purchase them online.  On the other hand, the second largest factor that had an impact on where the book(s) were bought was buy-back policies/ guarantees from the bookstores.  Finally, the cost of the book(s) was another influencing factor on where they were purchased.  General perceptions of the textbooks’ market, college...