Just Say No to traditional Student Samples

Brenda S. Sonner and William L. James

As an increasing number of older adults return to college, the debate over using students as research subjects must be reconsidered.

Just Say No to Traditional Student Samples

William L. JonesHofstra University andBrenda S. SonnerTroy State University, Montgomery

Much of the research published in academic journals has been decried as the 'science of the sophomore' because of the prevalence of using students as research subjects. Criticizing the heavy reliance on college students in behavioral research is hardly new, and using students, particularly undergraduate business students, as surrogates for consumers is a widely debated issue (cf. Ferber, 1977; Lamb and Stem, 1979; Wells, 1993). Indeed Wells (1993) argues that 'we must forsake the myth that students...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands