Potential Research: Should sociologists work in the marketing industry?

Source 1: Contributions of Sociology to Marketing

Quote: “Precise knowledge of population factors enables the marketing man to determine how

many and what kinds of people there are and where they are. This enables him to predict future

populations and thus gives him lead time which helps to adjust the distribution system to future

requirements. This is an obvious necessity for a scientific approach to marketing.” (Jonassen 30)

Citation:

Jonassen, Christen T. “Contributions of Sociology to Marketing.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 24,

no. 2, Oct, 1959, pp.29-35. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.2307/1248844

Annotations:

1. Summary of the source: This source discussed how sociologists have a role in the

marketing world and what they do. There is many other sources and references to people

within this source that could be useful. Its broad, it does not go in depth but there are a

few good sections that could be useful. It’s all general discussion about sociologists and

different perspectives of how and why people buy things.

2. Evaluation of credibility: I would say that this is a credible source, as the information

within the journal was unbiased and purely informational. This was an academic journal

retrieved from EBSCO, and the author of the source Christen T. Jonassen was known for
 publishing journals in this type of category. He was also the Associate Professor if

Sociology at Ohio State University, so I think that this was a good and strong source.

3. Connections to other sources: I could possibly connect this with more sources on sociologists

and their role in the marketing industry. I could maybe find some sources from today instead of

the 1950s, but I think that this could be used to compare how authors used to see a sociologist’s

impact then vs today.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I could use this in my argument as a

perspective from the 1950s. I could do a then vs now thing and gather different sources and

opinions and put them in conversation with each other.

Source 2: Sociologists and Marketologists

Quote: “It should not be said that sociologists study people while marketing students study

business. Both are concerned with people, although with people in different roles.” (Bartels 37-

38)

“…both sociologist and marketing men are social scientists.” (Bartels 37)

Citation:

Bartels, Robert. “Sociologists and Marketologists.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 24, no. 2, 1959, pp.

37–40. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1248845. Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

Annotations:

1. Summary of the source: This source goes into more detail about the similarities and

differences between sociologists and marketologists. The source goes into details about

the comparison and contrast and how marketologists should do certain things to help

themselves in the marketing field.

2. Evaluation of credibility: This is a credible source as it is an academic journal, sources

their information, and is writing to a larger audience who are expected to have more

knowledge in this area of research. Robert Bartels was one of the most prolific marketing

scholars, as he is considered an expert in the field.

3. Connections to other sources: This source will be useful as it directly sources Christen H.

Jonassen (the source I used for source 1) and is already in conversation with it. So the connection

is there and they support what the other source has to say, so the connection between source 1

and source 2 will be a supporting connection.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I could use this source to compare the roles

of both sociologists and marketologists, and I can use this for a back then pov, as this source was

published in 1959.

Source 3: Marketing Applied Sociology

Quote: “Marketing, in its most general sense, is any activity that promotes the linkage between a

provider and user of a service, product, or idea.” (Petrus 71)

“As social scientists, we are acutely aware of differences between "idea and real," and "what

ought to be and what is" in social relationships.” (Petrus 71)

Citation:

Petrus, Gene, and Raymond J. Adamek. “Marketing Applied Sociology.” Journal of

Applied Sociology, vol. 2, no. 1, 1985, pp. 71–76. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43481257. Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

Annotations:

1. Summary of the source: This sources references marketing as something to help

sociologists and how they can improve their skills. It talks about the roles of each and

how they are essential for building character and making successful sociologists.

2. Evaluation of credibility: This is a scholarly source as it references the sources and both

authors have valid associates. The journal in which this article was published, the Journal

of Applied Sociology is a peer-reviewed academic journal, making this a credible and

scholarly source.

3. Connections to other sources: I can use this and connect with the other sources and show that

sociologists use marketing in ways to help enhance their skills and how they contribute to the

field. It will complement sources 1 and 2.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I can use this for information about

sociologists and the quote above about marketing in my paper in a brief introduction that goes

over the basics to serve as an understanding for the readers.

Source 4: Sociology and the Study of Consumer Behavior

Quote: “He may, therefore, have very pronounced feelings that marketing is concerned solely

with the manipulation of customers, and he may not wish, in view of this, to advance knowledge

which allows businessmen to anticipate the behavior of consumer” (Foxall 128)

“Although the largest contributions to our knowledge of consumer buying processes have come

from the business schools and management departments, there is still much to be gained from the

study of consumers by applied sociologists who wish so to develop their own discipline.” (Foxall

128-129)

Citation:

Foxall, G. R. “Sociology and the Study of Consumer Behavior.” The American Journal of

Economics and Sociology, vol. 33, no. 2, 1974, pp. 127–35. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3485176. Accessed 28 Jun. 2022.

Annotations:

1. Summary of the source: This source is about sociologists and how they have a role in

manipulating the customer’s mind. It talks about them getting involved in the marketing

industry and how the work compared to the businessman.

2. Evaluation of credibility: The journal in which this was published, The American Journal

of Economics and Sociology, is an academic published and peer-reviewed journal. The

author of this source is credible as most of his works revolve around marketing and

discussion.
3. Connections to other sources: I can connect this to other sources that I have found and use this

as maybe an opposing view, but it tells and supports the ideas of what sociologists do in the

marketing world.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I can use this in the paper, specifically as a

counterpoint using one of the quotes above showing that sociologists in their marketing industry

are different from the regular businessman as they aim and try to manipulate the consumer as

they understand and know more about how and why people chose certain things.

Source 5: The Question of Value in Social Marketing: Use of a Quality-of-Life Theory to

Achieve Long-Term Life Satisfaction

Quote: “Economic theory fails to recognize value in social marketing, it is argued, because these

beliefs are widely held: (1) social marketers do not consider consumer needs, (2) they are

motivated by social welfare…” (Sirgy 215)

Citation:

Sirgy, M. Joseph, et al. “The Question of Value in Social Marketing: Use of a Quality-of-Life Theory

to Achieve Long-Term Life Satisfaction.” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol.

44, no. 2, 1985, pp. 215–28. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3486841. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.

Annotations:
 1. Summary of the source: This source is about social marketing; in a way I see a similarity

to sociology. In social marketing, they use social media in which sociologists can study

the behavior of these consumers.

2. Evaluation of credibility: This source was published in an academic and peer-reviewed

journal, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. The authors of this source

are also experts in this field of research. The article was written with sophisticated

language, so this is a credible source.

3. Connections to other sources: I can connect this to other sources as this is another way

sociologists’ study and have found ways to get information from consumers and use it to better

advertise in the marketing world.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I can use this as more evidence, especially

from today showing how sociologists still have a n impact in the marketing industry and how

they are useful in studying consumers habits, especially through newer platforms such as social

medias.

Source 6: How Consumers’ Political Ideology and Status-Maintenance Goals Interact to Shape

Their Desire for Luxury Goods

Quote: “One answer to this question begins with the idea that people’s views on status often stem

from their broader social beliefs” (Kim132)

Citation:
Kim, Jeehye Christine, et al. “How Consumers’ Political Ideology and Status-Maintenance

Goals Interact to Shape Their Desire for Luxury Goods.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 82, no. 6,

2018, pp. 132–49. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26973039. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.

Annotations:

1. Summary of the source: This source is about the social classes that people associate

themselves in and how they purchase goods according to their class. It was a whole

research study and if full of great information, but I only looking at the why. It shows that

people by things based off their social classes, and sociologists, who study people and use

this information in the marketing industry to sell goods to consumers.

2. Evaluation of credibility: This source is from an academic and peer-reviewed source, the

article was published in The Journal of Marketing, as well as having the authors all be

experts in the field.

3. Connections to other sources: I can connect this to the fourth source I found on sociologists

and how they work in the marketing field. This connects to the overall question asking if

sociologists should work in the marketing field.

4. How you might use this source in your argument: I can use this study as an example in my

own research people of how people understand the why consumers work.