Research paper question

[Kattey]

I'm writing a research paper in my economics class on the economic impact of SUVs. I may ask more questions as I have them, if you ladies don't mind. 

My current dilemma is finding credible sources. I'm using my school's library search engine to locate sources at the moment, but there is one specific piece of information I'm looking for that I cannot find using Galileo. I'm not very good at knowing what keywords to use.

I guess this is way more information than needed just to ask, would Forbes.com be an acceptable source? I'm just looking for a list of the top selling vehicles in 2014.

[origami]

Forbes probably got that data from another org but I think Forbes is definitely legit.

What's your paper on? My DH would have no job and southeast MI would look like the rapture happened if people stopped buying crossovers (and larger), so I'm interested in this topic.

[Kattey]

The question was pretty broad, but I narrowed it down to three still semi-broad topics in my thesis. It will need a lot of work.

I asked about Forbes because I found another article on how SUVs are becoming increasingly popular, specifically foreign made SUV/CUVs and how this is causing the American auto industry to lose money to Toyota and such. So now I'm interested in just how many of the top selling SUV's are foreign, and how how many American vehicles are made with foreign parts. Pretty much how outsourcing so much of vehicle manufacturing affects job loss and consumers have less to spend.

[origami]

Interesting! Yes low gas prices generally increase SUV/truck sales. are you going to discuss foreign vehicles that are assembled in the US or is that outside the scope of your research?

[LadySusan]

www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-best-selling-vehicles-for-2014.html

Maybe Edmunds? I wonder if Kelly Blue Book has similar info?

[Kattey]

Right now I'm just digging into all the research I can. My paper isn't due until the end of next month. I intend to delve into anything that looks interesting and probably won't finalize my thesis for another week. The topic my instructor gave was literaly just the economic impact in general so I have free reign as to how I want to narrow it down. Foreign vehicles assembled in the US is a good idea and will give me more info to add. I'll look into that.

[origami]

Jun 5, 2015 1:17:52 GMT -5 Kattey said:

Right now I'm just digging into all the research I can. My paper isn't due until the end of next month. I intend to delve into anything that looks interesting and probably won't finalize my thesis for another week. The topic my instructor gave was literaly just the economic impact in general so I have free reign as to how I want to narrow it down. Foreign vehicles assembled in the US is a good idea and will give me more info to add. I'll look into that.

there are also many foreign auto suppliers located in the US, if you're looking into what parts are domestic vs foreign.

[Deleted]

Some professors don't allow .com sites as sources, since .com stands for "commercial" and they're trying to sell you something. You may need to use actual (peer reviewed) academic sites, so check with your professor.

Your school library likely has a free service of librarians or grad assistants who teach students how to research, use academic search engines, and use the proper keywords and filters to find what you want.

[mcburglar]

Jun 5, 2015 5:45:03 GMT -5 nursecramer said:

Do you need peer-reviewed work? If so, Forbes is not. Go to Google scholar and search there for your sources. Also, searching from a school computer well be more successful because your institution will subscribe to more resources than are available free to the public. If you can't get there physically, you can contact your library and there should be a way for you to log in via proxy.

And when you find something on google scholar click the "cited by" link at the bottom of the citation.

[smock]

If you're looking for data like the top selling vehicles, I'm guessing your best source is going to be the press, since academic papers are likely getting that information from media (or automakers). I don't see a problem with citing the NY Times or another reputable source of news to establish that sort of factual information. Definitely look for academic articles to support your analysis--Google Scholar as well as your institution's library are good starts.

But, of course, the best answer is to check with your professor.

[rupertpenny]

I second asking a librarian for help. Doing academic searches is a learned art and having someone help you out can make a world of difference. This is what reference librarians are there for. It's likely your school even has an online reference service.