Student Research Guide SPQ25/ Negative Impacts of Contemporary Advertising

• ​​​​​​Advertisements that include a diverse cast give viewers the impression of variety in their product, making consumers more assured that their products can fit their needs.

• Many companies hire advertising agencies to make their ads, and advertisements often need to be reviewed by several sets of eyes before they can be aired.

• Children are more susceptible to advertisements because their brains are still developing. Young children often can't distinguish advertisements from their usual television programs.

• Today, sexualized images have the opposite of their intended effects on audiences, making viewers less inclined to want to buy whatever product is being sold when the model is being objectified.

• People who are already predisposed to comparing themself to others feel more negative emotions in association with the idealized bodies used in advertisements.

• While often being recognized as "gimmicks", more diverse and empowering advertisement campaigns are still received very well by consumers, leading them to want to shop from brands that support these messages.

• Advertisements and society influence each other, with one reflecting the other and vice versa. It's an ever-continuing cycle.

(UNICEF)

Reflection:

• My favorite databases were JSTOR and Academic Search Complete, because they tended to have the widest variety of sources that fit my research topic. JSTOR is also a great go-to when looking for images. 

• TEDX and Films on Demand were great for finding documentaries and videos on the topic, and helped break up the monotony of constant reading.
• Google Scholar is a good source for padding out your bibliography and finding some good books. While longer, these sources provided a lot of good information in one source. The only drawback is the number of sources on GS blocked behind paywalls. A tactic for this that I used was searching for the name of the source I wanted to read, sometimes with the author's name. While it was a little time-consuming, I was usually successful in finding a website that provided access to the source for free. Paywalls were the most frustrating part of searching for sources outside of the SVC databases. 
• Internet Archive was also a great source for getting access to books and videos.

Reflection on research experience:

• Where did you get hung up or experience some bumps?

• Finding accessible datasets was the most stressful and frustrating part of my research. Navigating around paywalls was super tricky and often felt like I was going in circles.

• What was the best part?

• My favorite part of this project was exploring all the different databases that the school has access to. It felt good to finally take advantage of the tools I pay for.

• How did your interest in the topic change after investigating it more closely?

• I felt burnt out with my topic towards the end of the quarter, but I also started to feel hopeful. Many of the newer sources I found pointed to a shift in society where toxic advertising is beginning to get called out more, and companies are beginning to rebrand and become more inclusive in their messages.