New research will analyze student perceptions related to how educational content is used in 2-year, 4-year and for-profit universities

New York, NY (October 7, 2010) -- The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) announced today a new research survey that will create a baseline for understanding the rapid changes underway in the Higher Education marketplace. The new study, powered by Bowker's PubTrack™ Consumer, will be titled Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education and will provide two years of analysis into how students perceive and use content and presentation media in 2-year, 4-year and for-profit universities. Traditional textbooks and learning platforms as well as social networks, e-content and mobile applications will be considered.

The 2010-2011 cycle of Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education is being sponsored by Champion Level Sponsor MBS Textbook Exchange and Contributor Level Sponsors Baker & Taylor, Follett, Kno and CourseSmart. Additional sponsorships are available. Email Angela Bole at angela@bisg.org for more information.

"While there continues to be a number of companies researching today's Higher Ed students, creating a collaborative study for the entire industry to engage with will produce an important view into how today's college students access the content created by our industry," said Scott Lubeck, Executive Director of BISG. "BISG is excited to provide not only the forum for developing this shared understanding, but also the resulting long-term, trend-able data that will help measure the degree of change currently underway."

"College students today are savvy navigators of all types of information in a wide variety of formats," said Kelly Gallagher, Vice President of Publishing Services for Bowker. "This study will help academic publishers understand what's working in how information is delivered, what's not working, and how to improve. It's the kind of research that can put a publisher ahead in a very competitive marketplace."

The research behind Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education will comprise two in-depth surveys of students drawn from a nationally representative consumer panel. Via an industry-wide collaboration process, BISG members are currently working to determine the core question set for each survey. In addition to the core question set, survey sponsors and other interested parties can submit proprietary questions to supplement the core fielding.

Data from the first survey fielding is expected in January 2011 and will be available in a mid-year PDF Summary Report. This will be followed by a PDF Wrap-up Report later in the fourth quarter of 2011 which will include data from both 2010-2011 cycle survey fieldings. Each report will include editorial containing expert insights and interviews describing how the trends are impacting the market now and how they might in the future. In addition to PDF summary reports, the data will be delivered online using Real-Time Reporting web-based software. Real-Time Reporting will allow users to create custom filters and cross-tabs for detailed analysis.

To learn more about Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education visit http://www.bisg.org/publications/product.php?p=22&c=437.

Media Contacts:
Angela Bole
Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
angela@bisg.org

Beth Dempsey
ProQuest
beth.dempsey@proquest.com
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About Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. book industry's leading trade association for policy, standards and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry supply chain for both physical and digital products. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For over 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community. Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.

About Bowker
Bowker is the world's leading provider of bibliographic information management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers and libraries better serve their customers. The company is focused on developing various tools and products that make books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order and experience, as well as providing services to publishers that help them better understand and meet the interests of readers worldwide. Bowker is a member of the ProQuest family of companies and is headquartered in New Providence, N.J., with additional operations in England and Australia. For more information, visit www.bowker.com.

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