Assessing Marketing Literature: A Study of the Readings Assigned in Doctoral Seminars in Marketing

The researchers analyzed the assigned readings from the syllabi of doctoral marketing seminars from forty institutions to identify the format, age, and subjects of the materials assigned to and read by graduate students in the field. The overwhelming majority of the assigned readings were journal articles, but monographic material was still frequently used. A relatively small number of journal titles were used consistently across all the programs. There was a distinct lack of agreement on individual article or book selection among the programs. Current resources were favored, but seminal articles in both monographic and serial format were still included. Implications of the findings for libraries and for doctoral education are discussed.