Market Research
Market Research
Market research helps organizations understand how their products or services are perceived and whether they are meeting the needs of their target audience. For this assignment, the problem I want to address is that many IU Indianapolis students are not fully aware of the mental health services available through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Even though CAPS offers affordable and sometimes free services, there seems to be limited awareness among students, and this prevents them from taking advantage of available resources. The main question is: Why are CAPS services not well known, and what would make students more likely to use them? A related issue is whether students feel the current communication strategies about CAPS are effective or need to be improved. This issue matters because student mental health directly affects academic success, retention, and overall well-being. Understanding how CAPS is communicated on campus can help align services with students’ needs.
The primary research problem is that many IU Indianapolis students are not fully aware of the mental health services available through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Despite offering affordable and sometimes free support, CAPS remains underutilized due to limited awareness and unclear communication.
A second related problem is that students may not find current CAPS communication methods effective or engaging. It is unclear whether the messaging, channels, or outreach strategies align with how students prefer to receive information about mental health resources.
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I will use a short online student survey as my research method.
I chose this method because it is easy for students to complete, can reach a large and diverse sample quickly, and allows me to gather direct feedback about awareness, communication preferences, and barriers to using CAPS. Surveys are also low-cost and provide measurable data that can guide marketing decisions.
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The research instrument used for this project is a short online survey created through Google Forms. The survey includes questions measuring students’ familiarity with CAPS, prior use of services, satisfaction levels, and barriers to accessing care. It uses multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and check-all-that-apply questions to gather both awareness and behavioral data. This instrument was chosen because it is quick for students to complete, easy to distribute, and allows for efficient collection of quantitative insights about communication gaps and service awareness.
For this part of the project, I surveyed five IU Indianapolis students to understand their awareness and opinions about Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). The group included both male and female students, ages 18–24, from different majors. Out of the five students, two were familiar with CAPS, one had heard about it but didn’t know where to access it, and two had never heard of it at all. Only one student had used CAPS services before and said they were satisfied with the experience, describing the counselor as “supportive and easy to talk to.” The other students said they hadn’t used CAPS mostly because they didn’t know about it or didn’t feel comfortable reaching out. When asked how they usually hear about campus resources, most said through email or professors, while only one mentioned social media. Several said campus emails are easy to overlook because they get so many each week. When asked what would make them more likely to use CAPS, they mentioned more visibility, such as short classroom announcements, tabling events, or posts on Instagram or TikTok that show real students sharing their experiences. The most common mental health needs they mentioned were stress, anxiety, and feeling burnt out, especially around midterms and finals