Before beginning your research, consider the site assigned for development. By reviewing the site as well as the city's overall concerns and plans, you can craft a few initial ideas that you can then support or refine with research.
Often, the best start to any research effort is a survey of current publications. Browse recent issues of quality journals, like those below, for interesting articles. Soon, you will identify key concepts and topics to consider for your project as well as keywords you can use in your research. You may even find sources to include in your project!
Once you have chosen your topics and relevant keywords, use the subject-specific database to conduct a broader search of news articles, trade publications, and scholarly works. These sources can yield more specific information directly relevant to your project.
When you need raw data and statistics to guide your research or support your decisions, try these market research handbooks. Each focuses on a specific market and addresses dozens of concerns per market. Although lengthy, these handbooks can be easily navigated with the included table of contents and use of the search function (ctrl+f or cmnd+f or your browser's menu).
You may want to include a popular franchise as part of your plan. With the database below, you can compare the most successful franchises to those you are considering. You may even be able to find more operational/logistical information like average square-footage and startup costs, which you'll need in later stages of the project.
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