Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Graham, Donna

Committee Member

Terrell; Amanda

Second Committee Member

Rucker, Jill

Keywords

cooperative extension service; family resource management; google trends; needs assessment

Abstract

The Cooperative Extension Service (CES) relies on systematic needs assessments to guide program development; yet, traditional approaches often depend heavily on stakeholder input and professional judgment, offering limited insight into consumer level needs. This mixed methods study explored Google Trends as a complementary, consumer driven data source for assessing Family Resource Management (FRM) needs within the Arkansas CES. Grounded in Witkin and Altschuld’s three level needs assessment framework and Uses and Gratifications Theory, the study integrated three data sources representing stakeholders, service providers, and consumers: (1) Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) advisory committee reports, (2) survey of Family Consumer Science Agents, and (3) Google Trends relative search volume (RSV) data for 30 FRM keywords across the 2024–2025 program year. Advisory committee reports highlighted broad, foundational FRM needs, with youth financial education and consumer economics emerging most frequently. FCS Agents similarly emphasized long-standing FRM priorities such as youth financial education, budgeting, and money management. In contrast, Google Trends revealed strong consumer interest in more specific and complex financial areas, including credit, banking, Social Security, investing, Medicare, and health insurance indicating a divergence between stakeholder/provider perceptions and consumer information seeking behavior. Socioeconomic status (SES) analyses showed no significant differences in FRM needs across counties for either advisory reports or FCS Agents rankings, suggesting financial challenges are widespread and not confined to lower income counties. Correlation analyses demonstrated moderate alignment between advisory committees and FCS Agents but no significant relationships between either group or Google Trends RSV, underscoring the distinct perspectives captured at each level of the needs assessment hierarchy. Findings suggest Google Trends offers a valuable, real time indicator of consumer financial concerns and can strengthen CES needs assessments by identifying emerging or under-recognized issues. Implications include the need for more structured stakeholder tools, expanded professional development for FCS Agents in advanced FRM topics, and the integration of digital behavioral data into annual planning. Future research should explore the seasonality of FRM search behavior, pair consumer surveys with Google Trends data, and investigate just-in-time financial education strategies informed by real-time search patterns.

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