research paper about needs and wants

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Consumer Behaviour Wants & Needs

Related Papers

Faisal Sajib

Ria Agustriana

Babak Akaberi

Takiron Indonesia

airah guerrero

Tiong TingTing

nhlakanipho sdwaba

Bahar SAGLAM GUROL

RELATED PAPERS

Andres Jaanus

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

Clifford Shultz

My Uyển's

Juan Pablo Sardi

Supriya Lahiri

Clinical medicine (London, England)

Muhammad Ozair Khan

physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters

Rachid Sbiaa

The Pakistan Development Review

مجلة کلیة السیاحة والفنادق - جامعة مدینة السادات

Medical Reference Services Quarterly

Diana Silveira

… , Alfredo; PORCELLO, Flávio; COUTINHO, Iluska (Org. …

Christina Ferraz Musse

Omar Y Hoy Morales

Universidade Nova de Lisboa

José Eduardo Reis

Química Nova

Vagner dos Santos

Alla ricerca del corpo tra corsetti e Spanx

Salvatore M Ciancitto

Revista Chilena de Derecho y Ciencia Política

Valentina Sofía Cariaga

Drvna industrija

milos hitka

Türkiye Fiziksel Tip ve Rehabilitasyon Dergisi

Sehim Kutlay

Modern Law Review

Hannah Quirk

Computers & Chemical Engineering

Joaquin Acevedo

Scientific Reports

办英国肯特大学毕业证书 制作肯特大学文凭学历证书

GUADALUPE ENRIQUEZ

渥太华大学毕业证文凭学历认证办理 加拿大OTTAWA文凭学历

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Needs and Wants Essay

It is a common weakness among most people that they spend a lot of their income on things they do not really need. Materialism has led many people to forget the fundamental difference between needs and wants. It is important to consider the priorities when preparing the budgets.

Psychologically, a need is a phenomenon that arouses an action to an organism towards a particular purpose. It is important to note that one person’s need may not be necessarily another person’s need. Other documented philosophies point out that a need is a representative of an individual’s cost in a society. This follows that an individual who is unable to meet his/her needs does not live properly in a society (Plant, Lesser, & Taylor-Gooby 1980).

The economic market gives the institutional framework to satisfy and articulate the wants. Nevertheless, some writers assert that there is no real difference between the needs and the wants. These arguments have been utilized in favor of extending the market to what looks like a welfare section of the society. Needs are wants that the population already has but is not prepared to pay for it. This is the only way needs come into being in economic analysis and cost-benefit analysis.

Needs are categorized as those desires that an individual is willing to pay for in order to get satisfied. The only way those needs enter into an economical calculation is by looking them as wants. In this way needs posses an economical value. This argument holds that there is no a clear cut distinction between needs and wants. Needs and wants are complicated concepts (Plant, Lesser, & Taylor-Gooby 1980).

Leiss identifies ways in which human being defines or interprets their needs. In his view, the primary distinguishing feature is based on individuals’ activities in relation to others. To understand the needs in a particular setting, “needs are expressed as a function of social patterns and/or framework of satisfaction”.

Leiss differentiates false and true needs on basis of this argument. According to Leiss, “wants shows an individual’s subjective desire” while “needs express an individual’s objective requirements”. The distinction between true needs and false needs is the the difference between needs and wants (Leiss 1988).

Drawing a demarcation between needs and wants depends on the definitions assumed for both terms. An individual’s need is a minimum requirement that is shared with other people in his culture. This need must be met in order to satisfy a person’s mental and physical health.

On the other hand, wants are subjective in nature. Leiss puts forward an argument that wants are arbitrary desires reflecting an individual’s idiosyncrasies. This follows that wants are unlimited while needs are limited. This argument is supported by the fact that wanting is a subjective state and entirely physiological. Contrary to wanting, needing is an objective condition of being (Leiss 1988).

In conclusion, it is possible to not know what we need, but we always know what we want. According to Leiss, this is due to the fact that wants come from our inner states. Under normal circumstances, the psychological need foe food, shelter and clothing is understood as most obvious dimension of needs.

However, this argument is made trivial by the level of abstraction. Consumers make invalid decisions while preparing their budgets due to the nature of their wants. The distinction between needs and wants should therefore be utilized as a tool for changing the consumers’ behaviors (Leiss 1988).

Leiss, W. (1988) The Limits to Satisfaction: An Essay on the Problem of Needs and Commodities. Montreal, Canada : McGill-Queen’s Press.

Plant, R, Lesser, H, & Taylor-Gooby, P. (1980) Political philosophy and social welfare: essays on the normative basis of welfare. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, November 1). Needs and Wants. https://ivypanda.com/essays/needs-and-wants/

"Needs and Wants." IvyPanda , 1 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/needs-and-wants/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Needs and Wants'. 1 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Needs and Wants." November 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/needs-and-wants/.

1. IvyPanda . "Needs and Wants." November 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/needs-and-wants/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Needs and Wants." November 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/needs-and-wants/.

• Demarcation, Its Problem, Importance, Solutions
• The Problem of Demarcation
• Demarcation of Science and Non-Science
• Asparagusic Acid Ingestion: Metabolism and Excretion
• Latinos and African Americans: Friends or Foes?
• Effects of Needing an Organ Transplant
• Cost-Benefit Theory: Literature Review
• BMW Company Differentiates Its Products
• What Theory or Theories of Counseling are Observed in the Film Good Will Hunting?
• Kandinsky's and Mondrian's Abstraction Works
• Differences between goods and services
• Shopping: Rapturous or Torturous
• Customers and their Needs
• Customer care service program
• The Problem of Customer Service in Companies

1.5 Determining Consumer Needs and Wants

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• 1 Explain how an organization identifies consumer needs and wants.
• 2 Describe the process through which an organization satisfies consumer needs and wants.

Identifying Consumer Needs and Wants

We’ve repeatedly mentioned satisfying customer needs. But understanding those needs and/or wants isn’t always as simple as it sounds. For example, some customers have needs of which they’re not fully aware; others can’t articulate their needs, or the words require some degree of interpretation. Consider this: what does it mean when a customer asks for a “restful” hotel, an “attractive” bathing suit, or a “powerful” lawn mower?

Let’s consider an example to illustrate this concept. A customer comes into your car dealership and indicates that she wants to purchase an inexpensive hybrid vehicle. That description is broad and subject to interpretation, so it’s essential that the marketer probe further, because there are really five types of customers needs 38

• Stated Needs . Stated needs are those that are clearly specified by the customer. It’s what the customer requests. For example, you go into a big box store such as Best Buy and tell the sales associate that you “need a new phone.”
• Real Needs . Real needs are one level above stated needs; they are more specific and define the parameters that are immediate to defining and fulfilling the need. In other words, real needs are what the stated needs actually mean. What are our phone buyer’s real needs? Are they looking for a phone with long battery life, a high-resolution camera, or a lot of internal memory?
• Unstated Needs . Unstated needs are what the customer also expects but doesn’t ask for. Once again, using our phone example, the consumer may expect but not express the desire for good service from the carrier and/or the big box store.
• Delight Needs . Delight needs are those that provide the “wow” factor. These needs, like unstated needs, can make some products more desirable than others if they meet those needs. Going back to our phone example, delight needs can be something like a phone case or other promotional gift.
• Secret Needs . Secret needs are those that a customer may not state or realize but can be one of the main reasons for choosing a particular product to fulfill the basic stated need. Do customers want a new cell phone as a status symbol but won’t admit that status is important to them?

The bottom line is that responding only to a customer’s stated need may not satisfy the customer. The marketer needs to understand what the customer really wants.

Satisfying Consumer Needs and Wants

You may be asking yourself at this point, “Does marketing satisfy needs, or does it create needs?” Some people feel that marketing creates needs and pressures consumers into buying unneeded products or services. However, marketing does not create needs; rather, it opens consumers’ eyes to their wants, and it’s up to marketers to understand those wants in order to guide consumers on the path to purchasing their products or services. 39 Marketing creates value, and value speaks to the satisfaction of customer needs and the benefits customers receive from the product. It’s the customer, however, who ultimately determines how well the product fulfills their needs and how much value the product creates.

The challenge for the marketing team is to succinctly and compellingly articulate a value proposition that speaks directly to the benefits your product or service delivers.

The Value Proposition

A value proposition identifies the quantifiable benefits that customers can expect when they choose to purchase your company’s product or service. A value proposition is, in effect, a promise from the company to the customer, and it can serve as a competitive differentiator to motivate customers to purchase your company’s products or services. In other words, your value proposition should bring together in a brief, concise statement what your customer wants and/or needs and how your product or service will meet those wants and needs better than your competitors. 40

That’s a bit abstract, so we thought we’d include a few examples of some good value propositions:

• Bill Ragan Roofing : “Let us take the stress of roof repairs or a roof replacement off your shoulders.” 41
• Applied Educational Systems (AES) : “Spend your time connecting with students, not planning and grading” 42
• DuckDuckGo : “Tired of being tracked online? We can help.” 43
• HelloFresh : “Take the stress out of mealtime.” 44

The Exchange Process

Marketing facilitates what is known as the exchange process —the act of obtaining a desired product or service from an individual or business by providing in return something of value, as illustrated in Figure 1.10 .

The buyer (or customer) initiates the exchange process. The buyer (who has a want or need) is the individual or business who is willing to pay money or provide other personal resources to satisfy this need or want. Let’s simplify that definition with an example. When lunchtime rolls around and you’re on campus or at your job, you’re hungry; you have a need for food and drink. You go to the dining hall or a nearby restaurant to order lunch, and you’re willing to pay money in exchange for your meal. Simple, right?

Keep in mind here, however, that there is a difference between a customer and a consumer. The customer is the individual or business that purchases the product or service. The consumer is the user of the product or service. To put this concept in simple terms, if a grandmother buys a toy for her grandson, she is the customer; her grandson (who will use the product) is the consumer. In the case of going out for lunch, you’re both the customer and the consumer.

The desired object is the product or service itself. It may be a physical good, service, or experience that consumers expect will satisfy their wants and/or needs. Let’s go back to our lunch example. The desired object is the meal. The seller is the individual or organization that supplies the need-satisfying product, service, or experience. Once again, in the lunch example, the seller would be the dining hall or the restaurant.

Inherent in the exchange process is what’s known as value —the benefit to the customer or consumer relative to the cost in the exchange. In other words, value is the monetary worth of the benefits the customer receives in exchange for the product or service. Let’s go back to our backpack example a few sections ago. You may really want that backpack because it keeps your “stuff” organized and it’s lightweight (the benefits), but if the cost is too high, either in terms of the monetary cost or the time you’d have to spend going to the store to buy it, that backpack won’t have value for you. No sale!

Knowledge Check

It’s time to check your knowledge on the concepts presented in this section. Refer to the Answer Key at the end of the book for feedback.

• buyer; seller
• buyer; customer
• customer; consumer
• consumer, customer
• Value proposal
• Value assessment
• Value proposition
• The exchange process
• Stated needs
• Expectations
• One that allows the seller to incur the highest profit possible
• One that allows the buyer to pay the lowest price possible
• One that fairly addresses the needs of both the seller and buyer
• One that is most convenient without regard for either the seller or buyer

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-unit-introduction

• Authors: Dr. Maria Gomez Albrecht, Dr. Mark Green, Linda Hoffman
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Principles of Marketing
• Publication date: Jan 25, 2023
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-unit-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-5-determining-consumer-needs-and-wants

© Jan 9, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

Research Personal Finance: Needs vs. Wants

• Needs vs. Wants
• Credit Reports & Scores
• Get Out of Debt
• Saving for the Future
• Scholarships

Money Well Spent?

Needs and wants.

Being successful at budgeting requires you to know if the purchase you are about to make is a need or a want.

A need is typically an item that you have to have to survive (i.e.; food and housing)

A want is typically an item that you would like to have or something that makes your life easier or happier (i.e.; designer clothing)

Needs and wants are different for everyone and its important for you to realize which is which for you. Allowing wants into your budget is a good a healthy way to stick to the budget you created, just make sure you prioritize those wants within your income level.

Needs vs. Wants Poll

Bang for your buck workshop handout.

• << Previous: Budgeting
• Next: Credit & Debit Cards >>
• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2023 10:24 AM
• URL: https://ringling.libguides.com/finance

Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference pp 264–268 Cite as

‘Needs’ and ‘Wants’ in Marketing Literature: Pedagogical Difficulties

• Scott D. Roberts 3 ,
• Rajiv P. Dant 4 &
• Christina L. Lim 4  
• Conference paper
• First Online: 25 November 2014

3943 Accesses

3 Citations

Part of the book series: Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science ((DMSPAMS))

The diversified definitions of "needs" and "wants" in marketing textbooks are compared in terms of similarities and differences. The two themes that emerge from this chronicle include the notion that both constructs represent a discrepancy between actual and desired states and that needs and wants differ in various cultural environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Unable to display preview.  Download preview PDF.

Anderson, Paul F. 1983. "Marketing, Scientific Progress, and Scientific Method." Journal of Marketing , 47 (Fall): 18–31.

Article   Google Scholar  

Dholakia, Nikhilesh, Richard McIntyre, and Annamma Joy 1988. "The Choice of Needs and the Needs of Choice: Alternative Frameworks." in Marketing: A Return to the Broader Dimensions . Eds. Stanley J. Shapiro and Alf Walle. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 286–288.

Google Scholar  

Firat, A. Fuat 1988. "A Critical Historical Perspective on Needs: The Macro or the Micro Rationale?" in Marketing: A Return to the Broader Dimensions . Eds. Stanley J. Shapiro and Alf Walle. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 289–295.

Maslow, Abraham H. 1954. Motivation and Personality . New York: Harper.

Plank, Richard E. and Charles Canedy, III. 1989. "The Language of Marketing: A Content Analysis of Marketing Principles Textbooks." in Developments in Marketing Science , Vol. XII. Eds. Jon M. Hawes and John Thanopoulos. Coral Gables, FL; Academy of Marketing Science, 258–262.

Roberts, Scott D. and Rajiv P. Dant 1988. "Socioeconomic, Cultural, and Technological Determinants of Contemporary American Consumption Patterns." in Marketing: A Return to the Broader Dimensions . Eds. Stanley J. Shapiro and Alf Walle. Chicago; American Marketing Association, 321–322.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Old Dominion University, Cullowhee, USA

Scott D. Roberts

University of Mississippi, Cullowhee, USA

Rajiv P. Dant & Christina L. Lim

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA

B. J. Dunlap

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 The Academy of Marketing Science

About this paper

Cite this paper.

Roberts, S.D., Dant, R.P., Lim, C.L. (2015). ‘Needs’ and ‘Wants’ in Marketing Literature: Pedagogical Difficulties. In: Dunlap, B. (eds) Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13254-9_52

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13254-9_52

Published : 25 November 2014

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-13253-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-13254-9

eBook Packages : Business and Economics Business and Management (R0)

Share this paper

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Free All-in-One Office Suite with PDF Editor

Edit Word, Excel, and PPT for FREE.

Read, edit, and convert PDFs with the powerful PDF toolkit.

Microsoft-like interface, easy to use.

Windows • MacOS • Linux • iOS • Android

Select areas that need to improve

• Didn't match my interface
• Too technical or incomprehensible
• Incorrect operation instructions
• Incomplete instructions on this function

Fields marked * are required please

Please leave your suggestions below

• Quick Tutorials
• Practical Skills

How to Find and Replace in Word for Your Paper? [For Students]

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you've written a whole article or research paper, only to realize that you've mistakenly spelled the name of the author wrong? Perhaps it's just a single character error, like when I intended to write "Roniza" but instead wrote "Rozina" throughout while mentioning the author.

Correcting such mistakes manually, going through the document multiple times to replace each instance of the error, can be a very time-consuming task. However, thanks to advancements in writing software like Microsoft Word, users can easily find and replace text in their documents. In this article, we will guide you through the simple steps of correcting errors throughout your essay using the Find and Replace feature in Microsoft Word.

How to Find and Replace Texts in Word for Your Paper

Understanding the fact that many new Microsoft Word users are seeking answers on how to find and replace text in Word, for the sake of simplicity, we will break down the Find and Replace feature to enhance understanding. This way, users can easily grasp where the Find and Replace feature is located in Word and how to find and replace individual words or phrases.

How to Find the Words You Want?

First, let's try finding the mistaken words in Microsoft Word:

Step 1 : Firstly, open the essay in Microsoft Word and then navigate to the Home tab.

Step 2 : In the Home ribbon, on the far right, click on the "Find" button to open a navigation panel on the left.

Step 3 : Now, search for the term or word where you think you have made a mistake, or if you just want to see how many times that term is repeated in the document.

Step 4 : Once you enter the term and press “Enter”, you will receive your results indicating the number of times the term is being used in the essay and the exact sentences it is being used in.

By using the find feature in Microsoft Word, users can easily locate terms in their essay, find out how many times these terms are being used, and the exact sentences they are being used in. Furthermore, if you scroll through the document, you will see the term highlighted throughout the essay to make it easier to locate in the document.

How to Replace Text?

If for some reason you want to replace a term in your essay, the Replace feature can be very handy. Let's stick with the example term "Rozina" that we wish to replace with "Ron". Here's how we replace words in Microsoft Word in a few easy steps:

Step 1 : In Microsoft Word, visit the "Home" tab and click on the "Replace" button located in the Home ribbon.

Step 2 : Now, we have the Find and Replace dialog open on the screen. Here, type in the term you want to search for in the "Find what" field.

Step 3 : In the "Replace with" field, enter the term or word you wish to replace your searched term with.

Step 4 : If you wish to replace the term one by one, click on "Replace".

Step 5 : If you want to replace the searched term all at once, click on the "Replace All" button.

Step 6 : A confirmation window for replacements will pop up. Click on "OK" to confirm.

Step 7 : To exit the Find and Replace window, click on "Close" to return to the Microsoft Word interface.

The Find and Replace feature in Microsoft Word has made corrections quite easy, especially when the dictionary considers the word to be correct in the essay. Therefore, the Find and Replace feature in Word is a useful tool to learn. However, if you're looking for something more budget-friendly, WPS Office can be a great alternative. Compatible with all Microsoft Word documents and completely free of cost, WPS Office allows users to use the Find and Replace tool along with other advanced tools: a perfect for Students.

WPS Office: Use Word, Excel, and PPT for FREE, No Ads.

How to Find and Replace for Proofreading Your Paper

Match case:.

This feature allows you to focus on capitalization, making sure it's consistent throughout your document. It's especially useful for checking that headings, specific terms, and the first letter of each sentence are properly capitalized.

Find whole words only:

This option ensures you're finding exact matches, which is helpful when you need to change a specific word without affecting others that contain the same substring. For example, you might want to change "play" to "perform," but you don't want to alter words like "playground”.

Use find and replace to remove line breaks:

If you've got unwanted line breaks or extra spaces in your document, you can use the find and replace function to clean them up quickly. Just find the problematic character sequences and replace them with your desired spacing or formatting. This technique helps maintain a smooth flow of text and ensures your document is tidy.

To replace line breaks in your document:

Step 1 : Go to the “Replace” feature in the Home ribbon or press “CTRL + H” to open find and replace dialog.

Step 2 : In the "Find what" field, enter: ^p[1].

Step 3 : Click “Replace All” to replace all line breaks in your document.

Step 4 : Word will provide a confirmation message about the replacements made; press "OK" to continue.

Shortcut for Find and Replace in Word

Microsoft Word offers numerous shortcuts for users to easily access various tools. Similarly, there are shortcut keys available for both the Find and Replace features, whether you're using Windows or Mac.

Shortcut for Windows:

Find Shortcut : Ctrl + F

Replace Shortcut : Ctrl + H

Shortcut for Mac:

Find Shortcut : Command + F

Replace Shortcut : Shift + Command + H

How to Preserve the Format When Converting Word to PDF

When your professor requires a PDF version of your essay or paper, maintaining the formatting integrity is crucial. Unfortunately, Microsoft Word 365 may not always preserve your document's layout during conversion. This is where WPS Office steps in with its robust PDF features, ensuring that your essay retains its formatting impeccably. Essays often adhere to specific formatting styles, and any loss of formatting could jeopardize your grades. With WPS Office, you can confidently convert your document to PDF without worrying about losing any formatting, safeguarding your hard work and ensuring that you present your work professionally.

Let's see how users can transform their Word documents into PDF format using WPS Office.

Step 1 : Begin by opening your written essay document in WPS Office.

Step 2 : Navigate to the Menu button located at the top left corner of the interface.

Step 3 : From the menu options, select "Save as" and then choose "Other formats" from the flyout menu.

Step 4 : Next, you will be presented with the Save option. Opt for "PDF Format" from the "File Type" field.

Step 5 : To complete the process, simply click on the Save button to convert your Word document to PDF .

Use Word, Excel, and PPT for FREE, No Ads.

Edit PDF files with the powerful PDF toolkit.

Microsoft-like interface. Easy to learn. 100% Compatibility.

Boost your productivity with WPS's abundant free Word, Excel, PPT, and CV templates.

FAQs about Find and Replace in Word

Q1. how do you find and replace on a mac.

Here's how users can access the Find and Replace feature in Mac Word:

Step 1 : Open Microsoft Word on your Mac and click or hover over the "Edit" tab found in the top toolbar.

Step 2 : Click or hover over "Find" from the dropdown menu, and then click on "Replace…" in the flyout menu.

Step 3 : In the Replace dialog box, enter the desired text or character you want to replace the line breaks with in the "Replace with" field.

Step 4 : Click on the "Replace All" button to execute the replacement process.

Step 5 : Word will display a confirmation message indicating the number of replacements made. Click "OK" to close the dialog box and continue working on your document.

Q2. What are two options for using Find and Replace?

Find and Replace is a function in many applications that allows you to search for a specific word, phrase, or set of characters and swap them with another. You can use Find and Replace in two ways:

Find Whole Words Only : This ensures your search for the exact word or phrase, ignoring partial matches or similar letters within other words. It is handy when you want to replace a specific word without changing similar ones that share some of the same letters.

Match Case : With this option, you search for words or phrases with the same capitalization as the one you’re replacing. For instance, if you search for “apple” with “Match case” on, it’ll only find “apple” and not “Apple” or “APPLE”.

Q3. Do you need a hanging indent?

Yes, a hanging indent is a helpful formatting style often used in reference lists, such as those found in APA, MLA, or Chicago-style papers. It helps visually separate each source, making them easier to read and navigate. Rather than manually indenting each line, you can create a hanging indent easily in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. This style ensures consistency and professionalism in your document layout.

Edit Your Documents With Efficiency

Find and replace in word for your paper is a lifesaver feature that can save you a considerable amount of time when editing documents. Whether you're correcting a spelling mistake or replacing a specific word or phrase throughout your document, find and replace tools make the process quick and effortless. With WPS Office, you have access to a great tool for performing this functionality with ease. As a free and lightweight application, WPS Office is a solid choice for any documentation tasks. Download WPS Office now to streamline your editing process and ensure accuracy in your documents.

• 1. How to find and replace in Word
• 2. How to replace "space” with "paragraph mark”
• 3. How to replace text in excel
• 4. Top 10 word template lined paper download 2022
• 5. 10 Best Lined Paper Templates for Word Fresh, Simple, and Professional Designs
• 6. Find and replace functions in Spreadsheet

15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

Partisan divides over K-12 education in 8 charts

K-12 education is shaping up to be a key issue in the 2024 election cycle. Several prominent Republican leaders, including GOP presidential candidates, have sought to limit discussion of gender identity and race in schools , while the Biden administration has called for expanded protections for transgender students . The coronavirus pandemic also brought out partisan divides on many issues related to K-12 schools .

Today, the public is sharply divided along partisan lines on topics ranging from what should be taught in schools to how much influence parents should have over the curriculum. Here are eight charts that highlight partisan differences over K-12 education, based on recent surveys by Pew Research Center and external data.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to provide a snapshot of partisan divides in K-12 education in the run-up to the 2024 election. The analysis is based on data from various Center surveys and analyses conducted from 2021 to 2023, as well as survey data from Education Next, a research journal about education policy. Links to the methodology and questions for each survey or analysis can be found in the text of this analysis.

Most Democrats say K-12 schools are having a positive effect on the country , but a majority of Republicans say schools are having a negative effect, according to a Pew Research Center survey from October 2022. About seven-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (72%) said K-12 public schools were having a positive effect on the way things were going in the United States. About six-in-ten Republicans and GOP leaners (61%) said K-12 schools were having a negative effect.

About six-in-ten Democrats (62%) have a favorable opinion of the U.S. Department of Education , while a similar share of Republicans (65%) see it negatively, according to a March 2023 survey by the Center. Democrats and Republicans were more divided over the Department of Education than most of the other 15 federal departments and agencies the Center asked about.

In May 2023, after the survey was conducted, Republican lawmakers scrutinized the Department of Education’s priorities during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing. The lawmakers pressed U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on topics including transgender students’ participation in sports and how race-related concepts are taught in schools, while Democratic lawmakers focused on school shootings.

Partisan opinions of K-12 principals have become more divided. In a December 2021 Center survey, about three-quarters of Democrats (76%) expressed a great deal or fair amount of confidence in K-12 principals to act in the best interests of the public. A much smaller share of Republicans (52%) said the same. And nearly half of Republicans (47%) had not too much or no confidence at all in principals, compared with about a quarter of Democrats (24%).

This divide grew between April 2020 and December 2021. While confidence in K-12 principals declined significantly among people in both parties during that span, it fell by 27 percentage points among Republicans, compared with an 11-point decline among Democrats.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say teachers’ unions are having a positive effect on schools. In a May 2022 survey by Education Next , 60% of Democrats said this, compared with 22% of Republicans. Meanwhile, 53% of Republicans and 17% of Democrats said that teachers’ unions were having a negative effect on schools. (In this survey, too, Democrats and Republicans include independents who lean toward each party.)

The 38-point difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question was the widest since Education Next first asked it in 2013. However, the gap has exceeded 30 points in four of the last five years for which data is available.

Republican and Democratic parents differ over how much influence they think governments, school boards and others should have on what K-12 schools teach. About half of Republican parents of K-12 students (52%) said in a fall 2022 Center survey that the federal government has too much influence on what their local public schools are teaching, compared with two-in-ten Democratic parents. Republican K-12 parents were also significantly more likely than their Democratic counterparts to say their state government (41% vs. 28%) and their local school board (30% vs. 17%) have too much influence.

On the other hand, more than four-in-ten Republican parents (44%) said parents themselves don’t have enough influence on what their local K-12 schools teach, compared with roughly a quarter of Democratic parents (23%). A larger share of Democratic parents – about a third (35%) – said teachers don’t have enough influence on what their local schools teach, compared with a quarter of Republican parents who held this view.

Republican and Democratic parents don’t agree on what their children should learn in school about certain topics. Take slavery, for example: While about nine-in-ten parents of K-12 students overall agreed in the fall 2022 survey that their children should learn about it in school, they differed by party over the specifics. About two-thirds of Republican K-12 parents said they would prefer that their children learn that slavery is part of American history but does not affect the position of Black people in American society today. On the other hand, 70% of Democratic parents said they would prefer for their children to learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today.

Parents are also divided along partisan lines on the topics of gender identity, sex education and America’s position relative to other countries. Notably, 46% of Republican K-12 parents said their children should not learn about gender identity at all in school, compared with 28% of Democratic parents. Those shares were much larger than the shares of Republican and Democratic parents who said that their children should not learn about the other two topics in school.

Many Republican parents see a place for religion in public schools , whereas a majority of Democratic parents do not. About six-in-ten Republican parents of K-12 students (59%) said in the same survey that public school teachers should be allowed to lead students in Christian prayers, including 29% who said this should be the case even if prayers from other religions are not offered. In contrast, 63% of Democratic parents said that public school teachers should not be allowed to lead students in any type of prayers.

In June 2022, before the Center conducted the survey, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a football coach at a public high school who had prayed with players at midfield after games. More recently, Texas lawmakers introduced several bills in the 2023 legislative session that would expand the role of religion in K-12 public schools in the state. Those proposals included a bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom, a bill that would allow schools to replace guidance counselors with chaplains, and a bill that would allow districts to mandate time during the school day for staff and students to pray and study religious materials.

Mentions of diversity, social-emotional learning and related topics in school mission statements are more common in Democratic areas than in Republican areas. K-12 mission statements from public schools in areas where the majority of residents voted Democratic in the 2020 general election are at least twice as likely as those in Republican-voting areas to include the words “diversity,” “equity” or “inclusion,” according to an April 2023 Pew Research Center analysis .

Also, about a third of mission statements in Democratic-voting areas (34%) use the word “social,” compared with a quarter of those in Republican-voting areas, and a similar gap exists for the word “emotional.” Like diversity, equity and inclusion, social-emotional learning is a contentious issue between Democrats and Republicans, even though most K-12 parents think it’s important for their children’s schools to teach these skills . Supporters argue that social-emotional learning helps address mental health needs and student well-being, but some critics consider it emotional manipulation and want it banned.

In contrast, there are broad similarities in school mission statements outside of these hot-button topics. Similar shares of mission statements in Democratic and Republican areas mention students’ future readiness, parent and community involvement, and providing a safe and healthy educational environment for students.

• Education & Politics
• Partisanship & Issues
• Politics & Policy

Jenn Hatfield is a writer/editor at Pew Research Center

About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year

About half of americans say public k-12 education is going in the wrong direction, what public k-12 teachers want americans to know about teaching, what’s it like to be a teacher in america today, race and lgbtq issues in k-12 schools, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy