What Consumer Research is

The article focuses on the meaning of consumer research. Rather than defining consumer research, the authors focus on what consumer research should achieve, which is knowledge about consumer behavior. The article proposes three areas of research that can be produced by consumer research: everyday knowledge, scientific knowledge, and interpretive knowledge. The authors then go on to explain that the search for everyday knowledge implies qualitative methodologies; scientific knowledge implies sophisticated knowledge; and interpretive knowledge implies a critical relativistic methodology. The authors argue that because scientific knowledge relies on a methodology that offers scientific progress, it stands apart from the other two forms.