Scientific Style and the Conduct of Consumer Research

Abstract

This paper describes four styles of conducting scientific inquiry—analytical science, conceptual theory, conceptual humanism, and particular humanism. The work of four consumer researchers—James Bettman, Russell Belk, Morris Holbrook, and Sidney Levy—is used to explicate each approach to inquiry. The author argues for a broader based perspective of the scientific enterprise and for mutual acceptance of different ways of conducting research.