Dear All,

As a lurker with an interest in consumer questions -- I was the one who 
asked Liz Sander a question about anthropology during the online conferecne 
last year -- I followed this inquiry and the responses with interest.

Maryam asked about consumer analysis. Maryam's original question was quite 
specific:

I am working on "consumer analysis for the design purposes" and I have found 
that in this field there is not a systematic methodology as marketing people 
or even psychologists have(each designer or company has his own method).I am 
looking for a match between existing methods and designers common 
requirements .

John, Evandro and Steven, offered specific, focused answers. I would have 
enjoyed a deeper comment on the material they suggested, but the answers 
alone were enough.

Now Rosan has posted a long reading list. What I don't see in this list is 
anything specifically on consumer analysis research methods. I see advice 
about what Rosan considers to be good texbooks in general design, design 
methods, and philosophy, with one article that addresses a concept in in 
consumer analysis.

It's an open list and everyone is free to write anything here. Even so, I 
find it odd for another graduate student to pop up with advice that is so 
irrelevant to the question. In my working life at a practicing design firm, 
we occasionally use consumer analysis methods, and this list has nothing to 
do with the question. While Rosan's post uses modest and humble language to 
suggest that she is open to correction, this kind of humility is also a way 
to avoid sharp criticism.

I'd like to suggest to Maryam that she do what we do at our firm. While we 
have some experts on staff who do have advanced research methods training in 
some fields, when we wish to dig into a field where we do not possess 
expertise, we seek clues -- like those that John, Evandro, and Steven gave 
-- and we follow them up. We also go to the right place for serious 
information from experts. For consumer analysis, I'd make a polite phone to 
people who teach in the business school, probably in the marketing 
department, or to people who teach psychology. Even though they may not have 
methods suited to design research, they can help her begin and they may be 
able to show her HOW to adapt methods from marketing or psychology to apply 
to her work.

There are also companies that specialize in this kind of work, such as the 
Sonic Rim company that Dr. Sanders manages, with a terrific web site filled 
with useful material. And many subscribers here know something on the topic. 
I recently read a book by another speaker at the on-line conference, 
Christene Nippert-Eng, and I'd guess her publications have directly useful 
ideas.

When I am stumped, I also ask my librarian for help with a literature 
search. I'm lucky to have a staff librarian at my firm, but every university 
has expert librarians who are paid to help grad students like us find the 
research materials we need.

Maryam can also ask for more details from some of the knowledgeable people 
who posted, either asking more detailed questions on the list or privately. 
I know from the online conference that John is also a graduate student, so 
I'm not criticizing my fellow graduate student subscribers here. I'm 
criticizing a post that goes beyond Rosan's usual questions to begin 
offering answers on topics she does not understand.

The issue is not an issue of Maryam getting permission from her supervisor 
to read or even to read widely. No supervisor will object to a student who 
reads the books she suggested. They are interesting books and valuable for 
other purposes. The problem is that they are irrelevant to the question.

I don't know why Rosan has begun offering advice on how to navigate grad 
school, but I wish that some of our other fellow graduate students would 
participate more actively on the list. Many of them know a lot. I also wish 
Rosan would be a little more careful with advice on a topic she clearly has 
not studied well enough.

Perhaps I am wrong about Rosan's lack of knowledge here. If I am, Rosan is 
free to correct me by offering serious, relevant suggestions that will help 
Maryam find consumer analysis research methods suited to the question she 
asked.

Cindy Jackson

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