AbstractThe primary purpose of the research method described here is analytic—to develop an understanding of the forces at work that account for brand choice in the marketplace. The objective is to find out which kinds of consumers choose which brands and why. Although multiple discriminant analysis is utilized, the focus of the method is on the use of traceline analysis to interpret the meaning of the functions and then, if desired, to provide a basis for delineating relatively homogeneous segments. A case example is given using data from a strategic marketing study of the metropolitan New York MBA market conducted by a major university in the are