Hospitality And Tourism Research The beginnings of Research • Started in the late 18th century • during the middle ages (dark ages) sources of knowledge came from: – – – – Pope/Priest tradition knowledge of the heart knowledge of the body - rational thinking – – – – – Magicians observation philosophers scientists scientific knowledge based on natural sciences - that is man in relation to environment In the hospitality/tourism industry research focuses on: • • • • • social science natural science non-science (religious) pseudo-science (palmestry) horoscope (faith) Assumptions • Classical theory - people are working because of pay • Systems theory - people are happy working not only because of pay but the treatment they get from the management • Cultural theory • Theories have models, proponents, strengths and weaknesses • knowledge builds up theories • Data is collected in order to: – – – – describe analyze predict control Research requires... • • • • TIME TALENT ATTITUDES MONEY Overview of Tourism Research • It allows you to find out attributes of your visitors including: – origin, age, education, income and spending habits, travel patterns, lifestyles and values, activity preferences • It gives you an understanding on: – what they like and dislike about a destination, – How much they think a certain travel experience is worth, – the sources they use for travel information – their impression of your advertising messages – how satisfied they were in their visit. TYPES OF TOURISM RESEARCH • Visitor Profile Studies - demographics • Satisfaction - measure the quality of service provided at a business or a destination • Economic Impact - determine what new money is brought into the community from tourism • Images - determines the perception on the destination by visitors or non- visitors • Information - determines where and how consumers search for travel information • Inquiry Conversion - determines how many people actually traveled to a destination versus how many people inquired about the destination • Market share - measures the percentage of the market one holds - of the total available market ( arrivals - national, regional, local) • Carrying Capacity - study the feasibility of tourism activity in a certain area (events to be hosted) Research Objectives and Research Types • Exploratory Research – to become familiar with the basic facts, people and concerns involved in... – To develop a well-grounded mental picture of what is occurring in... – To generate many ideas and develop hypotheses on... – To determine the feasibility of doing additional research on... – To formulate questions/refine issues for more systematic inquiry on... – To develop techniques and a sense of direction for future research on... Descriptive Research – To provide an accurate profile of a group – to describe a process, mechanism or relationship – to give a verbal or numerical picture of... – To find information to stimulate new explanations... – To present basic background information or a context – To create set of categories or type of classification – to clarify a sequence, set of stages or steps – to document information that contradicts prior beliefs about a subject Explanatory Research – To determine the accuracy of a principle theory – to find out which competing explanation is better – to advance knowledge about an underlying process – to link different issues or topics under a common general statement – To build or elaborate a theory so it becomes more complete – to extend a theory or principle into new areas or issues – to provide evidence to support or refute an explanation Methodology • What design? – descriptive – exploratory – explanatory • What technique? – Case study – experiment – survey • Who will be your respondents? – Purposive – non-purposive • What tools to be used? • How will you analyze the data? Importance of Topic Selection • Approach it with caution • Most important consideration in selecting a topic is to make sure it is the one that you will enjoy working with Problems usually encountered in topic selection • Inability to narrow their topic so that it could be fully treated within a reasonable period of time, • Finding a research question that is neither too broad nor too narrow POINTERS • Target audience - (population) those people who will be surveyed/those about whom the study is conducted • Population must be of reasonable size • Good thesis question must be researchable • Key words must be clearly defined • Ideally, research question will have few variables • Reasonable in breadth and in depth • Consider the target audience • Write with precision and clarity definition section will help in clarifying words you use, but key words need to be as simple as possible. • Develop a plan for writing the thesis. Make a timetable to guide you in meeting the deadline • Deadline will assist you in moving from one task to the next until the thesis is completed • keeping note cards in chapter 2 is beneficial • library hours is required Research Questions • Should relate to aspects of the industry with which you are a part • The end result of your research needs to be contribution to the industry • Make sure that your research question is not a duplication of research that has been done already • Select questions that are doable • Is there a substantial body of literature relating to the research question Basis for choosing research question • your interest in the question • the practicality of undertaking research on the question • availability of a target population with which to work • doability of the thesis