research methods in tourism nicos rodosthenous phd 07/02/2013 1 07/2/20131dr nicos rodosthenous

RESEARCH METHODS IN TOURISMNicos Rodosthenous PhD

07/02/20131

07/2/2013 1Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

RESEARCH METHODS IN TOURISM

• Introduction:• To provide a guide to the conduct of research,

a critical understanding of existing theoretical and applied research and an appreciation of the role of research in the policy-making, planning and management processes of the tourism industry.



• What is research? To make known something previously unknown to human beings and to advance human knowledge. The aim is the discovery. (Elias 1986)

• Research is a tool of science and its purpose is to advance human knowledge.

• The scientific research applies to physical and natural sciences, i.e. physics or chemistry.

• Social research deals with people and their behaviour, and they can react to the results of research and change their behaviour accordingly.



• Three types of research:1. Descriptive research (finding out, describing what is) is

very common in the leisure and tourism area because: a) leisure and tourism are new fields of study, b) are subject to constant change, c) the frequent separation between research and action.

2. Explanatory research (explaining how and why things are as they are and use this to predict) moves beyond description to seek and explain the trends observed. i.e. reduction of tourist flow or price and demand.



3. Evaluative research: (evaluation of policies and programmes) and the need to make judgements on the success or effectiveness of policies or programmes, i.e.tourism promotion.

Why study research? For many reasons: a) be able to understand and evaluate research reports and articles, b) conducting research either in academic environment (thesis), or for professional reasons.



• Research in policy-making, planning and management processes. All organizations engage in these kind of research to achieve their goals.

policies are considered the statements of principles, intentions and commitments of an organization,

plans are detailed strategies designed to implement policies for a specific time.

Management is seen as the process of implementing policies and plans.


RESEARCH METHODS IN TOURISMFig. 1



1. Terms of reference/brief: sets out the scope and purpose of the exercise.(research on sports)

2. Environmental appraisal: get all info related to the organization (internal, external), clients, activities and competitors.

3. Mission/goals: the board or the council to determine its mission/goals.

4. Consult with stakeholders: its considered very vital, as stakeholders can include staff, clients, public, members of the board/councils.



5. Develop options: to develop a plan or strategy, we need to examine what policies options are available to pursue the goals.

6. Evaluate options and decide strategy: select course of action to evaluate the alternatives.(cost benefit analysis, economic impact, environmental and social impact.)

7. Implement-manage: implementing a plan or strategy in the field of management.



8. Monitor/evaluate: monitoring progress and evaluating implementation of strategies.

9.Feedback: the data from the monitoring and evaluation step can be fed back into planning or management cycle for revision or changes of the decisions made.



• Beyond the 9 steps shown above, there are other research formats in different contexts:

Position statement (similar to environmental appraisal)

Market profiles, similar to position statement but specifically to a market (how big is, what are the customers-profile)

Market research, ( number of people use the product/service)

Marker segmentation (social, economic, holiday)



Feasibility studies, investigate not only current consumers and demands, but also future aspects in a market profile.

Leisure/recreation needs, studies for local councils for the use of facilities and services.

Tourism strategies/tourism marketing plans, (refer to tourism demands), similar to the recreation needs. Consider the capacity of the local area to meet the demand of the number of tourists.



Forecasting studies, form a key input for many future plans, in 10 years period. (considering all changes).

Who does research? In reading research reports and articles, it is useful to

bear in mind why the research has been done, who did the research and who paid for it.

Academics, professors, lecturers, tutors and research staff for “advancement of knowledge”. The main sources of funding are universities/college, government, commercial companies.



Students, PhD and Master degree students are the major members to research.

Government and commercial organizations, often have their own in-house research organizations ( research centers)

Consultants, offer research and advisory services in accountancy and management worldwide , i.e. Coopers & Lybrand, Price Waterhouse.

Managers, carry out research on: 1) customers, 2)potential customers, 3) staff, 4)performance, 5)competitors, 6) products.



• Academics and the world of practice: the relevance of published research to planning and management.

• Who does research is important because it affects the nature of the research and constitutes the body of knowledge for students and tourism managers.

• Some research arises from academic interest some from immediate problems and others from various theoretical disciplines like sociology and economics.



• There are also some focus on aspects of the policy, planning, management, marketing or financial management.


research methods in tourism nicos rodosthenous phd 07/02/2013 1 07/2/20131dr nicos rodosthenous

Documents

study research

tourismevaluative research

applied research

scientific research

explanatory research

research reports

conduct of research

descriptive research