Tourism

research
process

Lecture 3
 Outline
Steps in the research process

The ethics ofWhy

tourism research

Case analysis
 Steps in the research process

Identify the
research topic

Report the Develop the

findings research design

Implement the
research design
 Identify the
research topic

• Initial phase
• Once identified

Research topic may be presented

as :
• Research aim
• Objectives
• Hypothesis/hypotheses
 Stage 1: Choosing a topic: sources
of ideas
1. Personal interest (usually combined with one or more of
the next)
2. The literature (what is known about the leisure activity
of “taking a holiday”, as apposed to the activity of
choosing a tourism destination?)
3. Policy/management problems/issues (what are the
leisure needs of community? Or cost-benefit analysis of
a program)
4. Social concerns (The impact of growing tourism on a
local environment.)

Identify the
research topic
 Stage 1: Choosing a topic: sources
of ideas
5. Popular/media-based issues (Are city streets less safe
than they used to be?)

5. Published research agendas (an Australian Leisure

Research Agenda (Lynch and Brown, 1995)

6. Brainstorming re. topics arising from 1 – 6

7. Opportunism (government-collected leisure participation

data provides the opportunity to undertake some demand
forecasting)
Identify the
research topic
Slide 3.7

Topic selection: from the literature

Reason for doing Theories/propositions/observations from the

research literature:
Geographical May have been tested only in one country or region

Social May have been established on the basis of the

experience of one social group only

Temporal May be out of date

Contextual May have been established in fields other than
leisure/tourism
Methodological May have been tested using only one methodology

Identify the
research topic Tony Veal, Research Methods in Leisure and Tourism, 4th Edition © Pearson Education Limited 2011
 Topic selection: purpose of research
Purpose/motive
Pursue knowledge for its own sake
Ideologically driven:
• Conservative
• Reformist
– e.g. social-democratic
– e.g. environmental
• Radical/critical
– e.g. neo-liberal
– e.g. neo-Marxist
– e.g. radical-feminist
– e.g. anti-globalist
Policy/management:
• Critical
• Instrumental
Identify the
research topic
Features
Academic/scientific criteria – may combine with others below
• Defence of/acceptance of the status quo
• A more egalitarian society
• Sustainability
• Defence/extension of the market
• Demonstration of class conflict/exploitation
• Demonstration of patriarchy/women's oppression
• Demonstrate undesirable features of global market trends
• Critiques current policy/management - may reflect one or
more radical/critical stances above
• Accepts broad philosophy of organisational milieu being studied
 Develop the • Phase where researcher consider the method of
empirical material/data collection
research design

Qualitative
Type of sampling
& pilot study
Quantitative
 Research strategy components

1. Identify project element/ stages

2. Decide information gathering techniques to
be used
3. Decide data analysis techniques to be used
4. Decide budget
5. Draw up time table
Example of timetables
Examples: What issue you have in mind
when you look at this picture?
Implement the
research design
Focused on conducting empirical
material/data collection

Researcher might be
involved with pilot study,
Empirical material interpretation
field work and complete
with data analysis

(re)construction/data
analysis
 Report the
findings

• Preparation of final report • Written reports

• Don’t leave the writing of the
research report until the end – Media releases
many parts can be written well Posters
before
Issues
Oral Reports
 The ethics of tourism research
• The need for the ethics – derived from the
National Health and Medical Research Council
(NHMRC), the Nuremberg Code, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Declaration
of Helsinki (1964), and standards of research
(APA).
• Three important issues researcher should address:
1. Protecting participants from harm
2. Ensuring confidentiality of research data
3. The question of deception of subjects.
The ethics of tourism research
Codes of ethics – key items:
1. Voluntary participation by the individual
2. Informed consent given by the participant
3. The right to refuse to answer any questions or perform any actions
4. The right to withdraw from the research
5. The right not to be deceived regarding any aspect of research
6. The right not to be harmed during any stage of the research, as well as
after the research has concluded.
7. The right to have any personal information or data
8. The right to access the research findings.
The tourism researcher’s ethical responsibilities

Society – the protection of the right of the individual

and the intrusion into the everyday lives of the
various participants in the tourism phenomenon
under study.
Scientific community – the protection of the right of
the individual; the protection of the reputation of the
scientific community; and the production of ethical
research.
Why researchers need to be ethical?

To protect research participants from harm

To ensure that the standing of the scientific
community is protected
To ensure that the research findings are derived in a
morally and professionally responsible way.