The range of research methods

1
The range of research methods

• Introduction
• The range of major research methods
• Subsidiary and cross-cutting techniques
• Multiple methods
• Choosing a method

2
Introduction

• A range of major methods and criteria for their
  use are examined. This methods include the roles
  of scholarship and research, together with the
  idea of just thinking and the use of existing
  literature, secondary data, observation,
  qualitative methods and questionnaire-based
  surveys
• A number of approaches and techniques are
  considered, which are subsidiary to the major
  methods and cut across a number of the major
  methods.
• Multiple methods are given with a discussion of
  the concept of triangulation and the case study
  method.

3
Introduction

• The process of choosing appropriate research
  methods is examined.
• It is rare to find a researcher who is
  experienced in the full range of techniques. It
  is hoped that the new generation of researchers
  in leisure and tourism will be competent in a
  wide range of skills and will adopt a balanced
  and non-partisan approach to their use.
• It is not a question of good or bad techniques
  which should be considered, but good or bad use
  of techniques.

4
The range of major research methods

• Scholarship/research
• just thinking
• Existing sources-using the literature
• Existing sources-secondary data
• Observation
• Qualitative methods
• Questionnaire-based surveys

5
Scholarship vs. research

• Difference between scholarship and research
• Scholarship
• being well informed about a subject and
  critically thinking about a subject
• knowing the literature and being able to
  synthesize it
• Research
• generating new knowledge, gathering new data
• developing a new framework or paradigm for
  looking at a field

6
Just thinking

• There is no substitute for thinking!
• Creative thinking is the most important process
  in development a piece of research.
• Creative thinking is needed in data collection,
  identifying and posing the initial questions or
  issues for investigation, conceptualizing the
  research, developing a research strategy,
  analyzing data, interpreting and presenting
  findings.
• Text on research methods can provide a guide to
  mechanical processes, but creative thought must
  come from within the individual researcher.

7
Existing sources-using the literature

• There is virtually no research that can be done
  without any benefit from some reference to the
  existing literature.
• Leisure and tourism study needs a considerable
  use of existing knowledge which can come from
  good literature reviews.
• The review of the literature plays a key role in
  formulation of research projects. It indicates
  the state of knowledge on a topic and is a source
  of substantive and methodological ideas.

8
Existing sources-secondary data

• Since large quantities of information are
  collected and stored by government and other
  organizations as routine functions of management,
  including sales figures and visitor numbers, it
  would be wasteful to collect new data in some
  cases.
• Though secondary data is not ideal for the
  research, it can provide answers to some
  questions more quickly and at less cost than new
  data.
• Secondary data need not to be quantitative. For
  example historical data such as diaries, official
  documents or newspaper reports are rather
  qualitative.

9
Observation

• Observation has the advantage of being
  unobtrusive techniques which involve gathering
  information about peoples behavior without their
  knowledge.
• Observation is useful techniques when researching
  illicit activity, which people may be reluctant
  to talk about or when researching the behavior of
  young.
• Observation is an appropriate technique when mass
  patterns of behavior not apparent to individual
  subjects are of interest.

10
Qualitative methods

• The nature of qualitative methods
• It stands in contrast to quantitative methods
• There is a tendency that the qualitative method
  involves the gathering of large amounts of
  relatively detailed information about relatively
  few cases while the quantitative method involves
  the gathering of relatively small amounts of data
  on relatively large numbers of cases.

11
Qualitative methods

• Situations for the use of qualitative methods
• when the focus of the research is on meaning and
  attitudes
• when exploratory theory building rather than
  theory testing work is called for
• when the researcher accepts that the concepts,
  terms and issues must be defined by the subjects
  and not by the researcher
• when interaction between members of a group is of
  interest

12
Qualitative methods

• Types of qualitative method
• Informal and in-depth interviews
• Group interviews or focus groups
• Participant observation
• Analysis of texts, content analysis or
  hermeneutics

13
Questionnaire-based surveys

• The nature of questionnaire-based surveys
• Two formats face-to-face or telephone interview
  
• and respondent-completion format
• Most common method in leisure and tourism because
  the basic mechanics are easily understood and so
  much leisure and tourism research calls for the
  general and quantified statement.
• The researcher should be very specific about
  their data requirements from the beginning.
• It depends on respondents behavior, attitudes or
  intentions, which can raise questions about the
  validity of the technique.

14
Questionnaire-based surveys

• Types of questionnaire survey
• Household survey referred as community survey
  or social survey
• Street survey quota survey
• Telephone survey
• Mail survey postal survey
• Site or user survey visitor survey or
  intercept survey
• Captive group survey members of groups such as
  classes of school children, members of employees

15
Subsidiary and cross-cutting techniques

• These techniques are a variation on or an
  application of the major method or cut across a
  number of major methods.
• Coupon survey/conversion studies
• En route/intercept surveys
• Time-budget surveys
• Experience sampling method
• Panel studies
• Longitudinal studies

16
Subsidiary and cross-cutting techniques

• Media-sponsored surveys
• Action research
• Historical research
• Textual analysis
• Delphi techniques
• The use of scales
• Meta-analysis

17
Coupon surveys/conversion studies

• When the public is invited in an advertisement to
  write or telephone for information on a product,
  the question arises as to extent to which people
  who respond to such advertising become customers.
• The conversion studies are designed to examine
  the extent to which inquirers convert to become
  customers.

18
En route/intercept surveys

• En route surveys are conducted while traveling,
  sometimes in airplanes or by car.
• Since respondents are intercepted at or near a
  destination, site or attraction, the term
  intercept survey is used.

19
Time-budget surveys

• Investigate peoples allocation of time between
  such categories as paid work, domestic work,
  sleep and leisure.
• It is not popular in tourism research because
  holiday-makers are not at home to undertake such
  an exercise. It can be adapted to study holiday
  makers activities at their destinations.

20
Experience sampling method

• ESM is a development of the time-budget
  survey/diary method and takes a few days for
  study.
• It has advantage of recording activities and
  feeling in real time, rather than relying on
  recall.

21
Panel studies

• Panels are a representative cross-section of the
  public who agree to be on call for a series of
  surveys over a period of time.
• Panel studies is a particular form of household
  questionnaire survey.
• Some financial reward is paid to panel members,
  but this cost is off-set by the savings in not
  having to continually select and contact new
  samples of respondents.

22
Longitudinal studies

• Longitudinal studies surveys the same sample of
  individuals periodically over a number of years.
• It is expensive because of the need to keep track
  of the sample members over the years.
• It is effective way to study social change and
  the combined effects of social change and aging.

23
Media-sponsored surveys

• Newspapers, magazines and radio and television
  stations run opinion poll-type surveys among
  their readers, listeners and viewers.
• It is not known that the original population or
  the sample of respondents are representative of
  the population.
• The sample tend to have particular socio-economic
  characteristics.

24
Action research

• It is designed to involve the researcher in the
  topic and for the research to be overtly part of
  the process of bringing about change.
• There are some examples of research in the
  leisure and tourism areas which are politically
  committed such as feminist research.

25
Historical research

• Biographical research and case study
• Form of secondary data analysis due to dependency
  on documents contemporary to a period which were
  complied for purposes other than historical
  research
• Provides a partial explanation for contemporary
  phenomena

26
Textual analysis

• The textual analysis inquires the content of
  organizations annual reports, politicians
  speeches or advertising messages.
• It is referred as content analysis (more
  quantitative) or hermeneutics (more
  qualitative).
• It is not traditionally used in leisure and
  tourism studies, but is attracting increasing
  attention.

27
Delphi technique

• The Delphi technique is a procedure involving
  the gathering and analyzing of information from a
  panel of experts on future trends in a particular
  field of interest.
• The experts complete a questionnaire about their
  views and these views are collated and circulated
  to panel members for further comment.

28
Projective techniques

• It is what if ? techniques involving the
  subjects responding to hypothetical situations.
• For example, we can ask that if given a free
  choice, how they might spend a particular sum of
  money? Or how they might spend additional leisure
  time if it were made available?
• It is considered to be an extension of
  questionnaire-based surveys and possibly of
  focus-group interviews.

29
The use of scales

• Scales are numerical indexes used to measure
  constructs or variables which are intrinsically
  quantitative.
• Combining the rating scales, scores are commonly
  used to produce a scale of index of the
  phenomenon of interest.
• Two examples are developed the Paragraphs about
  leisure scale and the Recreation experience
  preference scale.

30
Meta-analysis

• The meta-analysis combines the features of a
  literature review and secondary data analysis and
  involves a quantitative appraisal of the findings
  of a number of projects on the same topic.
• It is suitable for the research where findings
  are comparable from one study to another, for
  example, when the key findings are expressed in
  terms of correlation and regression coefficients
  between particular variables.

31
Multiple methods

• More than one method are involved.
• Triangulation fixing the position of an object
  by measuring it from two different positions,
  with the object being the third point of the
  triangle.
• Case study method studying an example of the
  phenomenon being reserached.

32
Triangulation

• Use more than one research approach in a single
  study to gain a broader or more complete
  understanding of the issues.
• Four different ways are identified analyzing
  data in more than one way using more than one
  sampling strategy using different interviewers,
  observers and analysts in the one study using
  more than one method to gather data.

33
Triangulation

• The research questions are focused and not
  confused by the methods adopted.
• The rationale for using triangulation should be
  outlined and the possible weaknesses of one
  method and the ways in which the additional
  method might overcome such a weakness should be
  explained.
• When the different data/methods address the same
  question, the triangulation is needed.

34
Case studies

• The aim of the case study is to understand the
  phenomenon by studying single example.
• Cases consist of individuals, communities, whole
  countries and organizations.
• Case study involves only one or a few cases which
  suggests similarity with qualitative research
  methods.

35
Case studies

• Robert Yins conclusion for case study
• Investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its
  real-life context when the boundaries between
  phenomenon and context are not clearly evident
• Copes with the situation where there are many
  variables of interest
• Relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data
  needing to converge in a triangulating fashion
• Benefits from the prior development of
  theoretical propositions to guide data collection
  and analysis

36
Case study

• Purposes
• Exploratory strategy
• Presenting general propositions relating to
  theory and policy issues and to possibilities
• Testing the applicability of an existing theory
• Testing effectiveness of a single policy
• Testing alternative competing policy
• Establish need for policy measures

37
Case study

• Merits of the case study approach
• The ability to place people, organizations,
  events and experiences in their social and
  historical context
• Ability to treat the subject of study a
• Multiple methods are implicit and seen as a
  strength
• The single case offers a manageable data
  collection task when resources are limited

38
Case study

• Design of case studies
• Flexible but possible to interview people, or ask
  them for data
• Define the unit of analysis
• Select the case purposive, illustrative,
  typical/atypical and pragmatic
• Data gathering consistency of the unit of
  analysis, temporal consistency

39
Case study

• Analysis
• Tend to be deductive in nature
• Address the questions posed in advance
• Pattern matching
• Explanation building
• Time series analysis

40
Case study Nike, advertising and women

• Methods/approaches secondary sources and
  textual analysis (TV and print advertising)
• Topic Nike corporations advertising and
  marketing in relation to women
• Main information sources existing accounts of
  development of Nike from the academic and popular
  literature and examples of Nike advertising on TV
  and in print

41
Nike, advertising and women

• Theoretical perspectives globalization and
  postmodernism
• Aim of thesis Nikes advertising aimed at
  Western women consumers projects an image of the
  independent woman while their manufacturing
  practices exploit Third World women who make up
  the majority of its manufacturing labor.

42
Nike, advertising and women

• Demonstrating the validity of well-established
  theoretical frameworks which are critical of the
  role of multi-national global corporations, in
  the production of fashion products where the
  costs of manufacturing are heavily outweighed by
  the cost of marketing and the retail mark-up.

43
Case study Euro Disney

• Methods/approaches participant observation,
  in-depth interviews, secondary sources,
  historical
• Topic Theme park investment/ development/managem
  ent

44
Case study Euro Disney

• Development of the idea of a European Disneyland
  and the political activity of selecting and
  securing a site
• Design of the project
• Marketing of the project
• Financial struggle of the early years
• Global Disney operation

45
Choosing a method

• The research question or hypothesis
• Certain types of data suggest certain types of
  analysis
• Previous research
• The methods used in the previous research are
  likely influence to the choice of research

46
Choosing a method

• Data availability/access
• An obvious existing data source presents itself
• The published data could be analyzed in more
  depth
• Access of a sample of people, such as the
  workforce or customer-base of an organization,
  can be as a good opportunity

47
Choosing a method

• Resources
• The resources of staff and money affects the type
  and scale of the research
• Time
• Validity, reliability and generalizability
• Generalizability the probability that the
  results of the research findings apply to other
  subjects, other groups and other conditions

48
Choosing a method

• Ethics
• Ethics issues limit choice of research method
• Uses/users of the findings
• When substantial investment depends on the
  results of the research, a more extensive and
  thorough-going project are required.