Introduction to research: what, why and who

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Introduction to researchwhat, why and who?

• Introduction
• What is research?
• Why study research?
• Who does research?

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Introduction

• Aim
• 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 leisure and
  tourism industries.

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Introduction

• Focus fields leisure and tourism
• While most of the principles of research are
  universal, a specialized text reflects the
  traditions and practices in its field and draws
  attention to examples of relevant applications of
  methods and the particular problems and issues
  which arise in such application.

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Leisure and Tourism

• Terminology leisure, recreation, free time,
  tourism
• Leisure recreation play games involvement in
  sport and the arts as spectator, audience member
  or participant the use of the electronic and
  printed media live entertainment hobbies
  socializing drinking gambling sightseeing
  visiting parks, coast and countryside do-it
  yourself arts and crafts activity home-based
  and non-home-based activity commercial and
  non-commercially-based activity and doing
  nothing in particular
• Tourism a leisure activity involving travel
  away from a persons normal place of residence

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What is research?

• Definition
• The aim is to make known something previously
  unknown to human beings, to advance human
  knowledge, to make it more certain or better
  fitting The aim is discovery. (N. Elias, 1986)

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What is research?

• Scientific research
• Conducting based on logic and reason and the
  systematic examination of evidence
• Replicated by the same or different researchers
• Contribute to a cumulative body of knowledge
  about a field or topic
• Applicable to physical or natural sciences

• Social science research
• Dealing with people and their social behavior
  which are less predictable
• Not purely passive subjects
• Changing social world constantly
• Rarely possible to replicate
• research at different times or in different
  places

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Three types of research

• Three types of research
• Descriptive research
• finding out, describing what exists,
• Explanatory research
• explaining how and why things are as they
  are
• Evaluation research
• evaluation of policies and programmes

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Descriptive research

• Need to map the territory.
• Discover, describe and map of patterns of
  behavior in areas or activities which have not
  previously been studies.
• Track or monitor constant change and provide
  up-to-date information.
• Separate between research projects and the policy.

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Explanatory research

• Seek to explain the patterns and trends observed
• Why is a particular type of activity or
  destination falling in popularity?
• How do particular tourism developments gain
  approval against the wishes of the local
  community?
• Why are the arts patronized by some social groups
  and not others?
• Causality and Prediction
• require a rigorous research by collecting,
  analyzing and interpreting data
• require theoretical framework to relate the
  phenomenon under study to wider social, economic
  and political processes

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Evaluation research

• Need to make a judgement on the success or
  effectiveness of policies and programs
• Whether a particular leisure facility or program
  is meeting required performance standards or
  whether a particular tourism promotion campaign
  has been cost-effective.
• Highly developed in education but less well
  developed in the field of leisure and tourism

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Why study research?

• Useful to understand the basis of research
  reports and articles
• Engage in research in an academic environment
• Conduct or commission research in policy-making,
  planning and management process

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Research in policy-making, planning and
management processes

• Policy statement of principles, intentions and
  commitments of an organization
• Planning strategies for implementing policies
  in particular way over a specified period
• Management process of implementing policies and
  plans

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Examples

• National park
• Policy Increase non-government revenue
• Plan 3-year plan to implement user-pays program
• Management Implement user-pays program
• Tourism commission
• Extend peak season
• 3-year plan to increase shoulder season visits by
  programming new festivals
• Choose festivals themes and implement

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Rational comprehensive model

• Terms of reference/brief
• Setting out the scope and purpose of research
• Environmental appraisal
• Gathering of all information on the context of
  the task in hand
• Mission/Goal
• Hard task for decision-making body to determine
  the mission/golas
• Develop options
• Feasibility or achievement-related work, involve
  identifying alternative policy or planning
  options

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Rational comprehensive model

• Evaluate options and decide strategy
• Involving a complex process requiring a research
  to evaluate alternatives
• Implement-Manage
• Implementing a plan or strategy in the field of
  manegement
• Monitor/evaluate
• Monitoring progress
• Feedback
• Process comes full circle with the feedback step

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Research report formats

• Position statements
• Similar to environmental appraisals
• Market profiles
• Profile of the market sectorhow big is the
  market? what are its growth prospects? Who are
  the customer?
• Market research
• Establish the scale and nature of the market and
  customer requirements and attitudes
• Market segmentation/lifestyle studies
• Referred as psychographic studies classifying
  customers into sub-markets or segments based on
  characteristics such as sex, age, occupation and
  income
• e.g.) VALS classify Americans into 9
  lifestyle groups

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Research report formats

• Feasibility studies
• Investigate not only current customer needs but
  also future demand
• Forecasting studies
• Provide projections of demand for a particular
  leisure activity
• Leisure/recreation needs studies
• Comprehensive studies carried out for local
  councils
• Tourism strategies/tourism marketing plans
• Refer to requirements of the local population

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Who does research?

• Academics
• Students
• Government and commercial organizations
• Consultants
• Managers

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Who does research?

• Academics
• peer review
• Government-funded project
• Students
• PhD thesis

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Who does research?

• Government organizations
• Their own in-house research organizations
• Generally available to the public
• Commercial organizations
• Rely on consultants
• Generally confidential research

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Who does research?

• Consultants
• Large, multi-national companies involved in
  accountancy, management and property development
  consultancy
• e.g.) Coopers and Lybrand Price Waterhouse
• Managers
• Good information creative utilization
• Research means finding out and explaining

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