This introductory guide offers innovative ideas and strategies to students undertaking their first social science research work. Academically rigorous yet accessible, it uses a systematic step-by-step approach to illustrate the research process and its applications to the tourism industry. Students are presented with numerous examples and case studies, linking theory with practice. The textbook provides a balanced coverage of both qualitative and quantitative methods, accompanying students throughout the process of selecting a research topic and specifying research questions, aims and objectives. A range of pedagogical features such as discussion questions, practical tips and examples enable students to review the literature, understand models and methodologies, analyse and interpret data (quantitative and qualitative) and ultimately write up their findings. Featuring contributions by a group of academics with expertise in their respective fields, the book provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to research methods. This is an essential resource to tourism students and will also be of interest to researchers in any social science subject.

'This is an excellent book which significantly contributes to tourism research and education. It takes a rigorous yet readable style to address twenty five of the most pertinent quantitative and qualitative techniques applied in tourism research. the book will appeal to a wider readership of social scientists as well as to scholars of tourism as each chapter provides a thorough overview and explanation of the techniques irrespective of their tourism application.' – Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, UK This insightful book explores the most important established and emerging qualitative and quantitative research methods in tourism. the authors provide a detailed overview of the nature of the research method, its use in tourism, the advantages and limitations, and future directions for research. Each chapter is structured to provide information on: the nature of the technique and its evolution; background and types of problems that the technique is designed to handle; applications of the technique to tourism, including discussion of studies that have used the technique and their findings; advantages and limitations of the technique conceptually and for policy formulation; and further developments and applications of the technique in tourism research. Handbook of Research Methods in Tourism will appeal to social scientists, students as well as researchers in tourism who use quantitative and qualitative research techniques.

In Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management, the authors use a step-by-step approach to guide students through the whole research process, from initial ideas, through to writing up and presenting the findings. Coverage of the Internet and the digital environment as a space to carry out research has been included, and the use of technology in analysis such as SPSS, NVivo and Qualtrics is covered alongside the more traditional ‘by-hand’ methods. Hints, tips, exercises as well as end-of-chapter case studies demonstrate real challenges and practical examples from a variety of settings to help students understand how to manage and present their own research. The book is complemented by examples of tourism destinations from Spain, Switzerland, Italy and India, and a selection of PowerPoint slides for lecturers. Suitable for undergraduate and foundation degree students undertaking a research project in Tourism, Hospitality or Events Management.

Within the tourism industry there is a growing consensus on the need for research to investigate the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism. However, existing research methods texts are based solely on either the business approach or the social science approach to tourism. They often fail to provide real world examples of how to plan, implement or analyse tourism related research. This book aims to address this divide by integrating theory with practice through the inclusion of specific tourism research case studies alongside research theory. It considers a wide range of research issues, approaches and techniques with contributions from both experienced and new researchers.

Now in its fifth edition, Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism has become the ultimate reference text for both students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and practising managers. This book combines comprehensive coverage of a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods with step-by step guidance through research software including Excel, SPSS and NVivo. Key features Coverage of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, ensuring a balanced approach to data collection and analysis Practical guidance on conducting research and writing reports, showing the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ Detailed coverage of the development of conceptual frameworks for research, research design, analytical methods and the composition of research reports, providing everything required to conduct a research project International case studies and extensive examples from the leisure and tourism literature Questions, exercises and further reading for each chapter Extensive web-based support materials New to this edition The fifth edition has been fully updated throughout and includes additional material on: Management and policy-related research methods EndNote bibliographic referencing software Notes on additional methods including: big data, discourse analysis, multiple correspondence analysis, netnography/web-based research, people meters For the analysis of quantitative data, SPSS is updated to version 23 For qualitative data analysis, the guide to NVivo software is updated to version 11.

"An Introduction to Visual Research Methods in Tourism", is the first book to present, discuss and promote the use of a range of visual methods, including still images (such as photographs, postcards, drawings) and moving images (such as video) within the context of tourism research. The book focuses on key issues important for students, researchers and academics actively doing visual tourism research or those who are contemplating using these methods. These range from the questions surrounding philosophical approaches, (inter)disciplinary location, range and choice of methods, implementation and data analysis techniques to provide an essential guide to using visual methods in tourism research. While recognising that visual methods are predominantly employed within qualitative research, this text will discuss various philosophical approaches and academic disciplines indicating how these influence a particular choice of visual method, mode of implementation and type of analysis. In this regard this book will incorporate perspectives from a range of disciplines including anthropology, geography and sociology, demonstrating how these might be applied within the context of studies in tourism. The discussions surrounding these key issues are supplemented with international case studies from existing research to show how these methods are used in practice. In addition to this practical tip boxes are included to help avoid some of the pitfalls associated with visual research. This book is an essential guide for tourism students, academics and researchers embarking on research using visual methodology in this field.

This text encourages students to think about the importance of research in informing good practice and to appreciate the role that it plays in the tourism industry. Additionally, it provides students with innovative ideas and inspiration to undertake their own research work in Tourism and inform them of the wide diversity of research strategies and contexts that are available. The content is written from a researcher's point of view and will provide a step by step guide to accomplish a research project or dissertation in the field of tourism. The reader is guided right from the beginning in selecting a topic for research, identifying research aims and objectives and research questions. It then assists the student researcher in determining which research methods are the most appropriate and practical means to answer a research question and to achieve the research aims and objectives. The reader is then shown how to analyse and interpret their data (quantitative and qualitative) as well writing up the research project. The book incorporates not only traditional research methods, but also contemporary techniques such as e - methods as well as its data collection and analysis. Tourism specific research case study examples are integrated throughout to show application of theory, it reflects the distinct characteristics of the tourism industry by including both social science and business perspectives and way tourism research focuses more on understanding of actions and behaviour. It integrates a range of useful learning aids to aid navigation throughout the book, spur critical thinking and further students' knowledge. This book is visually accessible and whilst written in an engaging style nonetheless maintains academic rigor grounded in research and scholarship. This is essential reading for all Tourism students.

This volume seeks to expose and illustrate new approaches and thinking in qualitative methods that are being developed and implemented in tourism research. The contributions bring together various qualitative methods and approaches while also providing suggestions for the juxtaposition of qualitative and quantitative methods in mixed methods research. The book has been written with a cross-disciplinary approach which provides an insight into the art of research development from business, sociology and tourism perspectives. The chapters provide readers with a context and practical application examples for each method. They present a distinctive opportunity for social researchers from a range of disciplines, in particular tourism, to examine how to adapt the wide variety of qualitative approaches to their particular research needs.

Training in research methods is increasingly important for students of tourism, and this broad, accessible textbook outlines the concepts and tools essential to understand, manage, and conduct research. Taking a practical approach throughout, this new edition provides advice on the use and cautions associated with some of the more common research designs and tools used by tourism researchers. Also including an increased use of handy pedagogical features to aid learning, this new edition is an essential overview for undergraduate and postgraduate students of tourism research, as well as a useful resource for researchers, consultants and managers.

This book goes beyond the methods usually covered in introductory textbooks on quantitative methods in tourism. It considers key issues in data selection, approaches to factor and cluster analysis and regression before covering advanced topics including structural equation modelling, maximum likelihood estimation, simulation and agent-based modelling. The result is a guide to quantitative methods in tourism that de-mystifies both simple and apparently complex techniques and makes them more accessible to tourism researchers.