Description
Book SynopsisTraining 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. Fully updated throughout, it: - covers core techniques such as questionnaire design, sample selection, and interviewing - reviews analytical tools such as the development of scales and indices, assessment of advertising performance, benchmarking, market segmentation, case studies, and content and visual analysis. - uses recent real-world examples and focus boxes throughout to assess new aspects of research such as blogs, narrative analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - retains the approachable, personal writing style of the previous edition. 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.
Trade Review"Of the many books on tourism research methods, Smith's Practical Tourism Research stands apart. It meets the essential needs of a researcher, right from planning a project, designing a questionnaire to conduct interviews and finally preparing a research report. The book also provides necessary tips for report presentation. Some of the unique features of the book are: placing case studies in focus boxes that help understand the complexity of the problem. The book has a very useful chapter, Metrics of decision making besides development of scale and indices. The excellence of the book stays in the simplicity of language and lucid prose that a reader gets enlightened. Chapter after chapter the author makes an effort to integrate theory and practice. The second edition of this book is much improved and updated in content and format. A full new chapter on Netnography (internet based ethnography) has been introduced that shall help scholars gathering rich information. Practical Tourism Research is recommended to tourism graduate, researchers, planners, and consultant."--Tej Vir Singh, Centre for Tourism Research & Development, India
Table of Contents-: Preface 1: The Nature of Tourism Research 2: Planning a Research Project 3: Questionnaire Design and Delivery 4: Selecting a Sample 5: How to Conduct Personal Interviews and Focus Groups 6: Indices and Scales 7: Case Studies 8: Content Analysis 9: Netnography 10: Research Reports and Presentations
