How? Where? When?

Having formulated your objectives and research questions/hypothesis, now you should post an outline of your methodology. A Gantt chart will help you plan the different stages of the research process.

The Methodology section is the core of your paper. It should answer two main questions:

1. How did you collect or generate the data?
2. How did you analyse the data?

Be direct and precise. Use the past tense and include enough information so that it can be determined if the data collection, data processing, subsequent results and final conclusions are valid. You need to explain the reasons why you chose a particular method or procedure, the anticipated problems in the process and the steps you took to prevent them.

More specifically:

a- Present the basic demographic profile of the sample population or participants (e.g. age, gender, origins, etc.).

b- Describe the materials and tools that you used (e.g. observation, interviews, questionnaires, etc.).

c- Explain how you prepared the materials and describe the research design.

d- Explain how you gathered the data.

e- Describe the techniques that you used to process the data (e.g. descriptive statistics, SWOT analysis, etc.).

What? Why?

This is the basic structure your research project should have. Follow the outline as you construct your final draft. Now that you’ve chosen a topic let’s focus on the introduction. Post the objectives and research questions you wish to work on.

Chapter 1: Introduction
In this section, let the reader know in a few sentences what your project will be addressing. State at the outset what you are interested in researching and why. Explain how the topic of your project is related to your studies. Clearly state your research problem and break it down into a series of more specific research questions, or, whenever feasible, into hypotheses.

Chapter 2: Review of literature
Indicate which studies have already been done on the same or related topics; which questions or hypotheses have been offered; major findings; consistencies and inconsistencies among these findings. Appropriate citations would include recent peer-reviewed articles published in regionally, nationally, or internationally recognized professional journals; books; monographs; etc. After reviewing the literature, place your own research within a context of already existing knowledge. Is your research an attempt to retest previous research findings? Investigating some aspect(s) of previous research in greater depth? Exploring areas suggested by previous findings? Studying a problem about which little or nothing is known, but which needs to be investigated for practical or theoretical reasons?

Chapter 3: Methodology
Identify your research variables and the method of investigation. Specify the research sample -who the subjects of your research will be and how you are going to select them. Give your reasons for choosing such a sample. Identify your procedure. Indicate which techniques of data collection you intend to use (observation, interviews, questionnaires, records, personal documents, etc.), and any relevant information about your research design. Discuss how you wish to analyze your data. Produce a Gantt chart to help you plan the different stages of the research process.

Chapter 4: Results
In this section, the results of the survey (or research) should be presented without comment. It should be divided appropriately. Appropriate charts and graphs should be presented either in this section or in the appendices.

Chapter 5: Conclusion
This section essentially returns to section one and should present how this study answers its research questions and how it fills the knowledge gap presented in chapter two. This section should be clearly divided by the research questions and it should reveal how the results of this study match or do not match other similar research. Great care should be taken to discuss why this study is important and how the results can be used. There should be a large number of citations to aspects that have been previously mentioned in other sections of the study. There should also be a reference to the limitations of the study and where future research should be conducted.

Citations (References)
This section should be a bibliography of all the sources you have used and cited throughout your paper/project. APA style must be used for all citations throughout the text and for your bibliography.

Appendices
Include your research instruments.

Adapted from: http://www.mtsu.edu/universitycollege/mps/pdf/Project_Final_Draft_Outline.pdf

Project topics

It’s time to start thinking about your research project. Consider the different options resulting from our brainstorming session, choose a topic from the list below and post your choice along with the names of the team members. Remember only one project for each one of the topics is allowed!

1. The feasibility of a new itinerary for Bus Turístic in Barcelona.

2. Theme hotels in Port Aventura: a contrastive analysis.

3. Hotel service provision through apps in Barcelona.

4. The ecologic hotel offer in Barcelona.

5. Tree housing in Catalonia: a profitable business?

6. Barcelona as a vegetarian destination.

7. The perceived usefulness of the Catalan Tourist Board.

8. Lodging in the telecommunications tower of Collserola: a viable option?

9. Motivations for choosing Barcelona and Montreal as academic destinations.

10. Profiling Erasmus students at CETT.

Welcome to the academic year 2014-15!

English Level 3. Research project

The research project is a very important component in this level. Read the following guidelines to find out more about it and suggest possible topics you could work on.

The research project deals with a topic related to the tourism and hospitality industry. The research topic must be identified by the students at the beginning of the academic year and the project outline and planning must be checked by their teachers, who will supervise their work throughout the course.

At the end of the second term each team of students must use powerpoint as well as other support materials in their oral presentations. Every member will be required to speak for about 10 minutes, so the whole presentation will take 20-30 minutes, depending on whether the teams are composed of two or three students. At the end of the presentation the students will have to answer the questions formulated by the board of examiners, made up of two teachers.

The project can be structured as follows:

-Introduction: The aim is provide a general idea of the study, including its objectives.
-Theoretical framework: The conceptual framework of the research must be stated clearly.
-Methodology: The methodological approach, as well as data collection, processing and analysis must be described.
-Results: The results deriving from the previous section must be presented.
-Conclusions: The conclusions need to relate to the research objectives.
-Bibliography: The references of all the resources used must be listed.
-Annex: Support materials can be included in this section.

Within the continuous assessment system the written project accounts for 10% of the final mark, whereas the oral presentation of the research project constitutes 30% of the final mark. Those students who sit up the final exam must not submit a written project, and the oral presentation of their research accounts for 50% of the final mark.

Assessment criteria for oral production (out of 10 points):

-Language use (grammar/vocabulary accuracy, range & appropriacy): 4 points.
-Task achievement (efficient achievement of communicative purpose, content relevance & extent): 3 points.
-Fluency & pronunciation (speech flow, intonation, stress & rhythm): 2 points.
- Communicative resources (use of linguistic and non-linguistic resources, support materials, attitude): 1 point.

Assessment criteria for written production (out of 10 points):

-Language use (grammar/vocabulary accuracy, range & appropriacy): 5 points.
-Task achievement (efficient achievement of communicative purpose, content relevance & extent): 3 points.
-Topic development (structure, progression & coherence): 2 points.

The impacts of tourism on a destination

Watch your presentations and do the self-assessment tasks below.

Choose the appropriate descriptors. Looking back at my presentation:

 I am happy with my performance
 I had prepared my presentation thoroughly
 The subject of my presentation was a good choice
 My presentation was structured clearly
 The support materials I used were appropriate
 I was comfortable throughout the presentation
 I paid attention to the audience
 My classmates were interested in my presentation
 My classmates asked interesting questions
 My classmates’ feedback was useful
 My teacher’s feedback was useful
 The comments on my presentation were suitable
 Everything went as I had expected
 It was a positive learning experience

Make comments on each one of the following aspects concerning your oral presentation:

 Linguistic use (grammar/vocabulary accuracy, range & adequacy)
 Task achievement (efficient achievement of communicative purpose, content relevance & extent)
 Fluency & pronunciation (speech flow, intonation, stress & rhythm)
 Communicative resources (use of linguistic and non-linguistic resources, support materials, attitude)

General comments:

 Did anything go wrong during your presentation? What could you have done to avoid it?
 Which aspect of your presentation are you most proud of?
 How did the beginning / development / end of your presentation go?
 Would you like to repeat your presentation? Would you change anything?
 If you could do your presentation again, do you think your performance would be better now? Why / why not?
 Others

Sustainable tourism report

TotemTourism is a company that helps destinations to create and market new sustainable tourism offers. Read their annual report.

Sustainable Tourism Report 2013/14

Will tourism survive as we know it? Where are today’s opportunities?

Sustainable tourism was initiated 20 years ago, when international tourist carryings were only 500million –now over 1billion. The idea was to make tourism a more sensitive activity, to reduce its negative economic, social, environmental and cultural effects and to strengthen its positive impact. The effect would be to create an industry that would engage with the Earth’s dangers, take responsibility for its own activities and operate in a way which would have truly positive benefits for all.

Airlines represent at least 40% of tourism’s 4% of global carbon emissions. Air travel is set to double by 2032 representing a serious challenge. The rail industry is dramatically growing and greening, with high speed train lines alone scheduled to be expanding from 22,196km today to over 50,000km in just 11 years time. Paris-Barcelona, Bejing-Guangzhou, Moscow-St Petersburg are just a few new lines. As for cruises, two major cruise companies currently represent over 71% of the global business, which amounts to over 20 million passengers a year. Cruise holidays involve the dumping of all sorts of waste in the ocean.

Tour operators now get it. Recognising the market desire for greener holidays, global tour operators and OTAs (including TUI, Thomas Cook and Kuoni) are embracing dramatic changes incorporating many aspects of sustainable tourism. They include green supply chain management, child protection, human rights and labour conditions with a concern for environmental management.

All over the world destinations now really understand, making tremendous advances: creating car-free and soft-mobility destinations, starting potent local food initiatives, creating dynamic, sustainable, fun, profitable city centres, setting up innovative marketing partnerships and funding schemes. They are also branding and marketing their tourism products effectively, sustainably and profitably.

Over the next 20 years:

-The tourism industry can address its emissions challenges and its potentially negative social costs. If so, tourism could reach its true potential as a global driver to a green economy and also be a real global force for good.

-The green, experiential, real tourism marketplace could increase dramatically, stimulated by a growing global middle class who wishes to live Lifestyles Of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS). This market -which is said now to represent some 20% of the global middle classes- is on the move again. The global middle class itself is forecast to grow from 2billion now to 5billion in the next 17 years.

-New tourism -the peer-to-peer economy- will continue its boom because of its informality and cheapness and fun-factor.

In today’s sustainable tourism world there are massive opportunities –not just economic but social, environmental and cultural too.

Adapted from TotemTourism’s Sustainable Tourism Report 2013/14, available at http://www.totemtourism.com

Sustainable tourism options

Having read TotemTourism’s Sustainable Tourism Report 2013/14, now watch these videos showing two eco-friendly options:

1. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOPF), a movement that links volunteers with organic farms and growers. Click on http://www.wwoof.net/welcome-to-wwoof/

2. Hotel Costa Vella, a boutique hotel in Santiago de Compostela. Click on the link to watch an interview to the owner, Mr. José Antonio Linares. Also available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQQGdi2upnw&list=UUUcJDfIcA-oO4gFR5o0tjDA.
If you wish, you can visit the hotel’s website at: http://www.costavella.com/

Then answer the following questions:

-After watching the videos, which option appeals more to you as a user? Why?
-Which one would you prefer to work for? Why?
-After reading the report, which aspect do you find most surprising / interesting / disturbing? Why?
-Do you agree that “in today’s sustainable tourism world there are massive opportunities – not just economic but social, environmental and cultural too”?
-As future professionals in the tourism industry, how could you take advantage of such “massive opportunities”?

Job interviews

Getting ready for job interviews can be the key to a successful career.

Click on the link and watch the videos on how to prepare for a job interview: How to prepare for a job interview

Click on the link and watch the videos on how to reply to questions at a job interview: How to reply to questions

Now watch the job interview simulations and make constructive comments based on the tips from the videos you've watched. Have the guidelines been followed? What are the main strengths of each candidate? How could they improve their performance? Were their answers to the questions suitable? Do you think they would get the post of Assistant Front Office Manager? Why/why not? And what about the interviewers' questions... were they pertinent? Did the interviewers do a good job?

Finally, provide the interviewees/interviewers with feedback relating to the following assessment criteria:

-Linguistic use: grammar/vocabulary accuracy, range and appropriacy
-Task achievement: efficient achievement of communicative purpose, content relevance and extent
-Fluency and pronunciation: speech flow, intonation, stress and rhythm
-Communicative resources: use of linguistic and non-linguistic resources, support materials and attitude

Job interview simulation 1

Watch the first job interview and post your comments.

You can also click on this link: Job interview simulation 1

Job interview simulation 2

Watch the second job interview simulation and post your comments.

You can also click on this link: Job interview simulation 2

Job interview simulation 3

Watch the third job interview simulation and post your comments.

You can also click on this link: Job interview simulation 3