All I want for Xmas...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Y66XGykVY_eFc3eUU5S3NoWjQ/view?ts=585bcb5a

Research project

Let's get started

The research project is a key task in level 3. Read the following guidelines to find out more about it and suggest possible topics you could work on.

§  Introduction: The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the project. The subject of study, the context in which it was carried out, the objectives and the research questions must be clearly formulated.

§  Theoretical framework: The conceptual framework can include a literature review on the topic studied. The theoretical and/or practical background of the topic and previous investigations should be identified, along with related theories and key concepts.

§  Research design: The methodological approach must be described, as well as the research instruments used, how data were collected, and how processing and analysis were planned.

§  Results: The results obtained by means of the data collection instruments must be presented graphically.

§  Conclusions: In this final section the initial research questions must be answered. Moreover, this section must show to which degree the set objectives have been achieved, and the whole project must be evaluated. The limitations of the study and unresolved issues must also be stated. Lastly, possible future research lines must be proposed.

§  References: The bibliography used to develop the project may be mentioned.

Be creative and post your topic proposals!

Visit from Haaga-Helia University

Yesterday a group of Tourism students from Haaga-Helia University (Finland) joined us. We had a very fruitful session!

Welcome to Level 3

In this level, questionnaires are essential data collection tools for your research projects. Here you are some questionnaire design guidelines (adapted from Research basis and provided by Prof. G. Garcia).

After reading these guidelines, think of two valid questions for your survey and post them.

1.    There are several types of questionnaires:

Focus on the questions:

•    Open. Example: Which hotel would you like to work for?
•    Closed:
•     Dichotomous. Example: Have you ever been to Greece?  1. Yes 2. No
•    Multiple. Example: Which accommodation did you use in your last stay abroad?

1.    Hotel

2.    Apartment

3.    Campsite

4.    Other

•  :Mixed: A combination of multiple and open questions

Focus on the responses:

•    Spontaneous. Example: Which is your favourite restaurant in Barcelona?
•    Suggested options. Example: To which degree do you consider online hotel booking is reliable?

1.    Not reliable at all

2.    Little reliable

3.    Quite reliable

4.    Totally reliable

2. When formulating questions remember they should:

§   Not involve calculations
§   Not be sensitive/emotional
§   Not imply a specific response
§   Not be double, but single
§   Not be ambiguous
§   Not be a negative sentence
§   Be expressed in a simple way
§   Incorporate instructions on how to answer them

3. When  it comes to measuring the results, two key concepts are:

§   Validity: A valid measuring scale measures what is really supposed to be measured

§   Reliability: A reliable scale is precise

4. There is a wide range of measure scales: 

•    Metric. Example: What is your degree of satisfaction with the hotel from 0 to 10?    
•      Interval. Example: Which temperature do you consider ideal for a holiday destination?

1.    Less than 20 degrees Celsius

2.    Between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius

3.    Between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius

4.    More than 30 degrees Celsius

•    Ordinal. Example: What was the category of the last hotel you stayed at?

1.    5* 

2.    4*

3.    3*

4.    2*

5.    1*

•    Nominal. Example: What type of transport did you use to travel to your last holiday destination?

1.    Plane

2.    Boat

3.    Coach

4.    Train

5.    Own car

•    Comparative

§  COMPARING PAIRS. Example: Which of these two destinations ( X/Y ) do you prefer for your summer holidays?

§  CLASSIFYING. Example: Order the following destinations according to your preferences for your next summer holidays

§  ADDING. Example: Which importance do you give to the following aspects when choosing a holiday destination?

Price       __ __ %

Climate   __ __ %

Safety    __ __ %

Total           100%

§  SIMILARITY. Example: Indicate if the following ingredients are sweet, salty, sour or bitter

•    Not comparative

§  GRADING. Example: In your opinion tourism is

Very negative 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 Very positive

§  LIKERT. Example: Tourists in Barcelona are respectful with the local culture

1.    I totally disagree

2.    I disagree

3.    I neither agree nor disagree

4.    I agree

5.    I fully agree

§  SEMANTIC. Example: In your opinion Barcelona is
                

Modern - - - - Traditional

Cheap - - - - Expensive

Sustainable  - - - - Unsustainable