27344 Research Foundations for Leisure Sport and Tourism

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

This subject introduces students to the research process and each of its elements. It aims to develop understanding of the approaches to the collection, interpretation and statistical analysis of data within leisure, sport and tourism. Students become proficient in a range of quantitative, qualitative and experimental research methods used in the area. The subject develops skills in entering, analysing and presenting data using standard software packages. The emphasis of this subject is on developing an understanding of how research is conceptualised, actioned and reported.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. understand fundamental research design
2. explain the strengths, weaknesses and applications of a range of data gathering and analysis techniques employed in leisure, sport and tourism
3. demonstrate ethical considerations associated with conducting research
4. perform a range of statistical analysis techniques appropriate for leisure, sport and tourism.

Contribution to graduate profile

Research Foundations for Leisure, Sport and Tourism is a core subject, which provides a foundation to research concepts and theories for all undergraduate programs in the School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism. It provides the opportunity for students to critically analyse research findings within the leisure, sport and tourism area. A range of research methods and statistical procedures will be introduced. It will provide an essential understanding of the research process, procedures and statistical concepts and techniques applicable to professional practice and critical inquiry in the leisure, sport and tourism industries.

Teaching and learning strategies

Lectures, tutorials and computer laboratory sessions will be used to provide a variety of learning experiences. Tutorials will be arranged into disciplinary groups for the delivery of industry specific content. The laboratory sessions will be based on Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). A basic understanding of Windows based software will be assumed. Content for this subject will be supported by UTSOnline.

Content

• Introductory concepts — the nature of research, methods of problem solving, types of research, ethical considerations
• Sources of information including literature and secondary data - purpose, searching, critical review, writing the review, reporting research
• Research design — quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry
• Experimental research — research hypotheses, delimitations, limitations, significance, scope, research design, discussion of findings
• Measurement procedures — validity and reliability, standard error, scale of measurement
• Statistical techniques — descriptive, inferential techniques including sampling error, levels of confidence, correlation and bi-variate regression, t test and z test, type I and type II errors, analysis of variance, nonparametric techniques, assumptions, homogeneity of variance, post hoc tests
• Computer techniques — Microsoft Excel and SPSS are used as tools of interpretation and presentation for the above content

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Class Exam (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Lab Manual Assignment (Individual)

Assessment item 3: Final Exam (Individual)

Required text(s)

Veal, AJ, 2006, Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide, 3rd edn, Pearson Ed Limited, London.

Recommended text(s)

Faculty of Business 2006, Guide to Writing Assignments, Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney (www.business.uts.edu.au/resources/guide.html)

Anderson, Jonathan and Poole, Millicent, 3rd edn, 1998, Assignment & thesis writing, John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane.

Clark, Mona, 1998, Researching and writing dissertations in hospitality and tourism, International Thomson Business Press, London.

Lewins, Frank W, 4th edn, 1993, Writing a thesis: a guide to its nature and organisation, Bibliotech, ANUTECH, Canberra.

Morley-Warner, Terri 2000, Academic writing: a guide to writing in a university context, Centre for Research and Education in the Arts, Broadway, NSW.

White, B, 2003, Dissertation skills for business and management students, Continuum; Cassell: London.

Indicative references

Al-Qirim, NAY, 2006, Global electronic business research: opportunities and directions. Idea Group Pub.: Hershey, Pa.

Brotherton, Bob 1999, The handbook of contemporary hospitality management research, John Wiley and Son, Chichester.

Buglear, John 2000, Stats to Go: A Guide to Statistics for Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford.

Coakes, Sheridan J., and Steed, Lyndall G. 2001, SPSS andmdash; analysis without anguish: version 11.0 for Windows, Jacaranda Wiley, Brisbane.

Denzin, Norman K and Lincoln, Yvonna S (Eds) 1998, Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Faulkner, HW, Jago, L, Cooper, CP and Fredline, L. 2003, Progressing tourism research, Channel View: Clevedon.

Finn, M, Walton, M and Elliott-White, M. (2000), Tourism and Leisure Research Methods: Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation: Longman.

Gratton, C., and Jones, I. (2004), Research Methods for Sport Studies: Routledge.

Henderson, K. 1991, Dimensions of Choice: A Qualitative Approach to Recreation, Parks and Leisure Research, Venture Publishing, Pennsylvania.

Henderson, Karla A. and Bialeschki, M. Deborah 2002, Evaluating leisure services: making enlightened decisions, State College, PA : Venture Pub.

Jennings, Gayle 2001, Tourism research, Milton, Qld: John Wiley and Sons.

MacCallum, Judy and McBeth, Jim 1996, Collaborative Learning: Working Together in Small Groups, (audiovisual) a Gripping Films Production for Murdoch University Minichiello, V., R. Aroni, E. Timewell, and L. Alexander 1995, In-Depth Interviewing: Researching People, (2nd ed), Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

Phillimore, J. and Goodson, L. (eds) 2004, Qualitative Research in Tourism: Ontologies, Epistemologies and Methodologies, Routledge, London.

Ritchie, J. and Goeldner, C. 1994, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2nd Edition, Jacaranda Wiley, Brisbane.

Ryan, C. 1994, Researching Tourist Satisfaction : Issues, Concepts, Problems, Routledge, London

Thomas, JR, Nelson, JK and Silverman, SJ (2005), Research methods in physical activity (5th edn), Champaign, Ill. Leeds: Human Kinetics.

Veal, AJ and Ticehurst, B. (2005), Business research methods : a managerial approach (2nd edn) South Melbourne, Vic.: Pearson Addison Wesley.

Bryman, A and Bell, E. (2003), Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cooper, DR and Schindler, PS (2002), Business research methods (8th ed.), Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Zikmund, WG (2003), Business research methods (7th edn), Cincinnati, OH: Thomson/South-Western.