The Potential Contribution of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to Climate Change by I. Otto and E.T. Heath - Article Example

A critique of an article written by I. Otto and E.T. Heath titled: The Potential Contribution of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to Climate Change: An Exploratory Study among Tourism Industry Stakeholders in Tshwane Metropolis of South Africa. Article Critique Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Executive summary This paper is a critique of an article written by I. Otto and E.T. Heath titled: The Potential Contribution of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to Climate Change: An Exploratory Study among Tourism Industry Stakeholders in Tshwane Metropolis of South Africa. The authors were able to state the main theme of their study clearly. A thorough literature review was also conducted by the authors and was able to identify knowledge gaps that justified the undertaking of the study. Data sampling using purposive and snowball methods was appropriate. The conclusions made by the authors are also supported by the results obtained. However, the reliability of the study is wanting as appreciated by the authors since the participants were limited in number hence the results may not be able to be replicated when carried out at another time. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 The main theme 4 Research problem 5 Importance of the study 6 Assessment of literature review 6 Assessment of research methodology 7 Data collection tools 8 Evaluation of data collection tools 9 Ethical issues relating to data collection 9 Sampling methods and validity and reliability 9 Assessment of data analysis 10 Relationship between results and conclusion 10 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction In this paper we critique an article written by I. Otto and E.T. Heath titled: The Potential Contribution of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to Climate Change: An Exploratory Study among Tourism Industry Stakeholders in Tshwane Metropolis of South Africa. The article will be critiqued in following order: the main theme, research problem, importance of the study, assessment of literature review, assessment of research methodology, data collection tools, evaluation of data collection tools, ethical issues relating to data collection, sampling methods and validity and reliability, assessment of data analysis and relationship between results and conclusion. The main theme Research theme is a detailed sentence, which summarizes what the researcher, intends to argue in his research (Hall, 2008). The research theme lists at least three and not more than five arguments supporting the theme of the author. It forms the basis of the body of the research paper. It provides a summary of the research in less than fifty words (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). A research them is often introduced in the first few sentences of introduction section of a research paper. In Otto and Heath article, the main theme of their research is provided in the following sentence: “With increasing emphasis being placed on environmental sustainability, there is a growing need to identify the key areas where mega events can impact on climate change and to proactively develop and implement appropriate environmental management guidelines and processes for mega events that consider climate change factors.” This sentence provides arguments necessitating the study of the two authors and it forms the basis of the body of the paper. It is also stated in the first few sentences of the background section of the paper. Thus, the theme of the authors is relevant to their study since it is in line with what is being discussed in the whole paper. Research problem The statement, which is used to identify issues to be studied in a research, is referred to as the research question or research problem (Scott and Becken, 2010). Research problem is the situation, which compels the research to feel apprehensive of carrying out the study (Hall, 2008). For one to be able to formulate a research question which is strong he or she should be familiar with the field of research (Heymann and Ehmer, 2009). In addition, he or she should be familiar with vital research questions in his or her area of study. The researcher should also be able to identify fields which require more research to be able to formulate a research question (Becken and Hay, 2007). The research question should be aimed at bringing more understanding to the field of study or filling a knowledge gap (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). The researchers also need to know what has already been done in the field of study and what needs to be improved to be able to formulate a research question (Heymann and Ehmer, 2009). The relevance of the study also is vital in the formulation of the research question. Finally, the significance of the knowledge gained in the proposed study should be considered able to formulate a research question (Scott and Becken, 2010). The research problem for the study under critique is that very little research has been done regarding climate change and mega events such as the 2010 soccer world cup (Higham, 2005). The authors were compelled to carry out this study because they could not identify any relevant research which could calculate the contributions a mega event such as 2010 soccer world cup could have on climate change. Given that the authors were able to identify a gap in literature, their research problem was relevant and has a contribution in how such events ought to be approached to reduce its negative impact on climate change. Importance of the study Study purpose outlines the aim of the study (Peeters, 2008). It often appears in the abstract and at the end of the introduction. The authors have clearly outlined the purpose of the study in the abstract and the background section of their research paper. Their aim of study was to determine the perceptions regarding the possible impacts of mega events such as the 2010 Soccer World Cup on climate change among the tourism industry stakeholders within Tshwane, including: public tourism enterprises, private tourism enterprises, the Tshwane 2010 Organizing Committee, environmental and tourism experts. The study purpose was in line with the research topic hence it was appropriate. Assessment of literature review Literature review usually provides objective account to research studies on previous works on the topic under research (Peeters, 2008). It helps the researcher to indentify gaps in literature and studies to be able to provide information that can fill these gaps (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). The authors were able to identify knowledge gaps in their literature review. For instance, the authors point out that several research has been conducted pertaining tourism and climate change but little research has been done regarding climate change and mega events such as the 2010 soccer world cup (Scott and Becken, 2010). The authors provide statistical evidence as to the contribution of tourism to climate change in various parts of the world to justify the need that compelled them to undertake the study. From the statistics provided by authors in literature review, transports accounts for the major greenhouse emission from tourism industry and the authors argue that there is need to monitor the full impact from the other sub-sectors to build the bigger picture in regard to tourism and its impact on climate change. The authors also carried out an extensive literature review which was relevant to the study topic. Even though the authors tried to use references which were up to date in their literature review, most of them are dated more than three years. For instance, the authors seldom use of articles written in 2008 and 2009. In spite this limitation, the authors were able to comprehensively synthesize the information cited in literature review and link it to their study. The review tried to link the existing knowledge concerning the impact of tourism on climate change to the impact of mega events such as world cup 2010 on climate change. The authors were also able to provide definition of major terms used in their research paper such as climate change and the mega event. This helps the readers in understanding what the authors are talking about (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). The fact that the authors found out that little research has been done regarding climate change and mega events such as the 2010 soccer world cup was a reason enough for carrying out the study. Thus by finding the relationship between mega events and climate change, the authors are able to address the existing knowledge gap in this area that the authors studied. Thus, the literature review has made it easy to identify the purpose of study undertaken by the author. Assessment of research methodology Research methodology is a simple set of methods or procedures that are used in a certain study. This study employed a qualitative research methodology (Amelung, Nicholls, and Viner, 2007). The aim of qualitative research is to explore, discover, understand or describe phenomena that have already been identified but are not well understood (Scott and Becken, 2010). The tools that are used for qualitative research include observations and interviews and the methodological tool is interpretation. In this sort of research, theories are often ‘grounded’ in data and ethnographic and narrative methods are used to assist in the interpretation and understanding of social interactions and phenomena (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). The authors employed interviews to collect their data. This methodology was appropriate in addressing the research problem of the study (Hamilton and Tol, 2007). Qualitative method is used by researchers when their intention is to gather the opinions of experts or participants. This is in line with the authors of this study whose intention was to gather opinions of participants and experts in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The methodology is consistent with the theme of the study since from literature review, the authors identified some existing data on the impact of tourism on climate change and they were out to provide some evidence concerning the contribution of mega events to climate change. Data collection tools Structured and semi structured interviews were used to collect data in the study. Interviews allow respondents to talk about their perspectives on a particular subject (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). Open-ended questions prepared by researchers are used to obtain information from the participants in addition to other questions that may arise during the interview. The authors applied a modified convergent interview type and interview based on grounded theory through adjustment of subsequent interview based on the findings and interpretation of the previous interviews. Evaluation of data collection tools Interviews have the advantage of being simple, efficient and practical way of obtaining data about things that cannot be easily observed (Hall, 2008). They also have high validity since respondents are able to talk about things in detail and depth (Veal, 2010). The use of interviews by the authors was appropriate since their aim was to uncover the perceptions, beliefs and meaning that people have constructed. Ethical issues relating to data collection Participation in the study was on voluntary basis since the authors’ state that no participant was given any incentive to motivate them to participate in the study. The identity of participants was concealed and instead they were given codes for the purpose of data analysis. Thus, no information could be traced to a particular participant. Thus, data collection was ethical. Sampling methods and validity and reliability Study participants in qualitative research are recruited depending on their experience or exposure to the phenomenon under investigation. The study used purposive and snowball sampling methods to identify key individuals within various stakeholder groups. The methods were valid and reliable since they led to identification of individuals who had experience and exposure to events of 2010 Soccer World Cup. However, the number of those who accepted to participate in the study was very small (19 individuals) and thus to have such results being used to make conclusions needs further investigation (Amelung, Nicholls, and Viner, 2007). Given that only one participant was taken from each group of stakeholders, there can be cases of some biasness or exaggeration (Scott, 2008). Thus, it might not be possible to replicate the results obtained in this study if a similar study was undertaken (Heymann and Ehmer, 2009). Therefore, as discussed by the authors, the reliability of their study is not conclusive and hence cannot be used to make general conclusions. Assessment of data analysis A thematic data analysis was undertaken in the study (Kachel and Jennings, 2010). The analysis process involved interview tape recording transcription, categorization into themes in relation to study objectives, identification of patterns and interpretation of the patterns (Perch-Nielsen, S. 2010). The authors grouped the data in accordance to the source of origin. This is because the source of origin and setting of the case could have some effect on the data. Thus, the findings were credible. Relationship between results and conclusion The authors’ conclusion is supported by their findings (Hall, 2008). From the results of their investigations, it is apparent that there exist a relationship between the tourism industry and the climate change. The findings of the authors show that many of activities undertaken during major events such as transportation impact on climate change (Amelung, Nicholls, and Viner, 2007). Their investigations indicate that players in the industry are aware of the impacts of different activities on climate change and some even propose ways of combating such activities which contribute to pollution of the environment. Thus, their conclusions are supported by the findings of the study. Conclusion The authors of the paper were able to spell clearly the theme of their study. In addition, the authors were able to carry out a substantial thorough literature review that was able to identify knowledge gaps that needed to be studied. Thus, they were able to justify the need for their study through literature review. Data sampling using purposive and snowball methods was appropriate since the study was a qualitative research which requires recruitment of participants with either experience or expertise in the area under study. The conclusions made by the authors are also supported by the results obtained. However, the reliability of the study is wanting as appreciated by the authors since the participants were limited in number hence the results may not be able to be replicated when carried out at another time. References Amelung, B., Nicholls, S., and Viner, D. 2007. Implications of Global Climate Change for Tourism Flows and Seasonality. 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