Factors That Determine the Opinion of Customers Towards Taboo Foods - Assignment Example

Research Design This research will utilize a mixed method approach in an effort to undertake a rigorous analysis of the factors that determine the opinion of customers towards taboo foods. Notably, it is critical for hoteliers to understand the preferences of the customers if they are to deliver quality services. Taboo foods have remained a sensitive subject for many customers because of the negative connotation associated with them. This explains why adopting a mixed method approach will help in understanding how hotels can alter the perception of taboo foods by customers. A mixed methods approach utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. Qualitative techniques focus on understanding the salient meaning of human experiences (Cronholm and Hjalmarsson 89). In this specific research, the qualitative approach will target to understand the customers experiences concerning the consumption of taboo foods. A qualitative study will help in understanding different views, opinions, convictions, and attitudes of customers towards taboo foods. On the other hand, quantitative research will help in establishing any existing relationships between different variables identified in the research. Quantitative research helps in providing measurable evidence, which is useful in explaining the cause and effect relationships. Some research questions identified above will be best addressed using quantitative techniques. Prior to conducting both interviews and questionnaires, it is important to seek consent from both the interviewees and the respondents. This means that all the respondents and interviewees should sign an informed consent form (Sadan 258). This is a critical step in promoting ethical considerations in any research. The qualitative part of this research will seek to analyze the views of customers concerning their experience of taboo foods. Therefore, interviews prove to be the most effective data collection technique. Purposive sampling will serve as the most appropriate technique in the selection of interviewees. This means that customers who are likely to give the most productive answers will be the target of the interviews. Moreover, some hoteliers will attend the interview sessions in an effort to outline the approaches and the strategies they use in ensuring that customers can perceive taboo foods more positively. Since there is limited time and resources, a specific number of manageable interviewees will be selected. The interview sessions will involve the use of open-ended questions and recording of the answers from the interviewees in both a semi-structured and unstructured formats. For the interviews to be successful, an interactive approach between the researcher and the interviewees will be adopted. The interviews will use different types of questions such as hypothetical, ideal, interpretative, leading, loading, and multiple to enhance the efficiency of the interview session. The researcher will target to understand the experience, the opinion, feelings, knowledge, and input of the interviewees concerning the taboo foods (Venkatesh, Brown, and Bala 30). On the other hand, the quantitative study will utilize surveys in an effort to collect the required data. Random sampling will be used to identify the respondents of the survey. Notably, the sampling process is very critical in determining the validity of quantitative researches. A manageable sample that conforms to the available resources, but that is large enough to be a representative of the target population will be chosen. The questionnaires to be used in the research will be designed effectively in order to address the research questions identified. Research questions will be both open and closed ended. Moreover, the Likert scale will be used in ranking the responses from the respondents. The sample will be selected from customers of different hotels and restaurants in an effort to establish factors that determine their consumption of taboo foods. Surveys are the most effective data collection methods in such a situation because they can reach a remarkably high number of respondents. Structured questionnaires are the most effective in this kind of research. They will include numbers that reflect the frequency of consumption of taboo food as well as the level of satisfaction. In order to design an effective questionnaire, the researcher will focus on the response format, question content, as well as phrasing. These strategies are some of the aspects that determine the quality of the questionnaire (Venkatesh, Brown, and Bala 37). Face-to-face surveys will be conducted. This means that the researchers will approach the respondents and present them with the questionnaire while recording the responses. This approach is effective, as it will ensure a higher response rate and an established control of the respondents filling in the questionnaires. However, there is a need to make adjustments for cost and time for face-to-face questionnaires. Data Analysis After the successful collection of data through interviews in the qualitative approach, there is a need for a rigorous analytical process in an effort to define the meaning of the collected data. The researcher should rely on summaries made during the interviews as well as self-memos in an effort to analyze qualitative data. The data analysis process should identify theories, themes, and characteristics. Different coding and transcription techniques are used in the analysis of qualitative data. The process of data analysis in qualitative approaches has five main steps. The first step includes the data organization, followed by the identification of frameworks. The third step involves sorting the data to fit into different frameworks. In the fourth step, the frameworks are used for descriptive analysis. The final step is the second order analysis (Cronholm and Hjalmarsson 91). On the other hand, analysis of data obtained from the questionnaires relies on the use of statistical tools and techniques. SPSS is the most effective tool used in the analysis of quantitative data. The purpose of analyzing the quantitative data is ensuring that the correlation between different variables is identified. The presentation of data in terms of tables, graphs and summaries, which are easy to perceive then follows. Successful data analysis is critical for the interpretation of the data. Moreover, it determines whether the researcher can address the research question effectively. After analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, the research will integrate findings from both approaches in an effort to address all the research questions. Notably, a mixed method approach gives multiple perspectives of the research question (Sadan 260). Interpretation of the data obtained will be of critical importance in defining recommendations that can help hoteliers in improving the sales of taboo foods. Work Cited Cronholm, Stefan, and Anders Hjalmarsson. "Experiences From Sequential Use Of Mixed Methods." Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 9.2 (2011): 87-95. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Sadan, Vathsala. "Mixed Methods Research: A New Approach." International Journal of Nursing Education 6.1 (2014): 254-260. CINAHL Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Venkatesh, Viswanath, Susan A. Brown, and Hillol Bala. "Bridging The Qualitative-Quantitative Divide: Guidelines For Conducting Mixed Methods Research In Information Systems." MIS Quarterly 37.1 (2013): 21-54. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Read More