The Idea of Developing Tourism Through a National Park - Research Proposal Example

1. Research Philosophy, Approach and Strategy A research philosophy refers to the belief about how research should be carried out, or how data abouta given issue can be collected and analysed (Saunders et al, 2012). The belief of the current study is that data about tourism development in X can be collected by obtaining the perceptions of local communities regarding the issue. This is an interpretative approach. It was also utilized by Brunt and Courtney’s (1999) when they collected data about the effects of tourism in terms of socio-cultural aspects. The study’s respondents were given an opportunity to express their feelings and perceptions of how tourism impacts their lives in the natural environment. This approach enables the author to understand the viewpoint of the respondents who are directly affected by tourism. This philosophy calls for the use of social and subjective methods of research because the researcher interacts with the environment to obtain the information needed in the research (Lavrakas, 2008). There are two research approaches: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research is important for building theory while quantitative is important for theory testing, when theory is already developed. The current research uses a qualitative approach due to its philosophy of obtaining perceptions and sense of respondents. Literature review in past research indicates that studies in perceptions mostly use qualitative approach (Ormsby and Kaplin, 2005; Hartter, 2009). Qualitative research investigates how and why a decision is made. This investigates how tourism affects local communities. Saunders et al (2012) discuss two fundamental research approaches: deductive and inductive. Deductive research uses research that has been done before to come up with hypothesis and test it using an appropriate strategy. On the other hand, inductive research builds theory from already-collected data. This research is a qualitative research in which data about the perceptions of local communities was collected and used to develop a theory or a model. This research was conducted through primary research and analysis of literature because hypothesis could not be developed. Interviews Interviews are essential tools used to collect information needed in a qualitative research (Finlay & Lyons, 2001). Interviews are processes of asking questions to obtain information from participants in a study. Interviews may be carried out face to face, through telephone or email. During an interview, the interviewer should be a good listener and probing in order to respond adequately to what the participants are saying (Finlay & Lyons, 2001). The interviewer should remain silent sometimes in order to give interviewees time to think and respond. In the current study, the respondents were given enough time to think about their perceptions regarding tourism development in their local communities. The researcher listened carefully to the interviewees in order to understand the feelings of the local communities regarding the development of tourism in their localities. During the interview, the interviewer should also identify the type of discussion that arises and know the questions that need to be re-framed. Furthermore, the interviewer of this study needs to keep track of the experiences of interviewees concerning tourism development so that they understand what to address in upcoming interviews. The interviewer should also reflect on the behaviour and preconceptions of respondents during the interview; this will enhance necessary adjustments on the interview process. There are three types of interviews: unstructured, semi-structured and structured. Structured interviews are formal and the interviewees have to answer the predetermined and fixed questions guided by the interviewer (Finlay & Lyons, 2001). The unstructured interview could have very unpredicted direction, where the interview is guided by the interviewees rather than by the researcher. The semi structured interview is a combination of the two above. Here, the interviewee has a freedom to answer questions; however the researcher is in charge (Creswell, 2014). This study aims to investigate the perceptions of local communities towards tourism in X; therefore, semi structured interviews deemed the most suitable because it can elicit more personal responses and viewpoints from the chosen participants (Creswell, 2014). Semi-structured interviewing involved the use of a guide to provide questions that are intended to determine the perceptions of the local communities about tourism development. This type of interviewing led the researcher to identify key issues about the topic and answer the questions raised correctly. The choice of semi-structured interview in the study is supported by different researches. Wise (2011) for example, used semi structured interviews in his research on senses on communities. Semi-structured interviews have also been used previously in several other studies including Ormsby and Kaplin (2005) whose study sought to find out the perceptions of locals in the development of Madagascar’s Masoala National Park as a tourist attraction. Interview Questions The interview questions will be aimed at getting the local community’s perceptions about the idea of developing tourism through a national park. There are 15 primary questions and subsections as shown in the appendix. These questions have enable the researcher to get information that can be used to analyse the perceptions of local communities regarding the exclusion/inclusion, benefits and challenges of tourism development in the X. All the questions are relevant to the study and they may be developed as the interview progresses in order to align it to the study. The first part of the research questions addresses the sense of community and later perceptions on sustainable tourism development. The second section addresses community perceptions on inclusion/exclusion benefits, challenges or opportunities on tourism development within the national park. Both sections contribute to the overall objectives of the study because they present the senses and perceptions of local communities on tourism development within their localities. 2. Data Collection Techniques Under primary research, the researcher will use semi structured interviews (Bryman, 2012). In this case, the researcher will contact local authorities in the local area where tourism development is targeted. The local authorities will then suggest some people from the area to participate in the study. The chosen people will further suggest other locals who can become potential respondents for the study. This method in which one participant suggests another participant is called snowball sampling. (Saunders et al, 2012). Local people will participate in interviewing process via Skype. The researcher uses this method to understand the perceptions and attitudes of the local communities. The problem of snowballing is that a single network may end up with members choosing members from the same group, resulting in biased results. Through the snowballing sampling method, 11 respondents were initially selected and data was collected until saturation point. This research will utilize both digital and text data. The researcher will derive text data from review of past literature through secondary research. Semi-structured interviews are the main sources of digital data (Stewart, 2011). The discussions that result from interviews should be recorded so that the main points of the respondents are captured without distorting the information. 3. Qualitative Data Analysis/Interpretation After the data collection, qualitative analysis was carried out in several steps. Denscombe (2010) suggests that qualitative data analysis involves the following steps: identifying, coding and categorising the patterns of collected data. Interviews were tape-recorded on audiotape, transcribed into computer text files, and coded by interview question. The main challenge of this identification and coding process was that it was difficult to make participants focused due to the complexity and time-consuming nature of the exercise. In terms of interpretation, results from interviews can be interpreted using the impression of the observer. The collected data can then be analysed thoroughly and tested to ensure that they are consistent with the research questions (Bryman, 2008). Inconsistent information will be dropped. Reliability and validity of data will also be determined by relating the interpreted data to the research question and objectives. It should address the senses and perceptions of the respondents regarding the development of tourism through the national park. Ethics Britten (1995) suggests that ethics is an important aspect in qualitative research. This research will consider various ethical issues including confidentiality, privacy and originality. Data that has already been collected is legally protected, so they should only be used for research and referenced appropriately (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The participants are also guaranteed that their personal information cannot be exposed, and their participation is completely voluntary. There will also be complete anonymity; this is whereby the researcher would ensure that the participant remains anonymous throughout the study. (Saunders et al, 2009). Confidentiality and anonymity is important for the research because participants may fear being exposed, especially if they think the tourism development is not good for them; as that would make them look like they are opposed to development. Research Limitations This study has a few limitations just like any other research because there is no research that is perfect (Marshall and Rossman, 2006). The limitations include: a. Due to illness, student was forced to remove an ethnographic element of the research which would help to collect more in depth information on this research. b. Difficult to gain trust and find in another country people to participate via Skype from the UK. c. Losing the real meaning in translation from the foreign language to English. References Britten, N. (1995). Qualitative Research: Qualitative interviews in medical research. BMJ, 311, 251-253. Brunt, P., & Courtney, P. (1999). Host perceptions of sociocultural impacts. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(3), 493-515 Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: For small-scale social research projects. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press. Finlay, W.M.L. & Lyons, E. (2001). Methodological issues in interviewing and using self-report questionnaires with people with mental retardation. Psychological Assessment, 13(3), 319-335. Hartter, J. (2009). 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