Assignment Sample on Research Methods For The Services Sector
Introduction
Conceptualisation of proper research methods can be extensively supportive behind the
generation of effective outcomes. The present research has been attentive to highlight critical
evaluation of research methods from two different journal articles. The content of article 1
has been reflecting successive incorporation of gender approach within the hospitality
industry. In this regard, the female executive perceptions are highly preferred throughout this
article as an integral part of focusing on gender approach and strategies followed within the
hospitality industrial corporate environment. However, the content of the second article has
been indicating the consequences of adventure tourism while considering Argentina. In this
case, clear focus has been kept on indicating gradual emergence of Argentina as a popular
and recognised place for adventure tourism.
With reference to shade light on the preferred research methods and processes within the
chosen articles, the present report would be structured by focusing on identification and
critical evaluation of the research methods. In this regard, greater focus would be kept on
successive evaluation of the research paradigms followed in both the articles. Along with
highlighting preferred methodological concepts and variables, this report would also evaluate
actual methods by the researcher to complete the general articles. Along with this, potential
strength and weaknesses of the considered approaches would also be signified in this report.
Lastly, an assumption would also be created regarding the preferences of other respective
approaches and methods for the selected articles.
Article 1:
Critical evaluation of the methodology and methods used in the research
The study was done as part of a wider initiative called "Glass Ceiling in the Tourism Sector,"
and it built on the findings of the previous phase (Magaldi and Berler, 2020). Job
stereotyping and a sharp decline in the number of women in managerial positions in larger
hotels were both made clear in the first phase. The necessity for more investigation in the
second phase was supported by the background data. The use of qualitative methodologies to
assess women's experiences in leadership roles in the hotel sector was supported by the
researchers' exploratory approach (Ahlin, 2019). Interviews that were semi-structured with 30
female executives holding the highest ranks in the industry were used to gather qualitative
data (Segovia-Pérez et al. 2019).
Face-to-face interviews were used to conduct in-depth analyses and comprehend the
perspectives of the participants. The research employed the "snowball" sample strategy, in
which the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation was the first source
of participants, and subsequent interviewers were chosen through referrals from those
original participants (Segovia-Pérez et al. 2019). The researchers claimed that while the
snowball approach may introduce certain biases and produce a sample that is potentially
homogeneous, this issue was lessened by the diversity of the respondents' personal qualities,
jobs, and employers (Belina, 2022).
The study's participants represented a variety of ages, marital situations, and hotel sector
managerial positions. The sample's diversity improved the findings' validity and provided a
deeper knowledge of the experiences of female CEOs (Segovia-Pérez et al. 2019). Data
analysis was done in a methodical manner. A multi-step procedure that included
familiarisation, data reduction, pattern discovery, re-construction, and generalisation was
used to transcribe and analyse the interviews. The researchers employed Risman's concept,
"Gender as a Social Structure" as the basis for data analysis. The study began with a model-
based guided approach, which was followed by traditional content analysis to gather more
pertinent data (Bearman, 2019). This two-step procedure made it easier to identify variables
and create a particular model for the hospitality business. It should be noted, nevertheless,
that the data analysis was done manually without the use of any software or statistical
methods. Manual analysis can deepen understanding of the topic being studied, but it also
carries the risk of subjectivity and possible biases in the interpretation of the data.
Evaluations of the research paradigms
The study's qualitative research paradigm was well suited for examining the perspectives and
experiences of female executives working in the hotel sector. In-depth examination and
interpretation of subjective experiences are key components of qualitative research, which
tries to explain complex phenomena in the context of their natural environments (Fraij,
2021). The researchers were able to collect extensive and nuanced data by conducting
interviews that were partially structured with female CEOs, providing a deeper understanding
of the challenges and opportunities that contribute to women's growth in the field (Segovia-
Pérez et al. 2019). The exploratory character of the study and the qualitative technique were
complementary, as the researchers sought to find and comprehend the numerous elements
impacting the advancement of women into managerial roles.
The qualitative paradigm enabled the participants to express their distinctive viewpoints and
contribute to a thorough knowledge of the phenomena under inquiry through open-ended
questions and flexible interview guidelines.
Methods Used and the Techniques of data analysis
The researchers employed a multi-step process for data analysis, which included several
methods and strategies to make sense of the qualitative data obtained from the interviews.
The researchers familiarized themselves with the information by transcription of the
interviews. In order to completely comprehend the viewpoints of the participants, this stage
included attentively listening to the interview tapes, and transcribing them completely (Low,
2019). The data was then reduced by breaking up the transcribed interviews into smaller,
comprehensible segments in the next step. The researchers recognised and designated key
themes, ideas, and sequences within the data to simplify further analysis (Segovia-Pérez et al.
2019). Based on the data, the researchers created hypotheses and conceptual frameworks
unique to the hospitality sector as the investigation went on. With regard to the glass ceiling
and the progress of women in management roles, these theories sought to explain the
obstacles, root causes, and potential solutions. Notably, the data analysis was carried out
manually without the use of specialised tools or statistical methods (Tavory, 2020). To
produce insights and provide a comprehensive knowledge of the phenomena under study, the
researchers drew on their experience, careful interpretation, and thorough immersion in the
data.
Strengths and weaknesses of these approaches
One of the major strengths of the research approach was the semi-structured interviews were
used to conduct in-depth analyses of the experiences, perspectives, and difficulties that
female executives in the hotel sector experienced. The interviews' open-ended format gave
participants the freedom to openly express their ideas and past experiences, producing rich
and in-depth data. The researchers were able to record the contextual details of the
individuals' experiences thanks to qualitative methodologies like interviews (Belina, 2022).
The researchers were able to dive into the particular organisational and industrial factors that
influence gender dynamics in the hotel sector by conducting face-to-face interviews. This
method made it easier to comprehend the participants' tales and the larger social processes at
work (Segovia-Pérez et al. 2019).
However, there are drawbacks as well, for instance, subjectivity and prejudice among
researchers might affect qualitative research. The interpretation and analysis of qualitative
data strongly depend on the viewpoints of the researchers, who may include their biases or
previous beliefs in the results. Despite attempts to reduce bias through a methodical research
process, subjectivity still has the potential to be a drawback (Ahlin, 2019). Although the
study used a combination of methodologies, the second stage heavily depended on qualitative
data analysis. The inability to evaluate and support the conclusions with statistical data is a
result of the lack of a rigorous quantitative investigation. The gender dynamics in the hotel
business would have been better understood with the aid of a more substantial quantitative
component.
Could other approaches have been used
The overall article has indicated the preference of qualitative research strategy and choice in
support of secondary data collection methods. In this case, the researcher could have
preferred the usage of primary data collection techniques for collecting relevant research
information. The incorporation of primary methods could have added a fair value to this
article with the inclusion of real time and first-hand information, which may have contributed
to the extension of research validity and accountability (HR and Aithal, 2022). Even, this
article has highlighted the consequences of the hospitality industry which abruptly changes
with the gradual transformation of consumer purchasing behaviour as well as ongoing market
trends. Thus, the incorporation of primary data could have been helpful in terms of deriving
the hospitality industrial managers and employees’ perceptions regarding existing gender
approach and its effectiveness in the corporate environment.
Moreover, the exploratory qualitative data has been included in this article. In this case, the
incorporation of quantitative methodology would have been extremely fruitful for this article
in terms of deriving subjective nature in relation to the research topic and arena (Bloomfield
and Fisher, 2019). Hence, the article could have been able to more critically focus on the
consequences of gender approach and equality followed within the hospitality industry.
On the other hand, the research could have also preferred descriptive design. This approach
could have been supportive to ensure an in-depth evaluation of the research problem and
context. Therefore, the article could critically evaluate the influential factors affecting gender
approaches in the hospitality sector.
Article 2:
Evaluating the methodology and methods used in the research
The entire methodology structured by O’Reilly et al. (2022), focuses on a qualitative research
aspect, which has been one of the major criteria that have allowed the researcher in terms of
understanding the context of the brand to a specific context and a particular type of tourism.
The method for the study was gathered during the early summer months of January and
December utilising the tourist intercept technique. Two trained research assistants conducted
a survey-based interview with international tourists on the streets of Argentina near
significant local tourist attractions (O’Reilly et al. 2022). For example, Plaza Independencia,
Cerro de Gloria, and significant others. While it has been noted that during the structure of
the entire methodology, the researcher has focused on understanding the actual prospect of
the sample participants along with their comfortableness which has improved the data
integrity along with research effectiveness (Burrell et al. 2022).
Referring to this, it has been noted that O’Reilly et al. (2022) in terms of understanding the
research requirements have identified that English is not always the first language of visitors
in Argentina, it is a widely used language in the country's tourism industry. Therefore, this
sample approach yielded meaningful replies from 300 tourists in Argentina despite the set
that it was not carefully recorded, the author and research assistant claim that less than 10%
of individual has been approached who have refused to participate in the entire study.
However, with the context of research efficiency, O’Reilly et al. (2022) significantly
improves their understanding in terms of strategizing their methodology with a better
surveying instrument, analysis, and structuring results based on the hypothesis.
Evaluations of the research paradigms
The survey interview has been supported by a quantitative research paradigm which has
significantly improved the entire research analysis (Mulisa, 2022). Thus, O’Reilly et al.
(2022) have focused on the entire context of previous researchers along with understanding
the statistics around the world where a cultural destination is the aspect of tourism and major
natural assets. Similarly, Argentina has been specifically analysed by O’Reilly et al. (2022) in
terms of focusing on literature review context with a place image, adventure tourism, and
mountain-based adventure tourism.
All of these aspects have been significantly researched with a paradigm under which the
hypothesis has been constructed basically to address the entire research purpose with a
quantitative prospect. O’Reilly et al. (2022) has a decent number of approaches to both
Argentina and non-Argentina participants where 57% of them are males. Thus, the whole
research has been supported with the sampling method that has allowed the research to
collect all categories of tourists to Argentina along with differentiating adventure travellers
from other tourists. In this connection, 4 questions were used to classify the travellers, as
adventurous tourists based on their experience, their perception of the nation, or whether or
not they describe the trip as an adventure (O’Reilly et al. 2022).
Actual methods used and the techniques of data analysis
The actual matter that has been used in terms of analysing the entire survey respondents and
information about the serving instrument. This includes the number of place image
construction and their 5-points scale extracted from a highly cited paper that investigated the
links between characteristics in the tourism sector. In this connection to the study,
interviewing and content analysis create a pool of items that correspond to the study
instruments (Hosseini et al. 2022). Moreover, O’Reilly et al. (2022) have examined the place
image constructs under research prior to hypothesis testing. Additionally, O’Reilly et al.
(2022) have discovered satisfactory loading of the peaceful items with environmental beliefs
while using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability statistics.
In order to undertake the analysis of individuals the entire analysis to test H1 focused on the
place images with the help of ANOVA test that is significantly performed using SPSS
statistics 26. This has acknowledged the aspect of significant differences in the responses of
adventure tourists versus general tourism. Even, O’Reilly et al. (2022) analyse H2 with a
focus on the relationship between different dimensions and independent variables such as
competency, country character, and country valuation in the study. Moreover, in terms of
testing H3, the relationship between the independent variable with the destination evaluation
has been the major focus. Thus, a district perspective has been constructed with a group
display with an appropriate evaluation and analysis.
Strengths and weaknesses of these approaches
The above discussion has made it clear that the research of O’Reilly et al. (2022) has been
conducted by incorporating the quantitative research approach. The study is completed based
on the findings of a survey. The strengths of this particular research approach include
quantification, statistical analysis, and efficient data collection. Specifically, the quantitative
approach allows researchers to gather numerical data, which can further be interpreted or
analysed by utilising statistical methods that are its most significant strength (Sürücü and
MASLAKÇI, 2020). Apart from that, a survey also allows researchers to collect information
in a more logical and efficient way from a sample that is geographically dispersed. Hence, in
the study of O’Reilly et al. (2022), survey-based interviews have been conducted with
international tourists. Furthermore, the quantitative approach also assists researchers to
collect data from dispersed samples within a short time period (Egger et al. 2021). Even this
approach has a great potential to encourage researchers and assist them to collect information
from a wide range of respondents, which makes this approach a practical choice for
researchers.
In contrast, this approach has some weaknesses such as biased responses and lack of
contextual information. Specifically, the responses in quantitative research can be influenced
by the biases of participants (Mohajan, 2020). Moreover, there can be a lack of contextual
information as this approach emphasises direct responses from respondents. Therefore, it is
understood that the quantitative approach cannot be considered as the most appropriate
method for each research project, which requires an in-depth understanding of complex social
dynamics and contextual knowledge.
Could other approaches have been used
This article has paid attention to consider the primary method of data collection in the form of
quantitative research strategy. A survey based interview process has been followed in this
article. However, the researcher could have taken a different approach by including
secondary data collection to support the primary data as well as perceptions of the survey
respondents. With the help of this, the opinions of the survey respondents could have been
evidently supported with the help of valid and authentic secondary information collected
from relevant websites as well as news articles covering valuable insights about this research
topic. Apart from that, the combination of both primary and secondary data could have also
contributed to this research article with extended criticality in terms of supporting empirical
assessment of Argentina as a place brand for mountain based adventure tourism and others.
Along with this, the researcher could also have depended on the consideration of primary
qualitative data by conducting interview sessions with the members of governmental
department of tourism in Argentina (Flemming and Noyes, 2021). Their quotations and
perceptions could have been helpful to outline the existing status as well as future
opportunities for the growth of adventure tourism throughout the country with a positive
influence over consumer purchasing intention. Moreover, the research could have established
a profound interlink between the findings from both primary and secondary data while
ensuring distinctive credibility and preference of this research among the students as well as
professionals throughout the globe.
Conclusion and recommendation
Based on the overall report, a clear understanding has been generated regarding the
applications of different research methods and concepts within the research context. In this
regard, the first article is completed with the use of secondary data in support of qualitative
choice. This aspect has been beneficial for supporting the research credibility in terms of
identifying the prospects of gender approaches followed by the hospitality service providers.
The second article has eventually reflected survey based interviews to find out the
effectiveness of Argentina as a place brand for adventure tourism. However, a secondary
approach may also have been preferred in this article for supporting the primary data with
secondary information. Along with this, the consideration of the ANOVA test has also added
a greater value to this article in terms of signifying the difference between the responses of
adventure tourists and general tourists.
With reference to the overall evaluation, different suggestions can be provided for further
improvement of the research articles with the preference of effective research methods and
concepts. For the first article, the researcher is suggested to focus on the incorporation of
secondary data and information as an integral part of conceptualising evidence based
interpretation to the research context and topic. For the second article, it is highly suggested
to consider a mixed method approach as a substantial parameter of supporting the primary
information through secondary data. In this case, the government publications and sources
regarding adventure tourism in Argentina could have been included, which may enhance the
research credibility and accountability.
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