SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF TOURISM Alessandra Fermani alessandra.fermani@unimc.it SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF TOURISM

What is research? Dictionary Definitions of Research:   Dictionary Definitions of Research: "The act of searching closely or carefully for or after a specified thing or person" "An investigation directed to discovery of some fact by careful study of a subject" "A course of scientific enquiry" (where scientific = "producing demonstrative knowledge") Howard and Sharp (HS) define research as:  "seeking through methodical processes to add to bodies of knowledge by the discovery or elucidation of non-trivial facts, insights and improved understanding of situations, processes and mechanisms".   [Howard, K. and Sharp, J.A. The Management of a student research project, Gower, 1983 - a useful and practical “how to do it” guide]  20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

Circular process of social research 20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

5 steps 20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

Qualitative Research Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative Research is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem. Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations. The sample size is typically small, and respondents are selected to fulfil a given quota. Software: e.g Atlas ti 20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

Quantitative Research Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalize results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys – online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations. 20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

Unidirectional / bidirectional relationship between variables bidirectional (correlation, regression)_SPSS unidirectional (cause and effect) _LISREL, AMOS

SPSS 1 version 1968 IBM Last: 25 (2017) Language: java Java System: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux ect…

Manual and video http://www.ateneonline.it/chiorri/studenti/isbn6556-1_guidaSPSS.pdf ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/analytics/spss/documentation/statistics/20.0/en/client/Manuals/IBM_SPSS_Statistics_Core_System_Users_Guide.pdf Video (it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftU4TauCshg

We begin to get acquainted with the Software SPSS 20/09/2018 TITOLO PRESENTAZIONE

2 windows (version 22.0) Data view variable view (name, Type, with, decimals, label, values, missing, columns, align, measure) Application

Variables variable type: numeric or string Dependent: satisfation Independent: age, gender Ordinal: children, adolescents, adult etc… Likert scale eg. 1= never (disagree) 2 3 4 5 6 7 = always (agree) (odd - better) Dummy: dicotomic variables eg. Yes/no or gender