RESEARCH METHODS IN TOURISM Nicos Rodosthenous PhD 25/04/ /4/20131Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report. 1.Introduction  This chapter is organized as a step-by-step introductory manual for operating the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software package for survey analysis. 2. Cases and variables  SPSS-and any other statistical analysis package-deals with data which are organized in terms of cases and variables. 25/4/20132Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report.  A case is a single example, such as an individual who has been interviewed, an employee of a company, a visitor to a country. So a sample is made up of a number of cases.  A variable is an item of information such as the gender of an individual, male or female, the number of staff of a company; the population of a country. 25/4/20133Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report Specifying variables:  In order to communicate with the SPSS program it is necessary to identify each item of data in the questionnaire by a variable name, such as : name, type, width, decimal places, label, values, missing, columns, alignment, measure and attitude. 3. SPSS procedures  3.1. Frequencies: the procedure can be run for one variable at a time or for a number of variables 25/4/20134Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report Checking for errors: after obtaining the frequencies printout for all variables it is necessary to check through the results for possible errors Multiple response: are single questions with a number of possible responses Recode: is a procedure which can be used to change the codes of variable values Means: is the same as an average, such as ages, incomes or expenditure. 25/4/20135Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report. 4. Presenting the results: statistical summary  Cross-tabulation, rows and columns, percentages, weighting, graphics (bar graph, stacked bar graph, pie chart and line graph) 5. Preparing a research report  The preparation of what is generally the final outcome of a research project is a written report.  It considers the varying demands of three types 25/4/20136Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report.  of report: 1) the management, planning, research project report, 2) the academic journal article 3) the thesis, each with different audiences.  The report includes the various ancillary components of a report, such as the cover, cover page, title page, list of contents, synopsis, abstract, executive summary, preface, foreword, and acknowledgements.  It then includes the main body of the report in terms of technical aspects, largely to do with 25/4/20137Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report.  format and structure and content.  Structure is emphasized as the key feature of research reports, particularly in their longer formats.  Writing of a good research report is an art and a skill which develops with practice.  An important point to bear in mind is the obvious fact that the audio-visual presentation is not the same as a written report. 25/4/20138Dr Nicos Rodosthenous

Survey analysis: defining variables; SPSS; the analysis process. Preparing a research report. 25/4/20139Dr Nicos Rodosthenous