Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Published by YACOPublishing
2015 Dr. Miguel Moital
Contents
Full Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
COPYRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HELP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vi
DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vii
viii
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ix
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
3
4
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
13
14
15
CONTENTS
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
18
18
20
21
22
24
5. THE INTRODUCTION
5.1 Purpose . . . . . .
5.2 Writing objectives .
5.3 Writing tips . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
27
27
35
40
6. LITERATURE REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2 Types of literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3 Stages of the literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Intellectual depth ladder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5 Using summary tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.6 Reviewing results or the characteristics of the research?
6.7 Writing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
42
42
43
45
48
52
55
56
7. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1 Process, Process, Process! . . . . . .
7.2 The research process as a trip . . . .
7.3 Explaining methodological choices .
7.4 Explaining qualitative data analysis
7.5 Characteristics of the sample . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
58
58
59
59
64
65
8. RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.1 What data should be included in the results chapter?
8.2 Quantitative results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3 Qualitative results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
67
67
68
72
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
80
80
81
82
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CONTENTS
9.4
9.5
84
84
ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in practice .
ACTIVITY 4.2: Multi-level arguments in practice . . . . .
ACTIVITY 5.1: Analysing the structure of an introduction
ACTIVITY 5.2: Process and End objectives . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
86
86
87
88
91
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in practice
ACTIVITY 4.2: Multi-level arguments in practice . . . .
ACTIVITY 5.2: Process and End objectives . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
92
92
94
95
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
.
.
.
.
ii
iii
iv
COPYRIGHT
All Rights Reserved
All content and images contained in this document are owned by Dr. Miguel Moital.
You may print it for personal purposes only. Academic tutors may use small portions
of the content of this book in their academic activity. All other uses, including use
for commercial purposes, requires the prior written permission of Dr. Miguel Moital.
HELP!
This eBook is work in progress. This is just the first edition of what is intended to be
a live document. Therefore, I encourage those who are using this eBook to share their
thoughts about the tips and tools with me. Is there anything that is not clear? Could
I have provided an additional explanation that could have helped you? Welcome to
the age of co-production.
You can contact me:
by email email
through my blog.
https://mmoital@hotmail.com
http://miguelmoital.blogspot.co.uk/
DEDICATION
To my students, who have been the main inspiration for this book
PREFACE
If you ask me what the most enjoyable part of my job is, I will answer with no
hesitation: supervise dissertations (and theses). I love seeing students evolve as
researchers and I am often amazed at their ability to grow their research skills in
such a short period of time. While most of this evolution is down to the students
commitment to do a good dissertation, I, as supervisor, can steer the student in the
right direction (and away from mistakes).
Over the years I also have learned a lot from the students that I supervised, making
me a better researcher and supervisor. During my supervision appointments I often
end up thinking to myself wow, I had never though of that!. Luckily, I have had
many students that challenged my intellect. I remember a particular supervision
where the nature of the work the student was carrying out was so innovative that
I often felt out of my depth. In the end the student managed to do a very good
dissertation, from which we managed to publish a journal article! It was a learning
experience to me as much as to the student. Perhaps it is their ability to make me
think, to enhance my knowledge and to challenge my research practice that makes
supervising dissertations the most enjoyable part of my job.
Final year students doing the two undergraduate courses I teach on (BA (Hons)
Events Management and BA (Hons) Events & Leisure Marketing) and MSc Events
students have to write a dissertation. This is a major piece of work as it counts as
a double unit (Undergraduate) and triple unit (Masters). Therefore, it is no surprise
that students put a lot of effort in to doing their dissertation. As a consequence,
they also request support from their supervisors frequently. With all the pressures
coming from the multiple demands of an academic job, my main challenge is to
provide meaningful support without consuming too much time. This is even more
challenging when one considers that I often have to supervise students from diverse
cultural and educational backgrounds.
Over the past 9 years I supervised over 60 Undegraduate dissertations and 25 Masters
dissertations. In addition, I marked as many dissertations supervised by colleagues
(all dissertations at my School are marked by the supervisor and a second academic).
PREFACE
I have been confronted with countless situations that required not only identifying
the strengths and weaknesses of a dissertation, but also finding an appropriate way
to explain how the student could have done things differently.
Although sometimes students would prefer me to tell them the answer, my focus
is on giving them the skills to be able to find the answer themselves. These generic
skills, once understood and learned, can be applied to much of the work required to
complete a good dissertation (or a research project), but also to other parts of life (e.g.
produce stronger arguments, better communicate ideas). In other words, my focus is
on helping students to learn how to be better at catching fish rather than on giving
them the fish.
Over time, I developed a portfolio of tips and tools that helped many students to
improve, sometimes significantly, their dissertation. When explaining some of the
material covered in this book to my students, I often find myself looking at their faces
and seeing that they just had an Eureka moment. A moment when they change the
way they view, and do, research forever. It does not need to involve a massive change.
It is, as I often tell them, just another piece of the jigsaw puzzle that has been put in
a different, better place.
This book should not be seen as another book competing with the many books on
dissertation research skills. The book aims neither to be exhaustive nor to explain
the whole dissertation research process. Instead it should be seen as complement
and an add-on to such books. While I do include new material, I also adapt existing
knowledge, expand it and/or explain it in a different way so as to make it easier for
the students to understand it.
For example, I did not create the knowledge about the structure of an argument, but
the analogy of the house is my take on how you can explain an argument using a
common sense example. Student feedback suggests that this analogy achieves its
intended purpose to a good extent. Some of the material covers unwritten rules
that I have identified as associated to a good dissertation.
Although most of them will not be aware of it, my students have had a lot of input
into this book. After all, many of the ideas contained in this book came from my
interaction with them. In one form or another, I have shared many of the tips and
tools with them and then saw if they were useful or not (i.e., improved the quality
of their work). Other areas are untested.
PREFACE
xi
Students can use this book as self-help (acting as a virtual supervisor, as I tell
my students), but also as a basis for discussions with their supervisor(s). Although
it is written having students in mind, this book is also expected to be helpful
to supervisors. Supervisors can use this book to enhance their portfolio of tips
and tools, hopefully improving their ability to help students to produce better
dissertations. While the examples given are related to my field of study (events,
leisure, tourism and hospitality), by focusing on generic dissertation skills which are
applicable to virtually any dissertation, I trust that most dissertation students will
find this book useful.
1. INTRODUCTION
The meaning of the word dissertation, monography and thesis varies across the
world. In this ebook, a dissertation is viewed as resulting from a research project that
involves the collection of data. This data is obtained through a rigorous process of
designing, implementing, analysing and reporting. It usually involves primary data
generated through a variation of collection methods that may include interviews,
questionnaires, experiments, observation or document analysis. However, the data
need not to be primary only; much of what is covered in this book is relevant to
research projects based on secondary data.
My supervision style distinguishes two key skills required to produce a high standard
dissertation. The first focuses on the process of research, leading to the collection and
analysis of high quality data. The emphasis during this stage is on elements such as
defining the scope of the study, getting familiar with the literature review, developing
the conceptual framework, designing the data collection instrument, collecting the
data and analysing it using suitable methods.
I emphasise the research process elements a lot and often my students have done
a great job collecting their data, ending up with high quality data. The quality of
the dissertation then is very much dependent on their ability to make the most of
the potential their data is giving them. In other words, they have the basis to tell a
great story; now their challenge is to make sure the report is able to accurately and
confidently tell the story. Therefore, the second stage of my supervision focuses very
much on communication, that is, writing up the report in a way that makes the most
of the data collected. Much of this book is about the latter, however references to the
the process of research will also be made.
The communication stage is concerned with making sure that the story the dissertation will be telling meets six criteria, expressed in the form of 6 Cs: Confined,
Corroborated, Critical, Coherent, Concise and Captivating. The range of tips and
tools presented in this book aim, in one way or the other, to contribute to fulfilling
the 6 Cs. The next chapter explains each of the 6 Cs in detail.
2. THE 6 Cs OF ACADEMIC
WRITING EXCELLENCE
When supervising students I usually emphasise two broad skills required to produce a
high standard dissertation. The first focuses on the process of research that underpins
the dissertationt, leading to the collection and analysis of evidence that answers the
question(s) the dissertation is addressing (i.e. its objective(s)). The emphasis during
this stage is on elements such as defining the scope of the dissertation getting familiar
with the literature (including theories and models), collecting and analysing data
(primary or secondary) and drawing conclusions. The second stage of my tutorship
focuses on communicating your research well. That is, writing up the report in a way
that makes the most of the work done in the previous stage.
Corroborated, Critical, Coherent, Concise and Captivating. Your grade will reflect
your ability to meet the benchmarks (i.e. reference points) given by the 6 Cs. Please
take some time to read them. Read and re-read it if is needed. These 6 Cs are the
basis with which you should self-evaluate any piece of academic work, that is, you
can use them to evaluate how good your dissertation is.
related to the objective(s) of your dissertation? If they can explain its relevance in
reasonable terms, then they can pursue it, if they cant, it is not part of the story and
should be excluded. It does not mean that it is not interesting and they should not
be excited about it; rather, it just does not fit the story they are attempting to tell in
their dissertation.
These six characteristics of a well communicated piece of academic work are not
mutually exclusive (i.e. completely independent). For example, concision is likely to
influence how captivating the assignment is; confinement and coherence are also
associated. Hence the importance of considering the 6 Cs together.
In summary, wherever you look back at your dissertation, these are the broad
questions that you should ask at all times:
Is what I am saying confined to the objective(s) of the assignment?
Is what I am saying corroborated by appropriate evidence?
Is what I am saying written in a critical, coherent, concise and captivating
way?
3.1 Process
The process element reflects the How
and it is the essence of the research
project. Processes can be divided in to
generic or specific. The generic process refers to the broadest element of
your research. In social sciences, these
can be examining the relationship between variables, how individuals perceive an entity (behaviour or object)
or how individuals behave in a certain
context. So, for example, if you are
The Three Pillars of Research
examining the relationship between
two variables, your research should address the standards expected for research
examining the relationship between variables.
Here are some specific examples, with the element that pertains to the generic process
underlined:
10
Specific processes complement the generic process. The table below shows five
examples of specific processes (this is not, by all means, exhaustive). Both the generic
and the specific processes are important anchors for the design of the study. If you say
your research is about congruence, then your study needs to meet accepted standards
for a study on congruence. If the study involves segmenting, then the reader will be
assessing the research based on how well it applies accepted segmentation process
standards.
3.2 Content
The content component refers to the
what in a research topic. None of
the above process expressions (e.g.
perception, behaviour, comparison,
segmentation and so on) clarifies
the what: what perceptions or behaviours will be examined, what variables will be compared, and the variables that will be used for segmentation (or even what type of segmentation technique you applied). DependContent levels
ing on your research, content can be
defined at the model, variable or approach level.
11
The three levels form a kind of continuum, from the specific to the general. So for
example, a variable can be measured using different models (e.g. needs can be
looked at using Maslows (1943) or Murrays (1938) model) and within an approach
there are many variables that can be researched. Most times you will be working at
the model or variable level (as the approach level is quite generic).
The figure below provides two examples for each type of content. The content, as
represented in the title of the research, is underlined.
12
at the model level (recreation specialisation framework) and the other at the variable
level (constraints).
13
3.3 Context
The context pillar is concerned with explaining the area(s) in which you are going
to apply (or explore) what you defined as your theoretical boundaries (process and
content). The figure below shows the possible types of context (I think it typology is
comprehensive, but if I missed others let me know!).
Types of Context
There is usually more than one context element. For example, a dissertation could
be about a group of people buying a product, or an organisation using a technology.
Some of the examples below show this. It is the same list of topics as for the content,
but in this case the words that refer to context are underlined. If you remove the
context, the sentence still makes sense: to examine perceived prestige, the effects
of endorsement on credibility, to examine congruence and a customer-dominant
14
logic approach to the co-creation of value. So do this test yourself If remove the
context, does the title still makes sense?
Examples of Context
15
16
17
19
Further reading
I recommend reading Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Basic Skills
by Howard Hughes in order to develop your argumentation skills. The
book provides a comprehensive and accessible account of the main issues
involved in producing strong arguments. There are lots of examples and
practice activities throughout the book.
20
21
22
In particular, a participation approach developed in and for developed countries may fail in the socioeconomic, cultural, administrative or political circumstances of a less developed country (Roberts and Simpson 1999; Timothy
1998, 1999a; Tosun and Jenkins 1998).
The above example shows that a clear argument contains several short sentences,
with each of them making a single or a limited number of points. This helps to
organise ideas better and to clarify the structure of the argument.
ACTIVITY 4.3: Examining the writing style of well written journal
article
Identify a couple of journal articles related to your area of research
that you think are particularly well written. Compare your writing style
against that of the two articles, notably in terms of the length and structure
of paragraphs. Once you have compared the two writing styles, attempt
to re-write a section of your dissertation using the best practice suggested
in this section.
23
factor analysis and logistic regression. I have a long list of objectives, from which
I can identify the possible words used (e.g. develop, understand, investigate and
explore, test just to name a few).
With regards to the literature review, through this exercise I have identified several
words that I can use to refer to others work, including argued, noted, identified and
concluded. Many times I have more than 10 different alternatives, which give me
great flexibility in using language. I have also carried out list of expressions for areas
such as conclusion, interpretation of results, limitations and further research. (My
list is 15 pages and counting!)
Whenever you feel you need to expand the range of language, you can use this
technique to improve your writing skills. I have seen students greatly impriving their
writing style but adopting this technique. The great thing that I found is that a while
after developing my list and using it, not only I ended up using it less and less, but I
also started to develop my own style (usually a mix of the words/expressions in my
list). The figure below shows some examples from my list of expressions.
24
25
I often even tell my students to assume that the reader knows nothing.
This means that you have to explain as much as you can, such as concepts,
the links between ideas and the relevance of what you are doing to the
research. For example, dont assume they know what the concept you
are explaining is about or what certain more technical words mean. The
more you explain, the easier the job of the reader will be, resulting in a
more captivating dissertation.
If you dont understand it, dont write about it
Only write about what you understand because the experienced reader
(e.g. your assessor) will be able to feel whether you know/understand it
or not. The last thing you want is to cause doubt in the readers mind
with regards to whether you know the meaning (whether academic or
practical) of what you are writing about. Once you instil this doubt, the
reader could start asking what else has he wrote about that he does not
understand?. This could negatively affect the attitude with which (s)he
will look at your work, and if the reader is your assessor, your grade could
be affected.
Use simpler rather than complex language
Sometimes students develop a skewed view of what a dissertation is
about. I have come across students who think that they need to talk
at a very high abstraction level. To achieve this, they use very abstract
language, including big words. While it is important that you use the
right language, a good dissertation is often one that uses simpler rather
than complex language.
If the language is abstract or difficult to understand, my advice to
students is to use simple examples, even if anecdotal, to illustrate the
point made. In other words, explain what the language means in practice.
This will greatly help the reader to understand what it means in practice
as well as instil confidence in the reader that you know what these
abstract concepts/ideas mean in practice.
A dissertation is a story
Many times I see dissertations that are relatively well written but could
have improved by providing a more guided story. Like in a good romance
or in a good science fiction book, it is important to keep the reader
updated with regards to what is happening. For example if you are talking
26
about a topic and then move to talk about something else, clearly indicate
this to the reader. Or if the topic you are covering follows from something
that you already covered, or will be picking up further ahead, inform the
reader. The message is: keep the reader informed of the progress of the
story.
5. THE INTRODUCTION
The introduction is, in many ways, one of the most important chapters of a
dissertation. My experience suggests that a well written introduction is usually
associated to a well designed and written dissertation. This is because it tells how
clearly you know what you are doing and why you are doing it. In other words, you
will only be able to write a Confined introduction if you have the very clear idea of
what you did (and what you did not do).
As the first chapter in your dissertation, it is also important that the Introduction
captures the interest of the reader. Hence, the introduction plays an important role
in fulfilling another of the Cs: Captivating. Therefore, it is very important to carefully
think about the elements that should go in the introduction and the order in which
they should appear. Once you have identified the key ideas that should be included
in the chapter, develop a paragraph for each of them [remember that each paragraph
should contain a major argument]. In this chapter, you will find an explanation of
some of the key issues involved in writing a good introductory chapter.
5.1 Purpose
Sometimes I feel that students dont think enough about what they are doing and
why they are doing it. When it comes to the introduction of the dissertation, not
many students ask questions like what is the purpose of an introduction? or what
should the introductory chapter include?. Well, simply speaking, the introduction
performs two main roles. It explains:
The boundaries of the study (what the study is about)
The relevance of the topic (why it is important)
THE INTRODUCTION
28
Following from the above, the introduction then clearly establishes the aim and
objectives of the research. In this chapter, you will learn about the boundaries,
relevance and objectives of the research. The last section provides a number of
writing tips that will contribute to writing a better introduction.
THE INTRODUCTION
29
Below you can find examples of how content boundaries can be explained in the
Introduction for each of the three levels.
EXAMPLE 5.1: Model level boundaries
This example taken from Bain (2013) shows a dissertation underpinned on
the application of a specific model (the Prestige Motivation Model by Correia
and Moital, 2009). The dissertation was entitled An evaluation of the prestige
motivation model in the context of prestigious sporting event attendance. As you
can see the paragraph clearly establishes the theoretical boundary: the application
of a model in a certain context (prestige motivation in events). It then explains
the relevance of doing it (the explanation highlights both academic and practical
benefits).
Indeed, there are also practical benefits of the study; most importantly that it
shows managers what [prestige] values are met by specific [event] attributes.
The results of the study and the enhancements to the PMM [Prestige Motivation
Model] provides managers with a crucial tool in understanding attribute-value
linkages and is vital to designing events that deliver the necessary attributes
to the prestige seeking consumer. Bladen et al. (2012, p.179) suppose that the
current event attendee motivation research aims to help event managers to make
informed decisions about their events. Therefore this study examines and builds
upon the current research available, aiming to aid managers in realising which
event attributes are fundamental in achieving [prestige] consumer values, thus
motivating the individual to attend [the event].
This study will focus on the external information search process driven by
THE INTRODUCTION
purchasing a ticket to Beach Break Live festival. There has been extensive research
conducted into information search which suggests that consumer search is an
integral part of the decision making process (Jepsen, 2007; Gursoy and McCleary,
2004; Srinivasan and Ratchford 1991). Information search helps consumers to
make a better purchase decision and increase the probability of satisfaction.
Search activity has been considered to be a central part of consumer decisionmaking models and these models usually consider two stages of the information
search process: internal and external search. Research suggests that consumers
initially carry out an internal search of stored memories and experiences which
they call on to assist their purchase decision (Baker and Saren 2010). When the
stored information is not sufficient, consumers engage in external information by
seeking to obtain information from the environment. Schmidt and Spreng (1996)
argue that understanding this external search behaviour is vital for marketing
management decisions. Therefore, it is crucial for festival managers to understand
the information search activity of consumers so that they can develop marketing
strategies that will influence decision-making.
Services are often consumed in socially dense and interaction-rich settings, such
as guided tours, cruise holidays, leisure or adventure tours, golf tournaments or
events and festivals. [Given the] social interactions with, and the influence of,
other customers in such settings, [it can] be said that some form of value is cocreated as customers interact with each other. In recent years the concept of value
co-creation has become the focus of service research (Bendapudi and Leone, 2003;
Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004; Rowley et al., 2007) with researchers increasingly
adopting the Service-Dominant [S-D] logic as a new mind-set in service marketing.
S-D logic () emphasises customers active involvement in value co-creation within
service systems and turns attention toward the resources in the customers value
30
THE INTRODUCTION
31
network (Arnould et al., 2006; Baron and Harris, 2008; Vargo et al., 2008). This
perspective does not, however, address value co-creation in those instances where
the mere co-presence of other customers in the setting creates some value (e.g.,
Belk, 1975; Ehrenreich, 2006; Richards and de Brito, 2013; Tombs and McCollKennedy, 2010). The recently emerged Customer-Dominant [C-D] logic (Heinonen
et al., 2013; Heinonen et al., 2010; Voima et al., 2010) provides a useful lens in such
perspectives as it places customers value creation in customers own practices and
experiences, rather than some goal-oriented collaborative co-creation acts. () In
the context of this thesis C-D logic therefore provides an interesting theoretical
perspective on the study of C2C [customer-to-customer] co-creation.
Context boundaries are concerned with explaining the area(s) in which you are
going to apply (or explore) what you defined as your theoretical boundaries. The
introduction should explain the different context elements of your study.
EXAMPLE 5.4: Context boundaries
This example comes from a dissertation on customer engagement within an
events social networking pages (Cassey, 2013). The introduction of the paragraph
defines, from the outset, which social networking platforms the study focuses on.
Please note that the boundary is described and explained (the reasons for the
choice are laid out), which is the right approach as it meets the Corroborated
criteria (why).
This study focuses particularly on the use of Facebook and Twitter. Firstly
because they are two of the most popular platforms, both with consumers and
THE INTRODUCTION
32
brands (Kaplan and Haenlein2010; Liao 2012; Solis 2011). By looking at two
popular platforms it is thought a better understanding can be generated of the
consumers behavioural manifestations toward the brand (Van Doorn et al. 2010).
The second reason these platforms have been selected is that Kaplan and Haenlein
(2012) classify them as high in self-presentation and self-disclosure. Kahn believes
engagement involves presenting ones true or preferred self, thus because of their
classification Facebook and Twitter are the most appropriate platforms for the
context of study.
THE INTRODUCTION
33
This research analyses conspicuous consumption in the context of clothing and its
related variables of public self-consciousness, materialism and self-esteem. With
competition intensifying among clothing specialists, advertising campaigns have
become crucial to portray the way consumers would like to perceive themselves
THE INTRODUCTION
34
.
When explaining the practical rationale, bring numbers that demonstrate the size
and importance of the area your dissertation is focusing on. By clearly defining from
the outset what the study is about (e.g. changes in charity donation behaviour caused
by being diagnosed with cancer), you can then explain significance by bringing in
numbers (e.g. people who are struck with this condition). You could even extend to
other similar conditions (i.e. serious medical conditions) to explain that the studys
benefits could also be beneficial (have practical benefits) to other related fields.
In a recent dissertation that I supervised on the attributes of a luxurious event, I
suggested to the student to bring in numbers about the size of luxury sector in
general, such as the monetary value of the market for luxury goods (general area
of the research), as well as about the size of the luxury event market. Lewis (2014)
example above also resorts to numbers to explain the relevance of studying the
clothing sector.
Sometimes it is difficult to find such numbers. One alternative is to bring in
anecdotal examples to illustrate relevance. For example, if you are dealing with risk
management in events, you can cite cases where there have been disastrous consequences by not managing risk properly; or cases where having a risk management
strategy in place resulted in a positive resolution to a risk situation. The multi-level
argument example (see Section 4.2) shows this strategy. Unable to find numbers that
could demonstrate the relevance of public relations events, the student resorted to
mentioning their use by several major organisations.
The Personal rationale is less commonly reported. This rationale focuses on the
THE INTRODUCTION
35
personal relevance of the topic area. It could that you have an interest in a marketing
or management area, or in a societal problem, which leads you to focus your
dissertation on it. It could also be related to your future career plans. For example, a
student may want to pursue a career in prestigious/highs status events and therefore
may feel compelled to study them in his/her dissertation. Another student may want
to become a specialist in events online distribution in tourism and therefore decide
to research that topic.
THE INTRODUCTION
36
THE INTRODUCTION
37
end objectives or include key process objectives too. In any case, it is very important
that you keep in mind the difference between the two types of objectives so that you
know the ones which really should guide your research (end objectives).
THE INTRODUCTION
38
However, by formulating the question in broader terms, the research will naturally
provide more depth of analysis.
The problem with the word impact is that it implies a cause-effect relationship. One
fairly frequent topic that uses the word impact is along the lines of the impact
of sponsorship on brand perceptions. It is very difficult to examine this because
any effects could have been caused by other stimuli than the sponsorship exercise.
Impact questions required experimental studies, that is, studies that isolate all other
possible causes but the one that the researcher was to examine.
One dissertation that I supervised changed the scope of the study after completing
the draft dissertation. When reading the draft, it became apparent that the
qualitative data the student had collected was giving her the opportunity to further
refine the scope of the study. The student (Jackson, 2014) wanted to examine the
customer-to-customer practices in the context of two exhibitions (outdoors and
wedding planning exhibitions), with the initial objective examining all valueladen practices. The draft clearly pointed out to two types of practices: those
referring to product decision value (e.g. an attendee saying to another attendee
THE INTRODUCTION
that the same tent could be bought cheaper from another supplier present in
the exhibition) and non-product decision value (e.g. smiling or engaging in chitchat). After discussing this with the student, she decided to refine the scope by
focusing only the product-decision interaction practices. This not only made the
dissertation more focused (which is a good thing), but also made her life easier
when it came to finding suitable theory to discuss the results (she assessed which
areas of product decision-making the interaction affected).
In another example, a student (Scully, 2012) wanted to research the interpersonal
influence strategies students use when attending events with friends. The initial objectives were to understand the persuasion (Objective 1) and resistance
(Objective 2) strategies. Once she analysed the data, it became clear that there
were many instances where participants commented on the circumstances when
they succeeded (influenced or resisted influence successfully). As this was a topic
directly related to the aim of the study, a third objective was added.
Bain (2013) also extended the scope of her study after collecting the data. She
wanted to use the Prestige Motivation Model (Correia and Moital, 2009), which
consists of two main components: the prestige values (what makes an event
prestigious) and the consequences of consuming prestige (how people react when
they consume prestigious products). The initial objective was to examine what
makes an event prestigious (its values). She used a technique called laddering
in order to uncover the means-end chains (if you want to know what this is
about, see Gutman (1982)), that is, the motives to attend prestigious events. Upon
analysis, it became clear that the means-end chains she uncovered included both
prestige values and prestige consequences. This was in fact a major lesson learned
from applying the method (laddering) in the context of researching prestige
motivation. Needless to say, facing the opportunity to cover both areas of the
model, the student did not hesitate and a second objective was added (covering
the consequences of prestige).
39
THE INTRODUCTION
40
THE INTRODUCTION
41
6. LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review is one of the most challenging tasks for the inexperienced
researcher. And if you are an international student, then you are faced with the added
challenge of not having some of the basic skills required to do it because literature
reviews are not common in many countries. Literature reviews are challenging
because they are hard work and require deep analytical and intellectual skills.
Doing a literature review is an intellectual exercise that requires dealing with often
complex and contradictory information. I recently had to review tourist satisfaction
research which is one of the most researched areas in tourism. The exercise looked at
tourist satisfaction research over 12 years published in the three top tourism journals
(hence I ended up reviewing only a fraction of the research carried out on the topic).
I had to deal with nearly 150 journal articles to write a section that could not be
longer than 750 words (thats roughly two pages in word). Needless to say, it was
a time consuming and challenging task, even though I am reasonably familiar with
the area. Obviously, as an undergraduate or Masters situation, the size of the task is
smaller but you will still have to deal with many dozens of articles. If you are a PhD
student, then you will be reading many more.
Writing a good literature review requires grasping the mechanics of identifying,
reading, interpreting, analysing and evaluating existing material and then writing
the report in an appropriate style. This chapter provides tips and tools that could help
you to address some of the challenges required to write a good literature review.
6.1 Purpose
Inexperienced researchers often fail to understand the purpose of a literature review.
The literature review is about theories and models relevant to the research and
how they have been applied (in general and in your field). In other words, in the
43
LITERATURE REVIEW
literature review you review existing knowledge around the process and the content
of your study (see Chapter 2). One thing the literature review is not about it is
about the practical importance of the topic. That is context and should be either in
the introduction if you are using it to explain why you are researching it, or in the
methodology if what you are going to say about the context is vital for understanding
your particular research process. So, when I see long sections on what is an event,
the history of Facebook (or tourism) in the literature review, I immediately become
suspicious of its suitability as literature review.
LITERATURE REVIEW
44
the phenomenon under investigation. Any research should be theoretically underpinned and in this section you should review relevant theories
within your area of research. At this stage you are concerned with the
theory only, therefore, you should read well beyond your context of
interest. For example, if you are interested in exploring previous research
on Murrays list of needs, you should review research on the list of
needs independently of the context in which it was explored/applied.
Remember, the objective of this review is to familiarise yourself with the
theory, that is, what we know about the theory.
Integrative research review
The integrative review summarises past research and draws conclusions
based on different studies related to the topic of research. Here, the
objective is to understand the state of the art in your area of study (i.e.
context). It is not a very broad review this type of review is still bound
by the theoretical review undertaken. As the name says, this section
focuses on how the theoretical area(s) have been integrated in your area
of research. So if attitude is the area of theoretical review, then the focus
of the integrative review is on how attitude theory has been integrated
in your area (context) of study.
Methodological research review
This review examines the different research methods that have been
used to solve the research problem. The different research methods are
discussed in order to identify the most appropriate course of action for
achieving the research aim and objectives. This review tends to be placed
in the methodology chapter as this is where you explain what you have
done and why in your own study. This type of review looks at the
methodology employed by relevant previous studies so that you can
learn from them. The methodological research review has the benefit
of allowing you to identify possible ways of researching your topic.
Moreover, by doing this review you will be better equipped to reject
methods that have proved to be ineffective and adopt others that have
shown to be effective. In other words, it will help you to avoid making
similar mistakes made by previous researchers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
45
46
LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
47
reviewing the literature to re-assess and update the stage two literature.
The objective is to make sure that you incorporate any recent work and
that the final literature is aligned with, and supportive of, the story you
are telling in the dissertation.
Both the content and the writing style should be reviewed. Change may
be just about fine tuning the content and making sure the writing style
is right in order to enhance Concision and Coherence and to make the
dissertation more Compelling. Often it requires more substantial changes
to both structure and content as well to the writing style. For example,
sections or themes that appeared relevant before collecting data are now
irrelevant (do not fit the story); in contrast, themes that did not appear
relevant beforehand now become essential and must be included. In rare
cases, the literature review may require major re-structuring.
.
The nature of deductive (i.e. quantitative) research will require you to do a more
comprehensive and detailed literature review ahead of starting data collection (stages
one and two). This means that you will probably require less effort in stage three
given that much of stage two literature will be used for stage three. In inductive (i.e.
qualitative) research, you dont really know the exact story you will tell until you
collect and analyse your data. In addition, you are likely to have carried out a less
comprehensive and detailed literature review within stages one and two. As a result,
LITERATURE REVIEW
48
you should expect to have to carry out a more substantial literature review within
stage three.
EXAMPLE 6.2: Conducting additional literature review after collecting data
One inductive (qualitative) study I recently supervised focused on the effects of
wellness events on an individuals health and the experiences at the event that
delivered those effects. The student had broadly reviewed both areas (effects and
attributes of the event) ahead of conducting the interviews with event participants
however it was only after the student had finished them that she did a detailed
literature search about possible models with which to analyse the data. She did this
on purpose so that her questioning during the interviews was not contaminated
by her detailed, in-depth knowledge of the literature. She actually ended up using
two models (one to analyse the effects and the to analyse the attributes of the
event) she had not come across during the first two stages of the literature review.
LITERATURE REVIEW
49
50
LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
around what each study focused on and found. Therefore, it matches the characteristics of a descriptive review.
51
LITERATURE REVIEW
52
53
LITERATURE REVIEW
includes the key aspects of the study design, such as the cognitive measure used, the
dependent variable and product category. It also includes results (initial and final
R2), but that is one out of six areas covered in the table.
LITERATURE REVIEW
54
Assuming the table is comprehensive, using such a table allows you to draw
quantitative as well as more subjective conclusions. Quantitative conclusions include
a) how many dimensions have been identified, b) most and least frequent dimensions
and c) lowest and highest number of dimensions identified by a single study. It is also
possible to establish d) the earliest and most recent study or e) who is the most prolific
author in the topic (if there is one).
More subjective conclusions include f) possible overlapping dimensions, as it is
common for academics to use different language to refer to the same thing, such as
conspicuousness and financial/price to refer to the wealth aspect of luxury. Finally,
it is also possible g) to make other qualitative appreciations with regards to other
patterns suggested by the data, being it related to the dimensions or to authorship.
LITERATURE REVIEW
55
LITERATURE REVIEW
hypothesis states (Scott and Lewis 2001). High conspicuous individuals rationalise a purchase by making it purposeful without heeding
consequences (OShaughnessy and OShaughnessy 2002) that may lead
to disappointment and regret thus restarting the conspicuous purchase
process (Clarke and Mortimer 2013). Snobbish individuals are unlikely
to purchase conspicuous sale items (Corneo and Jeanne 1997). However,
Amaldoss and Jain (2005) disagree stating that the snobbish will procure
sale items when other individuals are involved. Therefore, from this
literature it is hypothesised that The level of conspicuous consumption is
related to the pattern of shopping behaviour (Hypothesis 5). [in: Lewis
and Moital, 2015]
56
LITERATURE REVIEW
57
7. METHODOLOGY
The methodology chapter is perhaps the most important of the chapters. Fair enough,
all chapters are important, but a large proportion of your grade will come from the
quality of the research process and your ability to explain it. This is the chapter where
the reader will find vital information to assess the quality of the research.
59
METHODOLOGY
60
METHODOLOGY
I often find that students have an inclination to write very generic methodology
chapters. For some, more than half is so generic that it could be about any research.
METHODOLOGY
61
One important element to bear in mind is that the reader is not keen on reading about
the generalities (for example, the many benefits and limitations of questionnaires)
(s)he already knows about them. Instead, he/she is interested in understanding
why you opted for a certain method or path (e.g., questionnaire, interviews or any
other method for collecting data). You have to make it personal (to your research)
remember that the methodology is about explaining your journey.
Obviously, many of the reasons for your choice are related to the generic characteristics of the option. But you still have to explain why that characteristic (for
example a benefit) was important in your study. For example, one of the benefits of
questionnaires is that they can be used when the sample is geographically dispersed.
If this is an important reason to select questionnaires, you have to explain that your
sample was geographically dispersed, hence the choice for questionnaires.
Another reason not to simply copy the long lists of benefits/limitations of a method
is that many of those benefits/limitations will be irrelevant to your specific study.
And if something is not relevant, it should not be mentioned at all. Being selective,
that is, picking the key features of a method that are relevant to your study, plays
a very important role in fulfilling two of the Cs: Critical (active engagement with
information) and Concise (avoid including irrelevant information).
62
METHODOLOGY
Semi-structured interviews are the most common form of qualitative interviewing, as it provides the researcher with a framework of questions but does not limit
in terms of wording questions or the order in which they are asked and participants
are encouraged to talk openly and freely about their interests, attitudes, activities
and so on; the interview being flexible and evolves according to the personal style
of the interviewer and the responses of the participant (Shiffman et al., 2012; Braun
and Clarke 2013). Semi-structured interviews are designed so that the interviewer
can ask open-ended questions and therefore allowing the respondent to expand on
their answers without restrictions. Though, due to the fact that consumers are not
always aware of the reasons behind their decisions or even willing to reveal the
METHODOLOGY
63
motivations behind their behaviour if they were conscious, in-depth interview are
the most effective method of retreating the findings sought after.
As I tend to say to students who write like this, the paragraph could be for
any qualitative research. However, what the reader is interested is in what in
your study made semi-structured interviews the most appropriate method. The
student should have used some of the features of interviews (such as the ones
described above) to underpin the explanation of why they were the appropriate
data collection method. For example, the student could have explained that
because a) data collection needed to be flexible (and why), b) expansion was
important (and why), and c) the topic covered areas that the participants may
not necessarily be aware of, then semi-structure interviews were appropriate.
.
Independently of the reasons, it is useful to explicitly explain the reasons for a given
choice. Explicitness can be achieved by clearly identifying what you did and then
listing the several reasons underpinning that choice. The style is [option] was chosen
METHODOLOGY
64
for three reasons. First, Second, Finally, . This will make it very clear in your
head why you did what you did and also massively help the reader to understand
it. If you look back at the structure of an argument, what you did is the conclusion
and the reasons you did it for are the premises. A strong argument will have been
produced (assuming the logic is there).
METHODOLOGY
65
and group the segments that relate to one another (Stuckey, 2015).
Predetermined coding is often carried out prior to the data analysis due
to existing frameworks or theories attached to certain concepts (Stuckey,
2015). However, due to the lack of literature found surrounding [name of
topic], no themes had been pre-decided; therefore each theme was decided
predominantly through the primary research.
METHODOLOGY
66
payments (41.4%), over a third rented (36.8%), some lived with family
(18.8%), with the smallest sample owning a house outright (3.1%). These
demographics reflect a lifestyle of a young professional being more likely
a first time buyer and just starting a family. The highest personal income
bracket percentage was 20,000-34,999 (42.1%) and household income
50,000+ (39.1%) closely followed by 35,000-49,999 (37.5%) showing that
a proportion of respondents have at least two household incomes.
As you can see, the focus was not simply on describing the characteristics of the
sample, but on what those numbers were telling. In this case it was about a) the good
spread of respondents across certain characteristics, b) the fact that demographics
reflect the lifestyle of a young professional and c) that respondents tended to live in
a certain type of household. The end argument, although it is not explicitly stated,
is that the sample reflects the characteristics of the population (young professionals)
hence it can be claimed that conclusions from the results reflect the views of the
population of study.
8. RESULTS
The results chapter present the data you collected after it has gone through a rigorous
process of analysis. In this sense is where you produce evidence that will allow you
to answer the objectives of your research. In this section you will find some tips and
tools that will hopefully allow you to write a better results chapter.
RESULTS
68
69
RESULTS
RESULTS
70
Tables 2 and 3 also present the mean values for each of the factors. () With regards to the cognitive satisfaction, in descending order of satisfaction, respondents
were mostly satisfied with the interpersonal dimension, followed by entertainment
and safety & security. Respondents were least satisfied with food & drink and
information & organisation. With regards to the emotional satisfaction, the mean
value suggests that on average respondents frequently felt positive emotions (mean
values around two), while they rarely felt negative emotions (mean values around
four).
RESULTS
71
[PS: If you are finding it difficult to follow this explanation, I suggest that you have
a look at a statistics book (SPSS survival manual or Statistics without maths, which
are very accessible) and understand what these tests do and the meaning of the p
value.]
EXAMPLE 7.2: Presenting results of the Mann-Whitney test
The example below is adapted from a dissertation I supervised on the perceptions
of luxury events (Gryntus, 2014). The study compared perceptions of five luxury
factors (i.e. five areas that can make an event to be perceived as luxurious) across
those who said they had attended a luxurious event before (attendees) and those
that said they had not (non-attendees). As you will see, the reporting of the results
focused on which factors have items (i.e. statements about luxury) that showed a
statistical difference and those factors where are there were no differences. When
differences were found, the direction of those differences are also reported (which
group answered lower and higher in the scale). Finally, the meaning of the result
is also reported, that is what a significant difference or a lack of difference means.
This aspect is very important as it gives meaning to the results and it reassurance
the reader that you know what the test does.
As demonstrated in Table Y, 12 of the 22 variables in the scale had significance
values below 0.05, indicating that differences between event attendees and nonattendees [i.e. the two groups in the independent variable] are statistically significant. The remaining variables show p values above 0.05 resulting in no significant
difference between the two groups of respondents. All the statements related
to both the Financial and conspicuousness and Uniqueness factors showed a
statistically significant difference as shown by p values below the significance
threshold. Higher mean ranks were found for non-attendees when compared to
attendees, indicating that non-attendees associated luxury events with Financial
and conspicuousness and Uniqueness aspects more than attendees. [PS: mean
rank is the value that is given by the Mann-Whitney test that allows you to draw
conclusions about which of the two groups has answered lower and higher in the
scale].
Significant differences were also found in two variables of the Quality factor.
These were found in the superior quality of food and drinks served and the
consistency of the high quality delivery throughout the event. In both cases, the
mean ranks were higher for non-attendees, therefore they associated luxury events
72
RESULTS
with these two quality attributes more than attendees. The remaining two items
on consistency of high quality delivery and neat and professional presentation of
staff did not show statistical differences, which means that both attendees are nonattendees perceive luxury events similarly. As the p values above 0.05 demonstrate,
there were no significant differences across the two groups in all the items related
to the Hedonic and Aesthetics factors. This means that attendees and nonattendees did not hold different perceptions of a luxurious event in relation to
its hedonic and aesthetics dimensions.
TIP
We tend to get more excited about statistical differences rather than nondifferences (Somehow I do too!). However it is very important that you
give the same attention to both. As my Ph.D. supervisor once told me
A non-significance difference is as important as a significance one. This
applies to when both reporting and discussing the results. So for example,
you should discuss why a difference could be there, but also why there
was no difference.
RESULTS
73
or Masters level are likely to use the thematic analysis, and most of this section is in
a certain way related to this method. This does not mean that this section is useless
if you were using other methods, but those using thematic analysis will find it more
applicable to them.
So what can I tell you about qualitative analysis that I had to learn myself in order
to grasp it?
RESULTS
74
Thematic analysis was employed as the analytic method. The essence of the
method is the identification of themes that capture something important about the
data in relation to the research question (Braun and Clarke 2006, p. 82). Following
from the research objectives, all instances across the data that pertained to peer
influence and event attendance, persuasion strategies, resistance strategies and the
factors influencing the success of a strategy were identified. Next, for each of the
main themes, sub-themes were developed that reflected unique strategies or factors
influencing success. The analysis was undertaken primarily at the semantic level
(Boyatzis 1998), which means that the themes were identified within the explicit
of surface meanings of the data (Braun and Clarke 2006, p. 84). At times, the
75
RESULTS
analysis looked at the latent ideas within the data to reflect less explicit accounts
of the strategies employed and their effectiveness. As the analysis was driven by
an interest in identifying strategies and strategy effectiveness, prevalence was
counted if the data indicated a reference to these themes (Braun and Clarke 2006).
All instances within each sub-theme (i.e. all influencing and resistance) were
labelled. If a strategy has been documented in the literature, the existing label
was employed, if not a label was created.
As you can see, a detailed account of the process that led to the decision about
what constituted a theme is provided, and towards the end it is also made clear
that as long as there was one evidence it was considered a relevant theme (cut-off
point).
.
Further Reading
The article by Braun & Clarke entitled Using thematic analysis in psychology (Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77101) provides a very good
(and quite simple) overview of the issues to consider when using thematic
analysis.
With regards to regret, we also used the literature to help us make sense of our
76
RESULTS
data. In this case, we identified that there are two types of regret (regret of action
and regret of inaction). So we naturally looked that our data to identify with
what type of regret is involved when attending prestigious events (it is regret
of inaction). We were also able to identify what leads to regret, with the data
suggesting that it is the singularity of experiences. Finally, we could also link regret
to attribution, as the last paragraph explains. There are probably other messages
that come across from reading the data, but we felt these were the key ones that
merited reporting. So in summary, once we identified a theme we went back to
the literature and reviewed it and that was the major source of inspiration for us
to make sense of our data.
Avoidance emotions refer to emotions that consumers seek to go avoid by attending prestigious events. Attending prestigious events was related to wanting to avoid
negative emotions. The fear of missing out was expressed by several participants.
The following two quotes illustrate how the fear of missing out is generated in the
context of attending prestigious events:
I dont tend to suggest we go, but go if Im invited. And I think if
they think its that good I want to go with them to experience it and
enjoy myself too. () If I dont go I may miss something, and miss
out on the enjoyment of the day. Its important to me not to miss
out if my friends go. [Mike, 59, Works in Engineering, Talking about
Royal the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham]
I went with a couple of people from work and some friends. We
had such a good time together () I didnt particularly support
either team, in this instance I went because my friends are Reading
supporters and were really excited to go. So I didnt want to miss
out, and wanted to join in with the excitement before the event.
() I wanted to be involved. People had been talking about it and
I wanted to join in. And I like sport so just wanted to go with
them really. [Anna, 23, Buyer in Procurement, talking about the Fast
Championships Netball)]
77
RESULTS
p. 1841). The above quotations suggest that the FoMO is related missing out on
positive emotions that prestigious events can bring about (notably excitement and
enjoyment) before and during the event. Both statements indicate that FoMO was
the key driver of attendance: Mike would not attend if it was not for his friends
attending, while Anna did not support either team at the match. This suggests that
in the case of prestigious sporting events, FoMO can even be the main motivation
when the individual is not particularly involved with the sporting event. It appears
that high levels of prestige motivate people to attend the event so that they dont
feel diminished by having failed to experience the positive emotions surrounding
the event and by being unable to participate in discussions as an insider (and
having to take instead on an outsider role).
The fear of missing out appears to be associated to feelings of regret as the
following statement indicates:
We just really wanted to attend any Olympic event I think. Its just
something you have to try and do when its here, and I would have
regretted it hadnt I at least tried to go. () I think I would have
missed out. Like I said, its a once in a lifetime thing so it needs to be
done I guess! [Paula, 54, works in corporate banking, talking about
the London Olympics]
Anticipating regret has been found to be a powerful motivation behind consumption decisions (Chen et al, 2015; Rosenzweig and Gilovich, 2012). In the context of
prestigious events regret could be felt not as a consequence of purchasing (Chen et
al, 2015), but as a consequence of not attending. Events are experiential in nature
and therefore this finding provides further evidence that experiential purchase
decisions are more likely to lead to regrets of inaction (missed opportunities) than
regrets of action (Rosenzweig and Gilovich, 2012).
In contrast to Chen et al.s (2015) assertion that regret is anticipated when the
outcome of a consumers purchase decision is unknown, in the context of prestige
consumption regret appears to emerge from a certainty about the outcome. The
unique combination of a prestigious event (the Olympics) and location (United
Kingdom) implies a must attend attitude which requires action in order to avoid
feelings of regret. Paulas description of the Olympics as a once in a lifetime
opportunity further suggests regrets of inaction result from the singularity of
78
RESULTS
prestigious event experiences. This provides additional evidence of the link between
patterns of regret and the singularity of purchases (Rosenzweig and Gilovich,
2012).
Given that Paulas actual attendance was beyond her control (tickets were allocated
by ballot), she sought to reduce regret by attempting to secure tickets. This suggests
that regret is linked to attribution, notably the locus-of-causality dimension
(Oliver, 1987), which suggests that different attributional sources will lead to
different emotional reactions. Not attending by failing to attempt to secure tickets
would be perceived by Paula as her fault leading to high levels of regret, but because
failing to secure tickets bid for was beyond her control, she could not be blamed
resulting in greatly diminished levels of regret.
79
RESULTS
9. DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
Many times I see dissertations who have done a good work in terms of the data
analysis but then the discussion and conclusion is a let down. This can happen for
a number of reasons such as students losing steam, running out of time or failing
to understand what they are about. I cant do much about the first two, but I can
help with the latter. In this chapter I will explain the purpose of the discussion and
conclusion and also a variety of valuable information that will help you to better
write and organise your discussion and conclusion.
9.1 Purpose
Discussion and conclusion are different, but interrelated tasks. The purpose of
discussion is to put the findings in to perspective, for example by contrasting
with previous findings, with theoretical expectations or propositions, or even with
industry practice. The function of the conclusion is to answer the research objectives.
In the introduction you set out the objectives of the study, in the conclusion you
provide an answer based on what you found in your study.
I say they are interrelated tasks because when you are discussing you are drawing
conclusions. The discussion can take place at two levels: micro and macro. At micro
level, discussing involves looking each individual result (or a small set of individual
results). The macro level is about looking at the big picture by moving away from
the results (i.e. the specific findings) and trying to draw generic/abstract conclusions
based on those findings.
The best analogy here is to consider each of your individual results as individual
trees, and all the individual results together as a forest. So at micro level you will be
81
making sense of each tree individually, and at macro level you will be looking at the
forest. The discussion at tree/micro level is more straightforward (this doesnt mean
easy!), but if you can move beyond the individual results and focus on the generic
patterns that emerge from your data (Macro/forest level) you will gain a lot of points
as it shows high levels of intellectual ability.
82
83
84
85
dissertation, your course is providing you with the opportunity to change your
knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in relation to planning and implementing a
research project. You are unlikely to get everything right (if you knew how to do
it, then why bother doing the dissertation?), therefore there will be many successes
and mistakes made throughout the journey.
I always tell my students that making mistakes is not a problem; the problem is if
you are not aware of the mistakes youve made. If you recognise those mistakes
and suggest ways of doing it differently next time to avoid making them, then you
are demonstrating that you learned. In other words, you are fulfilling an important
purpose of a dissertation: you developed knowledge about doing research and in the
future you would change your behaviour. In order to demonstrate that you learned,
you should consider adding a reflective section, on where you answer the question
what would I do differently next time.
In order to write this section, I suggest you go back to your journey and reflect
on what aspects of that journey you would keep and which you would change. The
stance is not one that assumes that what you did is wrong, but one that accepts that
there were limitations, that you are aware of these limitations and that if you were
to do it again you would know how to do it better. Students tend to have a tendency
to focus on data collection (e.g. the research could have had a bigger / more varied
sample), which is fine, but focus on things unique to your study, notably in relation
to the process and content. For example, could you have asked different questions?
Could you have analysed the data differently? Remember to always explain why.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in
practice
In appendices you can find a paragraph by Arajo and Bramwell (2002) which is
trying to make a point, that is, it is trying to persuade the reader to accept a
certain statement as true. The paragraph is made up of 6 sentences. Read it carefully
and answer the question: Which of the sentences are conclusion(s) and which are
premises?
Despite their potential advantages, there are often significant difficulties with partnership approaches to planning (Bramwell and Lane 2000). One potential difficulty
is that involving diverse actors in regular meetings and decision making is usually
complex and time-consuming. Such collaboration can face difficulties because groups
refuse to work with others as this may reduce their own influence or power, or because
they distrust other parties (Hall and Jenkins 1995). When stakeholders are involved
in joint working, they may not be disposed to listen respectfully to the views of
others or to take them into account. In some places there may be no tradition of
several organizations participating in decision making. In particular, a participation
approach developed in and for developed countries may fail in the socioeconomic,
cultural, administrative or political circumstances of a less developed country (Roberts
and Simpson 1999; Timothy 1998, 1999a; Tosun and Jenkins 1998).
My take on the structure of the argument can be found here.
ACTIVITIES
87
ACTIVITIES
88
ACTIVITIES
89
individuals take part in a leisure activity, the more likely they are to organize their
lives around the activity (Ditton et al., 1992). Consequently, participants partake in
subsequent behaviors that are relevant to their activity (Burr and Scott 2004), such
as the purchase of products and services required to perform, or as a complement
to fully enjoy the recreational activity. Examples include the purchase artefacts and
the attendance of events & festivals (referred to as events throughout this paper)
themed around the recreational activity, the latter being the behavior explored in this
paper. Previous research suggests that each specialization level tends to be associated
to unique forms of behavior and experience, which makes them natural segments to
study by marketers (Scott and Thigpen, 2003; Ninomiya and Kikuchi, 2004; Kim et al.,
2008; Maple, Eagles and Rolfe, 2010; Park and Kim, 2010).
The effective marketing of products, services and experiences to recreationists requires a detailed understanding of how (progression in) specialization affects their
purchase and consumption. The concept of leisure constraints was put forward
specifically to help understand the reasons underlying participation in leisure activities (Jackson, 1993), such as event attendance. In their review of past studies
in leisure constraints, Godbey et al. (2010) concluded that different constraints
have been identified across socio-demographics such as age, gender, income and
geographical location segments. Thus it can be argued that exploring the relationship
between constraints and segments based on personal variables, such as recreation
specialization, merits academic attention. In fact, brief references in the literature can
be found that suggest level of participation/specialization as a desirable segmentation
variable in the context of constraints research (Samdahl and Jekubovich, 1997; Getz,
2007; Godbey et al., 2010). Despite suggestions that increased specialization (or
experience) is an important influence on the range of activities individuals decide
to do, the relationship between specialization and constraints to perform behaviors
associated to the recreational activity has not been explored to any detailed extent.
Therefore, this paper aims to examine the constraints to attend events across levels
of specialization.
This study was developed in the context of salsa dancing (the recreational activity)
and attendance of salsa events (the recreational activity related behavior). Salsa
dancing is one recreational activity which has gained significant regular participation virtually in every corner of the world. Originating in Cuba, salsa has been
described as having become a global phenomenon (Skinner, 2007, p.3). Salsa dancers
usually participate regularly in local salsa classes where they attempt to improve
ACTIVITIES
90
ACTIVITIES
91
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED
ACTIVITY 4.1: The structure of an argument in
practice
The first sentence is the conclusion, with the remaining five statements serving as the
premises (evidence) supporting the conclusion. Assuming that the five premises are
strong and connected to the conclusion, the conclusion is very robust and therefore
the reader will be inclined to accept it.
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED
93
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED
94
ACTIVITIES EXPLAINED
95
REFERENCES
Arajo, L. and Bramwell, B., 2002. Partnership and Regional tourism in Brazil, Annals
of Tourism Research, 29 (4), 11381164
Bain, A., 2013. An evaluation of the prestige motivation model in the context
of prestigious sporting event attendance, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation,
School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, UK.
Cassey, R., 2013. A critical exploration of customer engagement with Bestivals social
networking pages, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation, School of Tourism,
Bournemouth University, UK.
Compton, H., 2011. An exploratory study into the external activities of information
search - the Beach Break Live Festival, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation,
School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, UK.
Cooper, H., 1984. The problem formulation stage. In: Cooper, H. (ed). Integrating
Research. A Guide for Literature Reviews, Newbury Park, Sage Publications, pp. 1937.
Correia, A. and Moital, M., 2009. The antecedents and consequences of prestige
motivation in tourism: an expectancy-value motivation, In: Kozak, M. and Decrop,
A., eds. Handbook of Tourism Behaviour: Theory & Practice, New York, Routledge,
pp. 16-34.
Fogarty, L, 2010. A framework for evaluating the effectiveness of public relations
events, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation, School of Tourism, Bournemouth
University, UK.
Formica, S. and Uysal, M., 1998. Market segmentation of an international culturalhistorical event in Italy. Journal of Travel Research, 36(4), 16-24.
Gryntus, S., 2014. An Investigation into the Key Dimensions of Luxury Events
using Consumers Experiential Perceptions, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation,
School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, UK.
REFERENCES
97
Gutman, J., 1982. A Means End Chain model Based on Consumer Categorisation
Processes. Journal of Marketing, 46 (2), 60- 72.
Heinonen, K., Strandvik, T., Mickelsson, K. J., Edvardsson, B., Sundstrm, E., and
Andersson, P., 2010. A customer-dominant logic of service. Journal of Service
Management, 21(4), 531-548.
Jackson, R., 2014. An investigation into the benefits of customer-to-customer interactive practices at a trade show for product decision making, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation, School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, UK.
Keller, K. L. (2003). Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. International
Edition, Pearson Edition.
Lewis, A., 2014. The factors influencing conspicuous consumption in clothing, Unpublished Undergraduate dissertation, School of Tourism, Bournemouth University,
UK.
Lewis, A and Moital, M., 2015. An Examination of the Factors Influencing Conspicuous Consumption in Clothing, Unpublished paper, Faculty of Management,
Bournemouth University, UK.
Moital, M., 2006. An evaluation of the factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce
in the purchasing of leisure travel by the residents of Cascais, Portugal. Unpublished
PhD Thesis, Bournemouth University, UK
Moital, M. and Bain, A., 2015. Affective Consequences of Prestige Consumption in
Sports Events, Unpublished paper, Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University,
UK.
Moital, M, Dias, N. R. and Machado, D. F. C, 2013. A Cross National Study of Golf
Tourists Satisfaction, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 2 (1), 39-45.
Moital, M., Jackson, C. and Gouthro, M., 2009. Examining the Constribution of
emotions to Festival Satisfaction Using Logistic Regression, Paper presented at The
Australian Centre for Event Management (ACEM), International Event Management
Research Conference, 6-7 July, Gold Coast (Australia).
Moital, M., J. Whitfield, Jackson, C. and Bahl, A., 2012. Event Sponsorship by
Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks Businesses in India. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24 (2), 289-311
REFERENCES
98