The Nature of Data in Tourism

This chapter contains a brief review of the nature of data as used in tourism and hospitality, and discusses the main quality characteristics needed to obtain useful and reliable outcomes from data analysis. A list of the main sources of tourism data is provided.

The protagonist in the adventures described in this book is the datum, better known in its plural form, data. The original Latin meaning, something given (and accepted as true), defines it well. It is (usually) a number, the result of some observation or measurement process, objectively representing concepts or other entities, put in a form suitable for communication, interpretation or processing by humans or automated systems. By themselves, and out of a specified context, data have no meaning at all; they are merely strings of symbols. Once organised or processed in some way, and associated with some other concepts or entities, they become useful information, assuming relevance and purpose, providing insights into phenomena, allowing judgements to be made and decisions to be taken (if interested in a discussion of these concepts, the review by Zins [2007] is a good starting point). All statistical techniques have exactly this objective.

Many disciplines, and tourism is no exception, require large quantities of data. The main challenge a researcher has today is that of managing a huge quantity, variety and complexity of data types, and of being sure to obtain useful and valid outcomes.

Data: A Taxonomy

It is possible to categorise data in several ways. One distinction is between primary and secondary data. Another classifies data by their level of measurement or measurement scale. Yet another is the medium or form from which the data are derived. We provide a brief overview of the key issues associated with data of each type here.

The distinction between primary and secondary data is made on the basis of the source of the data and their specificity to the study for which they are gathered. Each type of source has strengths and weaknesses, the focus of our discussion here.

Primary data

Primary data are those directly collected from the original or 'primary' source by researchers through methods such as direct observation (both human observation and automatic collection of data such as clicks on links in websites or through use of other information and communications technology), questionnaire surveys (online, printed or administered by telephone or computer), structured or unstructured interviews and case studies. To be classified as primary data, the data elements collected using any one of these techniques will be unique and tailored to the specific purposes of the study conducted. The most used techniques and their strengths and limitations are well described in many books (Babbie, 2010; Creswell, 2003; Hair et al., 2005; Neuman, 2006; Phillimore & Goodson, 2004; Veal, 2006; Yin, 1994). Here, we concentrate on recent developments and issues of particular relevance to tourism research.

The main disadvantages are well known: cost and time. Collecting tailored information tends to be expensive in terms of resources needed (money and people) and it may take a long time to properly design the research and process the results. Recently, use of the internet and the world wide web has reduced the cost and time requirements for conducting surveys. However, unless used carefully, the use of online surveys can hide problems related to the representativeness of the sample and the technical characteristics of the medium used and individual differences among respondents can bias results. Of course, these concerns are not unique to electronic media, but can be exacerbated by the seductive ease and speed of online data collection. Indeed, many survey experts consider internet surveying (provided the sample is representative) to provide valid, reliable and relatively error-free results, among other reasons because data are captured directly from the respondent without the need for an interviewer or assistant to enter the data separately into a database for analysis (Dillman, 2007).

Regardless of the method used to capture primary data, the researcher should consider and understand well all issues associated with sampling (representativeness and sample size) and obtaining data of suitable quality. From a practical point of view, it is advisable to start any study by surveying a pilot sample and studying the responses obtained. Participants in the pilot study can be asked to identify any questions that they found difficult to understand or to answer and, using a technique known as cognitive interviewing, they can also be asked how they interpreted specific questions. The data collected from a pilot study can be used to estimate population parameters for the statistical models that will be used to draw conclusions from the final survey, information that can be used to determine the data distribution and sample size necessary or desirable for the larger-scale investigation to be conducted effectively (Dillman, 2007; Pan, 2010).

Secondary data

In many cases, collecting primary data is not within the reach of the investigator. Furthermore, it is not always necessary to have primary data to conduct a study. For example, very few researchers would start collecting primary data on the number of tourists visiting a country or on the gross domestic product (GDP) of some nations. When theoretical or practical reasons do not indicate direct collection of data, secondary data are used. Secondary data are data gathered, typically by someone else, for a purpose other than the study for which they will be used. The main sources of secondary data external to an organisation are government agencies (statistical bureaus, public tourism departments), international associations and institutions, private research companies and industry associations. Data from these sources are available directly from the provider (particularly in the case of those public institutions that have an obligation – often by law – to make public the outcomes of their activities) or from libraries and electronic databases. Often, they can be obtained from these sources over the internet. Useful data for some studies can also be found in previously published research or reports. Increasingly, secondary data are drawn from the databases (typically customer or visitor databases) maintained by individual organisations. A special case of secondary data is so-called Big Data, which we discuss in Chapter 8.

Secondary data tend to be readily available and they are often free or inexpensive to obtain. It is often possible to assemble large quantities of...