Tourism Research Statistics Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The problem for which the consultant was appointed includes all of the three things mentioned.

The passage says that online travel companies have not reached break-even because of the bargaining power of customers and principal service providers, and that they have moved online to reach mass markets. The consultant was hired to find the problems that stop these firms from reaching break-even, so the strong bargaining power, the wish to reach larger markets and the break-even point are all part of the situation studied.

Choosing only one of the three would leave out the other two named in the passage, so the option that says all of the above is the right one.

Answer: B

The first stage, used to explore the problem, was qualitative research.

The passage says the consulting firm made both qualitative and quantitative studies. Exploring an unclear problem calls for qualitative methods first, such as open-ended questions, interviews and discussions, to learn what the issues are. The quantitative stage then measures them with scales and statistical tests on a large sample.

Quantitative research is the later stage that tests hypotheses. Descriptive research describes the market and its characteristics and is not the exploratory stage. The option that says all of the above is wrong, because the question asks which method was used first.

Answer: A

The t-test is the right test for comparing users and non-users of a service.

There are two groups, users and non-users, and the comparison is of their scores or means on a scale, which is what the independent samples t-test does.

ANOVA is used when there are three or more groups, such as the lower, middle and higher income groups in the passage. MANOVA is used when several dependent variables are tested together. The Friedman rank test is for ranked data from the same subjects measured under several conditions, which is not the case for two separate groups.

Answer: C

Factor analysis is the appropriate method for drawing conclusions from the statement-type questions on a Likert scale.

A questionnaire with many opinion statements on a Likert scale yields a large number of correlated variables. Factor analysis groups them into a few underlying factors, which lets the researcher draw logical conclusions about what customers think.

Reliability analysis only checks the consistency of the scale, for example with Cronbach's alpha. Standard analysis is not a recognised technique. Trend analysis looks at change over time, which a single survey does not give.

Answer: C

The standard level for testing the significance of a hypothesis is 0.05.

A significance level of 0.05 means a 5 per cent risk of rejecting a true null hypothesis. It is the level used by convention in social science and management research, with 0.01 used when stricter proof is needed.

The levels of 0.10 and 0.20 are too loose and are not standard for a final test, and 0.01 is the stricter level used only for special cases, so the standard one is 0.05.

Answer: A

Following the passage, the collage technique is a projective method in which the participants show their view of a place by composing images, and the key reads it as one that works with images of the destinations, so the answer is option A.

It is not a way to give cheaper accommodation (B) or to meet travel cost (C), since it is a research method and not a pricing step, and it is not a way to put peculiar sites on display (D), since the images are chosen by the participants and not by the organiser.

Answer: B

The collage technique is a qualitative method of research. It asks the participants to represent a topic visually and then interprets the result, and so it works with meanings and perceptions and not with numerical measurement. So the answer is option B.

It is not a quantitative method (A), because no counts or statistics are the aim. It is not a survey and data collection method (C) in the sense of a questionnaire, and snowballing (D) is a way of choosing respondents, not a research method of the kind described.

Answer: B

According to the passage, the last level of the collage interpretation reflects the subjective perception of the city, linked with the values and feelings that it transmits. So the collage method represents the subjective perception of the city, option B.

The objective image of the city is given by the observation level, not by the whole method, so option C is wrong. A neutral image (A) and a traditional image (D) are not terms used in the passage.

Answer: C

The 420 studies were based on both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

The passage says that forecasts are traditionally generated by either quantitative or qualitative approaches, and that 420 studies of tourism demand forecasting appeared in 1960-2002. The key reads these studies as covering both kinds of approach.

The time-series approach is only one of the statistical methods mentioned, so the studies were not limited to it. Quantitative alone and qualitative alone each leave out half of what the passage names.

Answer: A

Time-series methods use past patterns in data to extrapolate future values.

The passage defines them in exactly those words: they take the pattern of the past and project it forward.

The other options describe knowing the past only or exploring the future, which is looser and does not repeat the passage's statement. 'None of the above' is wrong, because the first option is the definition.