Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

Step 5: Whom to approach

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As every person visiting the tourist attraction on a survey day has been deemed to be

eligible for interview, then each should, as far as possible, have the same chance of

being part of the survey. In the example, which has been developed here, the

population of the visitors to the site is not known, and interviewing say every tenth

person to exit may leave interviewers with little to do during parts of the day.

However, instructing interviewers to decide for themselves whom to approach is

likely to introduce bias. This is because some interviewers will naturally select

certain types of people who they feel are more approachable and likely to agree to an

interview. In a similar sense, individuals who present themselves for interview

should not be permitted to be included. This is because self-selection may introduce

bias in the form of producing results with a disproportionately high number of

respondents who had ‘something to say’.

The Tourism and Recreation Research Unit (1983) recommends that the ‘next-to-

pass’ technique be adopted in these circumstances. In short, the interviewer is

suitably located and the first person to pass this point is approached for interview.

When this interview is completed (if agreement to take part is reached), the next

person to pass is similarly approached. Obviously, if somebody passes whilst an

interview is in progress then they are not chased after or required to wait! With a fair

number of survey days, interview points and well-trained interviewers, this technique

should yield satisfactory results. The interviewer has no control over when a visitor

decides to leave the site and pass the interview point and hence this removes

interviewer bias in the selection of respondents.