Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

Methodology/Approach

The primary research in this study combined use of a face-to-face

questionnaire and of an online questionnaire in order to reach its

population. A total of 270 responses were collected.

Sample

An appropriate sampling technique had to be decided that would

represent the relevant population and its relationship to airlines

(Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996). The target population of this

study was those in the general public who have used an airline. Reaching

the population was important and involved selecting an appropriate

sampling method for the research; a successful sample is one where, if

the study was repeated elsewhere, the findings should not vary

considerably (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996). Probability

sampling was relied on in the face-to-face surveys; this assumes the

sample selected represents the larger population (Berg, 2001).

A systematic sampling strategy was used in the face-to-face street

surveys to select the sample (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996),

where every 8th person that walked past was selected; most people were

willing once the purpose of the survey was explained. Usually in

systematic sampling, the interval between respondents is decided by

dividing the population by the desired number of questionnaire

responses, however Plymouth’s population is 261,546 (Plymouth City

Council, 2016/17) and only 54 face-to-face responses were needed,

which would involve approaching every 4,670 person, something not

feasible given the time constraints. A systematic sampling method was

adopted as it was appropriate for use on a large population where a

printed list of the population is unavailable (Frankfort-Nachmias and

Nachmias, 1996; Berg, 2001).

The online sample consisted of a convenience sample or availability

sample where potential respondents were close and accessible via the

internet (Berg, 2001). Through convenience sampling, the questionnaire

was circulated via email through a personal database, as well as by online

forums that were accessible. The use of convenience sampling over the

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internet gave a total of 216 responses. Although convenience sampling is

criticised (Berg, 2001), in the circumstances of this study and given the

time constraints, this technique, in addition to the systematic sampling,

provided an inexpensive way to reach a larger sample, making the

research more relevant and representative (Berg, 2001).