Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

Response to introduction

Whilst A gets a positive response immediately, B’s respondent seems less

sure, especially over how long it is going to take. Moreover, B should step

in at this point and indicate that an individual respondent is required, as

group responses may be confusing.

Questions 1 and 2

The responses to A’s questions are easy to understand and code. B,

however, has not realised the importance of having only one respondent

because the group is split over whether they have come from home or are

on a holiday. B has not taken control of the interview as the responses show

that whilst the group members are trying to be helpful they are digressing

from the questions. The way this is resolved is not particularly satisfactory

as the group has self-selected its spokesperson. It is also clear that the

respondent wants to get away and doesn’t really have much time to answer

the questions. This aspect would have been covered if B had read out the

introduction properly so that the respondents may have politely declined if

they were unable to answer questions for 10 minutes.

Question 3

Interviewer A asks the question properly. The first response is not complete

so A makes a non-verbal response, gets some more information and then

again encourages the respondent to develop the answer more fully. In the

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end, the purpose of the visit is clear. B, however, senses the irritation and

urgency of the respondent and does not bother to probe. Furthermore, the

interview is terminated by the respondent, George, who is replaced by

Frank. At this point, B should realise his mistakes, thank the respondents

and cease the interview, however he perseveres regardless.

Question 4

By this time, Interviewer A is in her stride and a good rapport has been

developed with the respondent. She has control over the interview and the

respondent is relaxed in his answers and is happy with the experience of

being interviewed. Interviewer B, however, has completely failed – the

answers have moved from George to Frank and the muddle anticipated has

definitely occurred. In the main, the failure is down to initially misleading

the respondent about the length of the interview, not taking control by

specifying that a single respondent was required and not following the

instructions correctly. Had the interview been completed, the quality of the

answers would have been poor.