DIMITRIOS- TLH251: RESEARCH METHODS FOR THE SERVICE SECTOR

The Portfolio contains various items related to a Qualitative Research Project focused on Windsor Castle. Here is a summary of the key items in the Portfolio: 1. An Interview Checklist: This section introduces the researcher's goal to understand Windsor Castle, a popular tourist spot in London. It lists specific questions about the socioeconomic background of the participants, tour arrangements, tourist activities, and recent experiences of the tour. 2. Participant Observation: Describes the researcher's observations of visitors at Windsor Castle, conducted on the outskirts and streets leading to the castle. Highlights that observations were conducted with permission from the castle's management. Notes the excitement and engagement of visitors, especially regarding the historical significance of the castle and its use for royal weddings. 3. A Visual Methodologies Practical: Discusses the importance of visuals and photography in advertising and promotion. Includes a picture of Windsor Castle, emphasizing its architectural beauty and the crowd of visitors as a compelling reason to visit. These items collectively form a Qualitative Research Portfolio aimed at gaining insights into the experiences and perceptions of tourists visiting Windsor Castle. The portfolio employs a variety of research methods, including interviews, participant observation, and visual analysis, to achieve this goal.

DIMITRIOS- TLH251: RESEARCH METHODS FOR
THE SERVICE SECTOR (USL)
QUALITATIVE PORTFOLIO

Table of Contents
Assessment 1: Qualitative Research Portfolio.................................................................................3
Item 1: An Interview Checklist:.......................................................................................................3
Item 2: Participant Observation:......................................................................................................7
Observation Participant Checklist...................................................................................................8
Short Commentary:........................................................................................................................10
Item 3: A Visual Methodologies Practical:....................................................................................11
Item 4: A Coded Interview Transcript:..........................................................................................15
Output of the Source Code:...........................................................................................................18
Item 5: Research Proposal.............................................................................................................19
Introduction:..................................................................................................................................20
Research Aim:................................................................................................................................20
Research Objective:.......................................................................................................................20
Rationale:.......................................................................................................................................20
Research Methodology:.................................................................................................................21
Research Analysis:.........................................................................................................................23
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................24
References:....................................................................................................................................25
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Assessment 1: Qualitative Research Portfolio
Item 1: An Interview Checklist:
Research project: “Windsor Castle”
Main questions Specific topics and issues
Introduction of the researcher I am going to take an interview as it is part of
my research project which is undertaking for
my academic research objective.
Goal of the research project The prime goal of this research is to
understand Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is
the favourite tourist spot in London.
Socioeconomic background of the
participants
What are the average age group of most of
the tourists?
o 18 to 30
o 31-50
o 50-80
o All age groups
What is the gender of most of the tourists?
o Male
o Female
o Other
Do most of the tourist are employed?
o Yes
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o No
Do most of the tourists are from the UK
itself? If not specify the country name.
o Yes
o No
o Other
Tour arrangement Do the tourist are aware about the historical
heritage of Windsor Castle?
o Yes
o No
Which medium is used by tourists to visit
Windsor Castle?
o Travel agency
o Tour guides
Where else would tourists like to go?
o Buckingham palace
o Trafford Centre
o Other_____
Does this tour is economical for the tourists?
o Yes
o No
Tourist activity What is the most attractive part about the
Windsor Castle?
o Location
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o Historical background
o Infrastructure
Does the historical heritage the reason behind
the frequent visit by tourists?
o Yes
o No
Which mode of transportation is being used
by the tourists?
o Public transportation
o Private transportation
Recent experience of the tour Is the United Kingdom’s historical heritage
attracting tourists?
o Yes
o No
Does the tourist follow the guidelines
provided by the Windsor Castle
management?
o Yes
o No
What will be the tourist's experience after
visiting Windsor Castle? Was it memorable
for them?
o Yes
o No
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Item 2: Participant Observation
I have observed the place while conducting participant observation of the experiences of the
visitors at Windsor Castle. I have conducted observation on the outskirts of Windsor Castle and
the streets leading to the Castle. The observation I have conducted by entering the surrounding of
the castle and I will observe the visitors. I have observed the participants maximum for the
length of 2-3 minutes to ask questions about the visitor's experience and to observe the visitors at
Windsor Castle. While conducting the observation, the I was able to gain access to the place
easily, as the tickets for visiting the place are available and for performing the observation, thus I
have taken permission from management to observe the visitors and write down the reactions
and conversations. The purpose of my observation is to observe the reactions of the visitors
visiting the destination and the visitor's behaviour through audience view. The behaviour that I
observed while conducting the participant observation was that the visitors that visited Windsor
Castle were amazed by the strong presence the castle creates with its exceptional architecture. I
was being observant that the visitors seemed to have a good experience while knowing the
history behind the Windsor Castle architecture and also knowing more about the historical and
royal stories from the guides.
The Windsor castle royal palace is basically famous for the royal weddings being held there and
especially famous for Prince Harry and Megan's wedding, which makes the place more exciting
for the visitors, and thus it was able to observe the excitement of the visitors while having
conversations while visiting the exact location of the royal weddings (Nicholson, 2022). While
performing the participant observations, I observed the interactions between the visitors, those
who were families, couples, and friends. The visitors had conversations about how the visit to
Windsor Castle was worth keeping in mind the beauty and scale the castle offers to the visitors
(Bartlett, 2019). The children among the visitors were excited to see the 1,000 statues of Order of
the Garter knights in shining armour decorating the walls, which was observed by the researcher
as a part of participant observation and were also excited to see Queen Mary’s Doll’s House,
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which is considered to be the largest doll house in the world, which was observed that it was
exciting and fun for the children and engaging enough to visit the royal place.
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Observation Participant Checklist
Items Never Often Always
Did the researcher
participate, observe
or somewhere in
between? Does this
have any
implications for
data?
Was the setting for
research project
open or closed??
Were some parts
inaccessible to the
researcher?
Did the researcher
have to negotiate
access to the field?
Does accessibility
have any
implications for
your research?
Did the researcher
have the consent of
the participants who
came to visit the
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✔
✔
✔
✔
✔

Castle?
Was the place
accessible to the
researcher for
conducting
observation?
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✔

Short Commentary:
In this participant observation, the researcher was the observer, and the data collected through the
observation explains the experiences of the visitors visiting Windsor Castle and contributes to the
research with more relevant and firm information and data which explains its implications for the
observation data(Le Nguyen, X., 2023).
For conducting the participant observations, the researcher had no setting arranged, but the
researcher visited Windsor Castle and asked for permission from the management to include the
observation in the research (Blamire et al., 2023). The visiting place was accessible to the
researcher for the observation, and the observation was conducted with the following ethical
considerations and asking permission from the management (Roy and Uekusa, 2020).
To conduct the research and the participant observation, the researcher didn't have to negotiate
access to Windsor Castle. The researcher was able to get access as a visitor to Windsor Castle
and was able to get permission for conducting the participant observation and use the observed
data for the research.
The accessibility of the location has implications for the research, as to observe the participants,
the researcher should have access to visit the location and observe the visitors to gather the data
and information for the research (Thomer, 2022). The accessibility for the royal palace was on
weekdays and for a few hours, and the castle was possibly closed on royal ceremonies, which
made the location for the researcher accessible but with a few limitations (Boulos, 2023).
While performing the participant observation for the research, the researcher was nervous as the
observation was being taken at a public place and observing people without their consent was
something unethical despite being asked for permission from the participants after observing and
the management (Talebzadeh et al., 2023).
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Item 3: A Visual Methodologies Practical
Visuals and photography are important for advertising and promotion of any product or service
provided by organizations (Wawrowski and Otola, 2020). The visuals and photography convey
the message the organization aims to communicate to its consumer base. The visuals of the
posters play a significant role in attracting the audience and creating an impact that can enhance
the value through visuals.
Figure 1: Windsor Castle
(Source: windsor.gov.uk, 2023)
This picture of Windsor Castle takes the whole view of the palace and also showcases the beauty
of the architecture of the palace by including the palace view in the photo (Ronnes and
Haverman, 2020). The picture includes the long-distance perspective of the palace and which
also includes the crowd coming to visit the destination, and it conveys that despite the picture's
long-distance perspective, the volume of the crowd is convincing enough to convey the worth of
visiting Windsor Castle.
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Figure 2: Windsor Castle
(Source: London-tickets.co.uk, 2023)
This picture of Windsor Castle also has a long-distance perspective for the view, where the
picture focuses on bringing the castle, the long road surrounded by trees, and the people walking
around and enjoying the view in the frame (Pennock, 2020). The picture shows tries to explore
the emotions of the viewer by showcasing how the visitors in the picture are enjoying and
exploring the magnificent view. The picture showcases the people at Windsor Castle and how
they are enjoying their time there like a normal day while getting enough view and experience of
nature and excellent architecture at the same time (Akhtar, 2023). The picture has a long-distance
perspective view for the viewers to showcase both the palace and the greenery of the palace, the
grey and green colour palate balances the frame and sheds light on the magnificent view of
Windsor Castle.
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Figure 3: Windsor Castle
(Source: windsor.gov.uk, 2023)
This picture completely gives the royal feeling by showcasing all the royal settings in the picture
and the room. The picture has a red and golden color palate in the frame, which speaks for itself
in royalty. The picture is taken from a perspective where the picture covers almost a complete
room and showcases the royal furniture and the other royal elements that attract the attention of
the viewers and incline them towards visiting the place for experiencing the royalty not just
through pictures but personally (Onyejegbu et al., 2023). The picture explains the presence of
royal history by showcasing the royal furniture and the royal settings in the picture, and also the
pictures of the royal family on the wall of the room also depict the royal history that has been
running in Windsor Castle for ages, which attracts the attention of the people or audience for
getting excited and curious about the royal history and the stories that explore the contribution of
the royal family to the country's history and achievements (Kusukawa, 2019).
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Figure 4: Windsor Castle
(Source: windsor.gov.uk, 2023)
The picture showcases the people enjoying a normal day like being at a cafe, which gives the
people a perspective that they can enjoy the visits at Windsor Castle like a normal day of visiting
some other place. The picture showcases the equal treatment of the people or the visitors even
though the place is a royal place, and this factor attracts the attention of the visitors or tourists to
enjoy small things at the royal palace and take a moment to feel royalty. The picture showcases
the people enjoying and having conversations, which lets the people get curious and visit the
palace and gain the experience personally (Cheung et al., 2023).
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Item 4: A Coded Interview Transcript
## Online R compiler to run R program online
## Print "Hello World!" message
# Function to print interviewer's questions and take interviewee's responses
Ask question <- function(question) {
Cat (paste ("Interviewer: ", question, "\n"))
response <- read line ("Interviewee: ")
return (response)
}
# Function to save the interview transcript to a file
Save transcript <- function (transcript, filename) {
Write Lines (transcript, filename)
}
# Main function to conduct the interview
Conduct interview <- function () {
# Introduction
Cat ("Welcome to the International Country Visit Interview! \n \n")
# Initialize transcript
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transcript <- character ()
# Ask interviewee's name
name <- ask question ("Do most of the tourists are from the UK itself? If not, specify the
name.")
transcript <- c (transcript, paste ("Interviewer: Do most of the tourists are from the UK itself? If
not, specify the name.\n",
"Interviewee:", name, "\n"))
# Ask about the purpose of the international visit
purpose <- ask question ("Do the tourist are aware about historical heritage of Windsor castle?")
transcript <- c (transcript, paste ("Interviewer: Do the tourist are aware about historical heritage
of Windsor castle? \n",
"Interviewee:", purpose, "\n"))
# Ask about the countries they've previously visited
Visited countries <- ask question ("Does the historical heritage is reason behind the frequent
visit by tourists?")
transcript <- c (transcript, paste ("Interviewer: Does the historical heritage is reason behind the
frequent visit by tourists? \n",
"Interviewee:", visited countries, "\n"))
# Ask about their expectations for this country visit
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expectations <- ask question ("What will be the tourist's experience after visiting Windsor
Castle? Was it memorable for them?")
transcript <- c (transcript, paste ("Interviewer: What will be the tourist's experience after
visiting Windsor Castle? Was it memorable for them? \n",
"Interviewee:", expectations, "\n"))
# Thank the interviewee and conclude the interview
Cat ("Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Have a great international country visit!\n")
# Save the transcript to a file
filename <- paste ("interview transcript", format (Sys time (), "%Y % m% d_% H% M% S"),
".txt", sep = "")
save transcript (transcript, filename)
}
# Call the main function to start the interview
Conduct interview ()
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Output of the Source Code:
Welcome to the International Country Visit Interview!
Interviewer: Do most of the tourists are from the UK itself? If not, specify the name.
Interviewee:
Interviewer: Do the tourist are aware about historical heritage of Windsor castle?
Interviewee:
Interviewer: Does the historical heritage is reason behind the frequent visit by tourists?
Interviewee:
Interviewer: What will be the tourist's experience after visiting Windsor Castle? Was it
memorable for them?
Interviewee:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Have a great international country visit!
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Item 5: Research Proposal
Name:
Student Number:
Course:
A title for proposal: To measuring visitors’ satisfaction and identify the
information of Windsor castle.
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Introduction
The following research proposal will be focused on ‘Windsor Castle’. The different aspects
related to Windsor Castle and tourists' experience of visiting Windsor Castle will also be part of
this proposal. This proposal will include all the information related to Windsor Castle. Windsor
Castle is the royal residence at Windsor in Berkshire. It is linked with the English county and
was built in the 11th century. It is considered one of the largest occupied castles in the globe.
Since it's a royal residence, there is a maximum attraction for tourists due to the reason that
Windsor Castle offers a range of highlights for tourists to explore and understand.
Research Aim:
The aim of this research proposal will be to identify the information regarding Windsor Castle
and measure the satisfaction of tourists visiting Windsor Castle.
Research Objective:
 To analyse the information about the Windsor Castle
 To measure tourist satisfaction after visiting the Windsor Castle
 To identify the different aspects related to the Windsor Castle
Rationale:
The project will be completely based on identifying the information regarding Windsor Castle as
there are certain highlights which attract tourists and travellers to visit Windsor Castle. These
highlights mainly consist of State apartments which are a collection of ceremonial rooms that
show the grandeur of Windsor Castle. Also, the St. George’s Chapel is an example of Gothic
architecture for tourists. Apart from that, Windsor Castle is also famous for Queen Mary’s doll’s
house which is a miniature created for Queen Mary. In order to identify such importance of
Windsor Castle a maximum number of tourists visits Windsor Castle; this research proposal will
be carried out.
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Research Methodology
As far as this project has been considered the research philosophy has been chosen by the
researcher is positivism (Nottingham.ac.uk, 2023). As positivism is referred to as the
philosophical state which emphasizes the significance of empirical evidence and methods for
acquiring knowledge. It holds the genuine knowledge which is true by the definition or derived
from the facts through reason and logic on the basis of sensory experience (open.ac.uk, 2018).
This philosophy has pros as it relies on quantitative data that positivists believe is more reliable
than that of qualitative research. However, there is inflexibility which is unable to account for
social processes.
For this project case of Windsor Castle, the approach of research used by the researcher is the
Deductive approach. As it is mainly based on the research objective and applying the numeric
data for the creation of the hypothesis on the research statement of identifying the information of
Windsor Castle. This approach of deductive research helped the researcher to delve into the
subject matter of analysing the different aspects of Windsor Castle which attracts the tourist base.
The main goal of this deductive approach is to acquire the information for analysing the Windsor
Castle highlights which attracts the tourists' attention towards it.
The research strategy used by the researcher here will be the interview through which the data
for the completion of the research can be gathered. Apart from that, by collecting the data from
chosen individuals and tourists based using the interview approach, a complete analysis can be
done. By simply asking the questions participants related to the Windsor Castle visit experience,
the measurement of their tourism satisfaction can be done. This kind of strategy aims the
collecting data on the research topic and analyse the varied characteristics such as responses,
answers and feedback of the participants can be measured. This is known as the unique research
strategy through which the researcher can be able to collect the right data gathered straight from
the respondents.
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For this research case of Windsor Castle, the researcher has decided to implement the primary
research method. The interview which is consisted of the Primary research method would be the
appropriate method for analysing the information and tourist satisfaction after visiting Windsor
Castle (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). That is the reason why, the researcher has decided to
implement this primary research methodology through which he collected the primary responses
from the chosen 10-15 individuals who have visited Windsor Castle around the outskirt of
Windsor Castle on the street. From this primary method, the researcher got the responses straight
from the individuals and tourists which also ensure the credibility of the research. This method
has also some positive points such as it is one of the flexible researching methods for conducting
research and gathering related information. In addition to that, through implementing this method
of interview, the researcher could be able to uncover the feedback, reviews and opinions of the
tourists and individuals who have visited Windsor Castle and experienced the facility provided
by the management of Windsor Castle for common people. However, this is considered a time-
consuming process which is counted as a disadvantage of the primary research method (Sileyew,
2019).
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Research Analysis
In this case of the research, it is analysed by the researcher that there are different aspects which
affect the satisfaction level of the tourist base and other individuals who have come to visit
Windsor Castle. Therefore, developing this proposal on identifying the information about
Windsor Castle is important. Apart from that, the researcher has also analysed that in order to
identify the information about Windsor Castle it is important to implement the primary research
method (Soton.ac.uk, 2023). Therefore, the researcher has decided to implement the primary
research method in which he has analysed to use the interview tool for gathering and collecting
the data related to Windsor Castle. Besides that, the researcher has also analysed that while
conducting the primary research method and taking an interview with the visitors and tourists it
is important to maintain dignity (bl.uk, 2023). Therefore, the researcher has also considered some
of the ethical considerations which also state that the Participant's anonymity, keeping the
information taken from the individuals and participants secure (personal information), providing
individuals and participants prior information regarding the research topic, issues and potential
risk associated with the research. This will be helpful for the researcher to maintain the
credibility of the research and enhance the quality of the research as well.
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Conclusion
From the above research project proposal, it is identified by the researcher that this research was
mainly based on the finding out information about the royal residence Windsor Castle. The
Windsor Castle is one of the royal residences situated in England. Windsor Castle was built in
the 11th century. It is considered one of the largest occupied castles at the global level. In order
to identify the research objectives and find the information related to Windsor Castle the
researcher has decided to implement a specific procedure. The researcher has decided to
implement the primary research method through which he has gathered the data required for the
research completion. By implementing the interview method (primary research method) the
researcher will be able to gather the respondent's responses about their experience at Windsor
Castle (smartsurvey.co.uk, 2023). Through this, the researcher would be able to construct the
research more effectively and efficiently. Apart from that, it is concluded that through
interviewing the different individuals and tourists who came to visit Windsor Castle and the
outskirt of Windsor Castle the researcher will be able to ask them relevant questions and gather
responses about their experience, feedback and opinions regarding the facility provided by the
management of the Windsor castle. Therefore, this methodology has been considered the
effective method for gathering the responses and developing the research proposal in a more
effective way. In addition to that, the researcher has decided to implement the random sampling
method through which he can easily choose the individuals for conducting the interview.
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