Understanding Mixed Methods Research

This assignment delves into the realm of mixed methods research, a powerful approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. It emphasizes understanding the principles behind this methodology, its diverse applications across disciplines, and the advantages it offers for generating comprehensive and nuanced insights. The document likely explores various types of mixed methods designs, data analysis strategies, and ethical considerations associated with this research paradigm.

Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report is grounded on the analysis of the tourism and hospitality industry. The analysis is
done based on a case study which is related to the increased usage of technology in the
operations of the industry. The research is done with the help of different types of research
methods including qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The different methods
are discussed in detail and the appropriate method for the analysis is chosen in the process.
The research philosophies are also discussed in the report. The topic is analysed with the help
of the mixed methodology method and the ethics of research are analysed. The report is
concluded with the learning that the use of technology can help in increasing the productivity
and customer satisfaction in the tourism and hospitality industry.

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Table of Contents
1.Introduction.................................................................................................................4
2.Philosophical Theory..................................................................................................4
2.1 Ontology...............................................................................................................4
2.2 Epistemology........................................................................................................5
2.3 Axiology...............................................................................................................5
3.Research Philosophy...................................................................................................6
3.1 Positivism philosophy..........................................................................................6
3.2 Interpretive philosophy........................................................................................6
3.3 Critical philosophy...............................................................................................7
3.3.1 Feminist Theory............................................................................................7
3.3.2 Postmodernist Theory...................................................................................7
4.Qualitative Research...................................................................................................8
4.1 Definition.............................................................................................................8
4.2 Qualitative research approaches...........................................................................9
4.2.1 Ethnography..................................................................................................9
4.2.2 Grounded Theory..........................................................................................9
4.1.3 Phenomenology...........................................................................................10
4.3 Qualitative data collection methods...................................................................11
4.3.1 Interview.....................................................................................................11
4.3.2 Focus group.................................................................................................12
4.3.3 Participants observation..............................................................................12

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4.4 Qualitative data analysis....................................................................................12
5.Quantative Research..................................................................................................13
5.1 Definition...........................................................................................................13
5.2 Quantitative data collection method...................................................................14
5.2.1 Sampling method........................................................................................14
5.2.2 Questionnaire survey...................................................................................14
5.3 Quantitative data analysis..................................................................................15
5.3.1 Inferential statistics.....................................................................................15
5.3.2 Descriptive statistics....................................................................................15
6.Mixed Methodology..................................................................................................15
7.Ethics.........................................................................................................................16
8.Conclusion.................................................................................................................16
References....................................................................................................................17

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1.Introduction
Hospitality management is mainly related to the study of an industry which is related
to hospitality and tourism as well. This is mainly a major part of the hospitality industry
which consists of trained managers related to customer service and human resources. The
managers of this industry play a major role in the coordination between the staff members
and thereby give the guests a high level of experience. Hospitality management consists of
many other components which are hotels, restaurants, resorts, casinos, airlines and tour
agencies (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017). The case study which is taken into consideration
for the analysis is related to the progress of the communication and information technology in
the tourism and hospitality industry.
Research hypothesis – H0 - There is no effect of technology and communications in
the tourism and hospitality industry.
H1 – The use of technology has affected the field of tourism and hospitality.
2.Philosophical Theory
The philosophical theory related to the case study of progress of the communications
and information related technologies in tourism and hospitality is that the increased use of
technology has helped in the development of the industry. The problems and the challenges
in the tourism and hospitality industry can be resolved with the help of the use of internet and
technologies. The fast development of internet and the integration of the different activities
with the technologies have been able to fulfil the increasing demands of the customers
(Bernard 2017). This is the major philosophy of the case study analysis that is discussed in
the report.

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2.1 Ontology
The major usage of different types of technologies related to information and
communication in the hospitality industry is the major ontology in the case study.
Information technology and communication is an important part of the hospitality industry in
the current business scenario. The demands of the customers are increasing in a continuous
basis and technologies are useful in fulfilling these demands in a fruitful manner. Internet and
web technologies have now become an integral part of each and every industry including the
hospitality industry as well (Birks 2014). The usage of technology and communication in the
hospitality industry has helped in increasing the efficiency of the different processes.
2.2 Epistemology
The case study mainly discusses and analyses the relation between the different
technologies that are used in the tourism and hospitality industry with the increasing demands
of the consumers. The major stages of the decision-making process of the consumers are
discussed in the case study. The rationality of the usage of technology and communications in
the tourism and hospitality industry is discussed in the case study. The five major steps of the
consumer decision-making process are recognition of the needs, searching the information,
evaluating the different alternatives, making decisions related to purchase, behaviour after the
purchase (Boufoy-Bastick 2014).
2.3 Axiology
The axiology of the case study is mainly related to the discussion based on aesthetics
and the ethics that are involved in the case study. The investigation is related to the concept
of what is right and what is good with respect to the individual or the society at large. The
usage of communications and technology in the hospitality industry is effective for the
individuals and the society as well. Technology can help in speeding up of the different
processes that are related to the industry. This will also help in the improvement of customer

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satisfaction, meeting the demands of the consumers (Carpenter et al. 2016). The reliability of
the consumers on the hospitality managers can also be increased with the usage of
technology.
3.Research Philosophy
The research in the mentioned case study is based on the progressing usage of
technologies related to communication and information in the hospitality industry. The data is
mainly based on the perceptions of the consumers related to the mentioned topic and
perspective of the industry is also taken into consideration. The major technologies that are
discussed in the report are mainly the environment of social media, the usage of new
processes of communication in the industry (Creswell and Poth 2017). The new technologies
can therefore be helpful in improving the relationships between the consumers and the
organizations.
3.1 Positivism philosophy
The positivism philosophy is mainly a philosophical theory that states knowledge
which is based on the natural phenomena and the properties as well as relations. The
information that is derived from the sensory experiences are mainly interpreted with the help
of logic and reasoning. The philosophy of positivism mainly states that physical surroundings
operate according to the general laws (Creswell 2014). The data that is received with the help
of the senses are considered to be the empirical evidence and hence it can be said that the
philosophy of positivism is mainly based on the empiricism.
3.2 Interpretive philosophy
The interpretive philosophy is mainly based on the process of interpreting the
different elements of a particular study and this is also a process of integrating human
interests within the study. Interpretive philosophy is mainly associated to the philosophical

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point of the idealism and is thereby used to cluster the diverse approaches together, which
include phenomenology, social constructivism and hermeneutics. The study related to
interpretive philosophy is mainly focussed on the meaning and it can also employ multiple
number of methods so that different aspects of the issue can be reflected (Eriksson and
Kovalainen 2015).
3.3 Critical philosophy
Critical philosophy is related to the criticism of theories and knowledge rather than
justification. The main task of the philosophers is to subject al the related theories rather than
demonstrating them. The character of the theories, the foundations and the experiences are
also investigated by the philosopher according to the critical philosophy.
The suitable type of philosophy for the case study that is taken into consideration is
Interpretive philosophy. Interpretive philosophy is mainly based on the interpretation of
qualitative data. The case study does not consist of any quantitative analysis and this is the
main reason for selecting interpretive philosophy (Hausman, McPherson and Satz 2016).
3.3.1 Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is mainly related to the critical theory and is an addition to feminism
into the philosophical, fictional and theoretical discourse. The feminist philosophy is based to
the philosophical approach from the feminist perspective. The issue in the case study can also
be seen from the feminist perspective as the use of technology in the hospitality and tourism
industry can increase the safety related to the customers (Carpenter et al. 2016).
3.3.2 Postmodernist Theory
The postmodernist theory in research philosophy is described as the way of critical
thinking and it is related to the liberation from the discourses of ruling. The attitude of the

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research towards social world and the current state related to historical development is
described as postmodernist theory (Creswell 2014).
Figure 1. Source – Created by author
4.Qualitative Research
This method mainly encompasses many other research methods and it is a broad
approach related to methodology. The aims related to qualitative research varies with
disciplinary backgrounds which includes psychologists who try to gather in-depth
understanding related to human behaviour. Qualitative research is mainly related to how the
decisions are made and why they are made as well. The qualitative research deals with the
understanding of the situation or phenomenon or the event that is obtained after exploring the
total situation (Henwood 2014).
RESEARCH
PHILOSOPHY
POSITIVISM
PHILOSOPHY INTERPRETIVE
PHILOSOPHY
CRITICAL
PHILOSOPHY
FEMINIST
THEORY
POSTMODERNIST
THEORY

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4.1 Definition
The most popular method based on qualitative research is mainly the case study
approach which is used to examine the depth of the samples that are provided so that the
situation can be understood in a better manner. Huge amounts of data can be analysed with
the help of qualitative research. The approach begins with a grounded theory and the
researcher can then proceed with scientific as well as empirical ways of research (Hick 2015).
4.2 Qualitative research approaches
Qualitative research approach is mainly based on the ways by which approaches of
conducting research are analysed. The purpose of the research is also described in an implicit
or explicit manner. The role of the research is analysed, followed by the stages of the research
and the method of data analysis as well. Qualitative research is mainly inductive in nature and
thereby no clear research question is mentioned. There are many diverse types of approaches
related to qualitative research. The approaches include, narrative, grounded theory,
phenomenology, case study and ethnography (Law, Buhalis and Cobanoglu 2014).
4.2.1 Ethnography
Ethnography is mainly based on the organized study of cultures and the people as
well. This is used to analyse the cultural phenomena in which the researcher observes the
society from the topic point of view. The culture of a particular group is represented
graphically or with the help of writing using the method of ethnography. Ethnography is
mainly based on the presentation of the empirical data related to the human cultures and the
societies. Ethnography is mainly the holistic study of a particular subject the history of that
subject, the climate, the terrain and the habitat. Ethnographical studies need to be reflexive in
nature so that it can make a contribution regarding the understanding of the social life of the
humans (Marshall and Rossman 2014).

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4.2.2 Grounded Theory
Grounded theory can be explained as the methodology which is inductive in nature
and it is a general theory. This is based on the generation of theory from systematic research
and the generation of theory is also systematic in nature. This approach is inductive in nature
which is contrasting to the hypothetico-deductive approach. The studies which involve
grounded theory mostly begin with a query or a collection of the qualitative data. As and
when more data is gathered and then reread, the codes are grouped together as concepts and
the concepts are gathered as categories (Neuhofer, Buhalis and Ladkin 2015).
4.1.3 Phenomenology
The study related to phenomenology is mainly focussed on the experiences,
occurrences and events with less regard to the physical reality and external factors.
Phenomenology is mainly related to the variation of the interpretive philosophy, including
many other variations like symbolic interactionism and hermeneutics. The ideas related to
business that are generated with the help of phenomenology are gained from large quantities
of data with the help of human interest and induction.
The qualitative research method that is most suitable for the mentioned case study is
the method of ethnography. As has been discussed earlier ethnography is the best approach
that can be used for qualitative research of case studies (O’Gorman, Lochrie and Watson
2014). The approach of ethnography can therefore be used to analyse the use of technology
and communications in the tourism and hospitality industry. The perspective of the
consumers can also be analysed easily with the help of ethnography approach.

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Figure 2. Source – Created by author
4.3 Qualitative data collection methods
Qualitative data is collected by a variety of methods which is used for the research
related activities. The different data collection methods that are used for the purpose of
qualitative research are, focus groups, individual interviews, action research and
observations. These methods of data collection can be successfully used to collect data with
the help of the different samples that are provided (O’Malley et al. 2014).
4.3.1 Interview
Interviews are the most effective tool that can be used to collect data for qualitative
research. The interviews are conducted so that the shortfalls of the previous collected data
can be fulfilled with the help of this process. Deep understanding and thinking can be
undertaken with the help of this approach. Interviews can be helpful for the researchers so
that they can uncover the deep insight and the rich information that they had missed earlier.
However, the interview approach is a massive task and it is also a time-consuming process.
Interviews have been used in the case study that has been taken into consideration (Ormston
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
APPROACHES
ETHOGRAPHY GROUNDED
THEORY ETHOGRAPHY

12CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
et al. 2014). The consumers have been interviewed and their ways of behaving was also
analysed with the help of this process.
4.3.2 Focus group
Focus group is another approach that can be used for the purpose of qualitative
research and this includes the process of interviews as well. A chosen group of people are
interviewed in an interactive session and topic of the survey is also discussed in detail. The
presence of all the relevant people in a group at the same point of time can encourage the
members to get involved in a discussion. This can help the researchers to uncover relevant
information that can be useful for the survey. The facts related to the research are then
gathered together and researchers can understand all the sides of the topic (Pierre 2014). The
search related to groups of relevant people is however a difficult task. The focus group
approach has also been used to analyse the behaviour of the consumers and thereby take
decisions related to the usage of technology in the tourism processes.
4.3.3 Participants observation
Observation is another useful approach related to the analysis of qualitative research.
The observation of the phenomena related to the research topic can prove to be an effective
method of collecting the data with minimum interference. The samples which are not
responsive are not an issue for the purpose of making the direct observations. Simple
observations do not require any type of interruption. The observation approach has also been
used in the case study by the different organizations of the tourism and hospitality sector to
analyse the usage of technology (Raftopoulos and Müller 2016).
4.4 Qualitative data analysis
The examination of qualitative data is conducted after the collection of all the relevant
information is done with the help of the facts collection approaches. The procedure of data

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analysis comprises of many other procedures which are examining, categorising, tabulating
and recombining. The analysis of qualitative data involves many other processes which
involves coding of the information, categorising the information and thereby making sense
related to the various meanings of the phenomenon. Qualitative analysis can therefore be
defined as the method by which the raw data is collected and then it is used to provide the
explanations, the understanding and the interpretation of the topic of the research (Sekaran
and Bougie 2016).
5.Quantative Research
Quantitative research is conducted with the help of systematic investigation of the
empirical data with the help of mathematical, statistical and computational techniques. The
main objective of quantitative research is to formulate and thereby to employ the
mathematical models, hypotheses and theories that are related to the research topic. The
process related to amount is mainly central to the quantitative research as it delivers the major
connection between the accurate expression and empirical observation (Singh 2015).
5.1 Definition
The researcher of the topic analyses the relevant data with the help of the statistics
and it is expected that an unbiased result is provided and can be generalized for a larger
number of people. Quantitative research is mainly used in the fields of economics,
psychology, sociology, demography, marketing, human and health development, community
health and political science. The quantitative methods can be thereby used to prove the truth
of the hypotheses that is related to the research (Winsberg, Huebner and Kukla 2014). The
different scientific methods that are used for this purpose are, generation of the theories,
models and hypotheses, development of the instruments, manipulation of the variables,
collection of the data and analysis (Wortham 2015).

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5.2 Quantitative data collection method
The collection of data related to quantitative research is done with the help of
mathematical, statistical or numerical analysis of the data that is collected with the help of
polls, surveys and questionnaires. This type of research mainly focusses on the process of
gathering the numerical data and thereby generalizing this data across the different groups of
people. The major goal of this type of research is mainly to determine the relation between
the independent variables.
5.2.1 Sampling method
Sampling methods are used in the quantitative research to gather the relevant
information that is required for the purpose of research. There are mainly two kinds of
sampling methods which include probability sampling and non-probability sampling. The
sampling methods are used for the purpose of generalizing about the various groups that are
larger the samples that are taken into consideration (Yanow and Schwartz-Shea 2015). The
goals and the techniques that are related to probability sampling are different from the goals
of the non-probability sampling.
5.2.2 Questionnaire survey
Questionnaires are considered to be the most effective and convenient manner of
gathering the information from the people and can be used to cover a larger geographical
area. This approach can be used to gather both qualitative and quantitative information and
the bias of the interviewer are also reduced in this process. Quantitative types of
questionnaires are the best method to collect data that is numerical data and can be used to
confirm the hypotheses (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017).

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5.3 Quantitative data analysis
Quantitative data analysis is related to the method by which the raw numbers are
transformed to significant data with the help of application of the critical and rational
thinking. The similar figures within a particular data set is deduced in different ways and it is
also significant to apply cautious and fair judgement. The primary data is analysed critically
and interpreted with the help of comparing it with the other findings within the particular
framework (Bernard 2017).
5.3.1 Inferential statistics
Inferential statistics is considered to be a branch of the statistics that uses some
random sample data that is taken from a population. This is mainly used to describe and
thereby make inferences regarding the population. Inferential statistics are important with
relation to the examination of each participant of the entire population.
5.3.2 Descriptive statistics
Descriptive statistics is mainly used to describe the major features of a particular data
within a study. The simple summaries related to the sample as well as the measures are
provided with the help of descriptive statistics. The analysis related to descriptive statistics is
done with the usage of mean, median and mode. The process is conducted with the help of
Microsoft Excel and the results are then analysed (Boufoy-Bastick 2014).
6.Mixed Methodology
Mixed methodology is formed with the combination of quantitative and qualitative
data, methodologies and methods related to the study of the research. Mixed methods of
research is related to the collection, analysis and thereby integrating the qualitative and
quantitative research. The mixed model of research consists of quantitative and qualitative
projects which are mixed in all the stages of the research (Creswell and Poth 2017).

16CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
7.Ethics
Ethics and ethical norms play an significant role in serving the goals or aims of the
research and thereby apply to the people who conduct creative activities and scientific
research. There are many specialized disciplines and ethics related to research that are
important to study the norms. The ethical norms of research are important to conduct the
research in an effective manner (Carpenter et al. 2016).
8.Conclusion
The report related to the research is based on the case study that is taken into
consideration. The case study is mainly related to the progress of technology in the field of
tourism and hospitality. The usage of technologies associated communication and
information is analysed in the case study. The qualitative methods and the quantitative
methods of analysis are examined in the report. The proper ways of research are also decided
with the help of analysis of the different types of research methods. The case study is
however mainly based on the qualitative methods of research and the different types of
qualitative research are applied.

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