Research Proposal: Tourism, Climate Change, and Great Barrier Reef

This research proposal investigates the impact of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef, a crucial natural wonder facing environmental challenges. The proposal outlines the background, justification, research problem, aims, objectives, and questions. It highlights the significance of the study, reviews relevant literature on climate change and its effects on coral reefs, and presents a conceptual model. The methodology section details the research design, approach (deductive), and data analysis methods. The proposal also includes expected resources, a budget, and a timeline using a Gantt chart. The study aims to identify natural hazards, tourism impacts, and solutions for mitigating damage to the Great Barrier Reef, emphasizing the need for preservation and sustainable tourism practices. The research employs a descriptive design and deductive approach to analyze the complex relationship between tourism and the environmental health of the Great Barrier Reef.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Title Page
Research proposal
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................4
Introduction................................................................................................................................5
Background of the Research..................................................................................................5
Justification for the Research.................................................................................................6
Statement of the Research Problem.......................................................................................6
Research Aims and Objectives...............................................................................................6
Research Questions................................................................................................................7
Significance of the Study.......................................................................................................7
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................7
Conceptual Model..................................................................................................................9
Research Methodology...............................................................................................................9
Research Design and Methodology.......................................................................................9
Research Approach and Justification...................................................................................10
Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................11
Expected Resources.................................................................................................................11
Budget..................................................................................................................................11
Table No 1: Budget Table....................................................................................................11
Timeframe............................................................................................................................12
Table No 2: Timeline Table.................................................................................................12
Gantt chart............................................................................................................................13
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Table No 3: Gantt chart........................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14
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Abstract
The following research proposal has been prepared to conduct a research on the impact of
tourism from the natural degradation of the Great Coral Reefs in Australia. The proposal has
been prepared and presented in an organized manner by following a basic format of the
research. The proposal has been made compact with the inclusion of the time schedule and
the budget that makes it easy to get an idea of the future research.
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Background of the Research
The changing climate of the globe is a cause of great concern for the different natural
establishments. The abnormal change in the climate thus directly threatens the natural
establishments and tends to destruct these establishments. The coral reefs of Australia is one
of the largest natural establishments of the globe. The reefs are one of the best natural
wonders of the world and preserve a large number of marine creatures. There is an increased
need to preserve the coral reefs of Australia due to two major reasons. The first being the
natural needs of preserving the ecological balance and the second one being the need to
preserve them as a result of increasing tourism activities in Australia. However, extensive
damage is being done to the coral reefs as a result of an increase in the tourism activities. The
changes has been observed by the local and international reef perseverates through the
changes in the colour of the reefs.
It is seen that the reefs have been gradually losing their rainbow colours and are
turning pale or white which displays the damaged or destroyed condition of the coral reefs.
There has been an increase in the mortality rates of the reefs which clearly brings adequate
risk to the future of these reefs and will surely be a cause of ecological misbalance. The
changes in the reefs have been mostly occurring due to the continuous changes in the global
climate. The rise in the temperature of the sea water, the abnormal increase in alkalinity of
the water and many other such factors are directly related to the problems of the following
changes. The research will be identifying the different kinds of these problems and will also
discuss them in detail to make the research a source of great information for the future.
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Justification for the Research
The research will be discussing the different perspectives related to the natural
problems that has direct effect on the damage of the natural reefs. The climate changes and
the different kinds of other natural problems will be identified and highlighted that will help
to gain a great idea on the current issues facing the reefs. The identification of these issues
will help to formulate the much needed solutions that will help in the future development and
protection of the coral reefs. The research will be highly justified as because the research will
point out the main perspectives of the natural problems that plagues the coral reefs in
Australia.
Statement of the Research Problem
The damage to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia has been caused by the natural
problems. The damage to these reefs on the other hand, has led to the different kinds of
negative impact upon the tourism industry of the country, Australia. The reefs have been one
of the major source of tourism earner for the country. The gradual damage of these reefs have
led to the loss of tourists and there has been a significant reduction in the number of tourists
visiting the country. The high temperature and the gradual bleaching of the reefs have been
devastating for the marine life and the ecological balance of the sea. Thus the decrease in the
footfall of the tourists has led to the economic loss of the country. Therefore these kinds of
the problems will be the major research problems for the research that will be conducted
based on the research.
Research Aims and Objectives
The aim of the research is to identify the effect of the climate change to the Great
barrier reefs of Australia. The objectives of the research will help the research to achieve the
aims and reach out to the conclusion of the study. The objectives will be as follows;
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
a. To identify the natural hazards that plague the Great Barrier Reef
b. To identify the problems for the decrease in the tourism activities surrounding the
Great Barrier Reef
c. To identify the solution to mitigate the natural damage to the Great Barrier Reef
Research Questions
The research questions are as follows;
1) What are the natural hazards that plague the Great Barrier Reef?
2) What are the ways to identify the problems for the decrease in the tourism activities
surrounding the Great Barrier Reef?
3) What are the ways to identify the solution to mitigate the natural damage to the Great
Barrier Reef?
Significance of the Study
The study is highly significant as because it studies the natural issues that plagues the
tourism development in and around the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The Great Barrier
Reef is not only a significant natural establishment of Australia but is also one of the most
precious natural resources of the globe. Thus its preservation will need utmost care as
because a large part of the economic development of Australia is directly dependent on the
sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. Thus the research on the following topic is highly
significant in nature.
Literature Review
Climate change is one of the most concerning events to be occurring in the twenty
first century. According to Ainsworth et al. (2016), it is the various industrial activities which
have led to the generation of higher amounts of pollutants within the atmosphere of the
planet. Such pollutants, in turn, have adversely impacted the atmospheric level, increasing the
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
amount of carbon dioxide present in the world. As opined by Hoey et al. (2016), this has
significantly attributed to the increase of the temperatures of the globe.
According to Pratchett, Wilson and Munday (2015), coral reefs is one of the highest
producing areas of biodiversity within the Earth. They have the capacity to support more than
five hundred million individuals which proves the need of their existence within the human
society.
The increase in temperature has led to the generation of various problems in the
society. As stated by Hoegh-Guldberg et al. (2017), one of the concerning side effects of
climate change is that of the rise in the volume of sea water and in the increase of the
temperatures of such water. As stated by Ainsworth et al. (2016), the rise in the temperature
of the sea water has a significant impact on the living organisms living within it.
According to Cacciapaglia and van Woesik (2016), the coral reefs of the world are
affected significantly by this aspect of climate change. The coral reefs consist of certain small
living organisms who are extremely delicate and sensitive to the issue of change in water
temperature. Such small living species attach themselves to the corals found in shallow water
and thrive there as a result of the comfortable water temperature.
However, as argued by Hoegh-Guldberg et al. (2017), climate change has led to the
increase in the water temperatures. The coral reefs face the issue of bleaching whereby the
living species begin to die as a result of change in temperature. Their sensitivity to the water
temperature is the main reason for the rise in their deaths. As stated by Graham et al. (2015),
the amount of carbon dioxide which is absorbed by such ocean bodies of the world have led
to the reduction in the amount of calcification extent of the organisms which forms the reefs
of the world. In this regard, it can be noticed that the coral ecosystems of the world is
adversely impacted as a result of climate change.
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Conceptual Model
Research Methodology
The methodology chapter of the research will consist of the different kinds of the
ways and processes that are used to describe the different kinds of the research methods and
tools in a detailed manner. The research methodology chapter will form an important part of
the research as because it will be providing a systematic approach and will describe the best
methods that are important for the research. The use of the research methodology helps to
evaluate the different kinds of the research perspectives in a systematic and evaluative
manner. The justification for the choice of each of the research tools and perspectives will
help to further make the research more specific and compact in nature.
Research Design and Methodology
The design of the research is one of the most common tools that must be used in the
research in a proper manner. The research design is generally classified into three different
ways. Descriptive design, exploratory design and explanatory research design. These three
designs are the most commonly used designs and cover almost all of the different researches.
The different designs have different characteristics and different aspects. The designs of the
research are selected according to their suitability and their necessity in a research. The
explanatory research design is used to describe and explain a particular happening and its
perspectives accordingly. The following design also helps to predict any kind of future
research happenings in a suitable manner. The exploratory design on the other hand helps in
the explanation of the different types of the topics and the concepts of the topic in a suitable
manner. Lastly the descriptive design of the research is used to combine the characteristics of
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
both the exploratory research designs and the explanatory research designs. The support of
both the former research designs helps the descriptive design to be the most preferred design
for the conduction of any particular kind of research.
The following research on the identification of the natural issues which causes the
loss of tourism in the Great Barrier Reef has selected the descriptive design for the
conduction of the research. The selection of the descriptive design is highly justified as
because it provides the much needed scope for the research to test the hypothesis and make a
deep understanding on the cause and effect of the research. The major elements of the
descriptive design perfectly suits the following research. Thus the selection of the descriptive
research will be highly successful and suitable for the following research.
Research Approach and Justification
Similar to the other important research tools and methods, research approach is
another important tool of the research. The research approach helps the research to follow the
best approach to success. There are two major approaches that are used in the researches.
This includes the likes of the inductive approach and deductive approach. The inductive and
deductive research approach are important for the research. The deductive research approach
is based on the formulation of the hypothesis depending on the previous concepts and
theories of the research topics. The use of the secondary research articles provides the
necessary scope for the research to verify the genuineness of the research. On the other hand,
the inductive approach of the research will help to gain the idea of the hypothesis through the
creation of the different concepts and theories based on the research topic.
The following research will be using the deductive research approach as this will be
the best suited for this particular kind of the research. The very first reason for the selection
of the deductive research is that it helps to easily formulate the hypothesis and help in the
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identification of the issues that are related to the decrease in the tourism opportunities across
the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The deductive research also supports a statistical and
well-formed perspective of the research and makes the most of the research.
Data Analysis
The data will be analysed through the secondary as well as the primary sources. The
use of the secondary sources will be useful during the time of the literary review while the
primary sources will be used to get an idea of the tour operators of this region and their say
on the current situation.
Expected Resources
Budget
Purpose Estimated Amount
Phase 1 research $3000
Literature review source data collection $3400
Thematic Analysis data collection $6500
Necessary Permissions $4000
Phase 2 research $3600
TOTAL $25000
Table No 1: Budget Table
Source: (As created by the Author)
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Timeframe
Task Name Duration Start Finish
Research Proposal
Timeline New 1
145 days Wed 02-10-19 Tue 21-04-
20
Selection of the
Research Topic
1 day Wed 02-10-19 Wed 02-10-
19
Approval of the
Research Topic
2 days Thu 03-10-19 Fri 04-10-
19
Researching and the
Development of the
Aims and Objectives
6 days Mon 07-10-19 Mon 14-10-
19
Selection of the Title 12 days Tue 15-10-19 Wed 30-10-
19
Selection of the
Objectives
2 days Thu 31-10-19 Fri 01-11-
19
Initial Research 12 days Mon 04-11-19 Tue 19-11-
19
Assembling all the
Preliminary Data
8 days Wed 20-11-19 Fri 29-11-
19
Researching the Data 6 days Mon 02-12-19 Mon 09-12-
19
Compiling the Data 14 days Tue 10-12-19 Fri 27-12-
19
Submission of the
Draft
1 day Mon 30-12-19 Mon 30-12-
19
Continuation of the
Research
20 days Tue 31-12-19 Mon 27-01-
20
Assembling New
Information
10 days Tue 31-12-19 Mon 13-01-
20
Identification of the
Sample
1 day Tue 14-01-20 Tue 14-01-
20
Selecting The
Number of Sample
Size
4 days Wed 15-01-20 Mon 20-01-
20
Interviewing The
Sample Population
5 days Tue 21-01-20 Mon 27-01-
20
Researching on the
Available Data
61 days Tue 28-01-20 Tue 21-04-
20
Compiling the
Total Data
25 days Tue 28-01-20 Mon 02-03-
20
Assembling and
Preparing the final
Report
35 days Tue 03-03-20 Mon 20-04-
20
Final Submission 1 day Tue 21-04-20 Tue 21-04-
20
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