Chapter 4: Methodology of the TDQ Study

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the methodology of the authors' primary sequential qualitative and quantitative research study (the TDQ study). Specifically, this chapter provides an account of the methodological approach employed to investigate what tourists associate with tourism destination quality in terms of its attributes and dimensions and whether there are any meaningful significant differences among various groups of respondents based on their socio-economic and travel characteristics. It explains the reasons for the methodological choices made in the TDQ study, including the choice of the overall research approach, data collection techniques, sampling procedures and analytical techniques.

This chapter also provides a detailed account of the qualitative and quantitative pilot studies that influenced the selection of the techniques used in the qualitative and quantitative data collection processes. The methods used in the qualitative and quantitative phases of the TDQ study are presented separately in this chapter and in the chronological order of employing them.