Dissertation Kick-off Meeting

BA Events & Leisure Marketing

Agenda

• Dissertation Objectives

• Dissertation Structure

• Topics• Data collection• Writing up• Supervision

process• Getting

starting

What should you achieve with the dissertation?

BAELM students should:

• Identify an appropriate topic for investigation that reflects the aims of the programme of study;

• Demonstrate an understanding of the context of the research by reference to published material;

• Formulate and apply research methods appropriate to the topic;

• Become acquainted with the issues raised by designing and conducting research;

• Critically appraise the information and apply judgement in analysis and evaluation of new/abstract data &

• Contextualise their own findings in relation to the established body of knowledge to draw suitable, analytical and realistic conclusions

Dissertation structure• There is some variation but

generally you have:– Introduction (1000)– Literature review (3000)– Methodology (1000)– Findings (2000)– Analysis (2000)– Conclusion &

Recommendations (1000)

TOTAL NUMBER OF WORDS = 10,000

TopicsStudents should have selected topics which are rooted within the core areas of their courses:Events • Motivations to attend events• Marketing of events• Event impacts• Consumer behavior and events• Events and destinations• Event tourism• Events and branding• Event experiences

Leisure Marketing• Consumer behavior in

Leisure• Marketing of Leisure• The nature of Leisure• New forms of Leisure• New media and Leisure• Leisure branding• Demand / motivations

for specific types of Leisure

Topics (cont’d)• Topics should

also be linked to literature available at the library:• Journals on E

vents, Leisure & Tourism

• Books on Events, Leisure & Tourism

• Databases for Tourism

• Events & Leisure Resources Guide

Data collection considerations

PLEASE NOTE DATA COLLECTION SHOULD START AFTER YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW AND

METHODOLOGY HAS BEEN APPROVED

• Ethical considerations• Practical consideration

s• Research Approaches

Writing-up• There is no such thing as a “writing-

up phase”• Students thinking they can simply

“write-up” in the last three weeks are deluding themselves!!!

• Writing starts from the first meeting with your supervisor

• Every meeting with your supervisor should move your dissertation further along – this can only be achieved through continuous writing

Tools for writing-up

PLEASE NO TWEETS, FB STATUS UPDATES OR HAND-WRITTEN NOTES UNDER MY DOOR, ALSO NO MID-NIGHT

PANIC CALLS

• Blogging• Online-portfolio• Wikis• E-mail• Dissertation

Appointment Record Sheets

Both students and supervisors have specific duties in this process

Students should ...• Make appointments• Have an objective(s) for each meeting• Bring copies of the Dissertation

Appointment Record to meetings• Make a firm commitment to achieving the

planned timescale• Undertake the necessary research and

reading from a variety of sources• Submit draft sections or chapters at

agreed points

Supervision process

Supervision process (cont’d)

Supervisors should ...• Give a timely response to your queries and

submissions • Give advice and comments on what you

propose to do including sources which they may be aware of

• Give advice and comments on what you have written, including guidance on structure and content

Note: You will only receive tutor support up to the LAST TEACHING DAY OF THE SPRING TERM - after this, you will not be able to meet with your tutor, so please ensure that you have covered all areas with him/her by this date.

Supervision process (cont’d)

• Difficulties with supervisors should be brought to unit leader’s attention as soon as possible

• Please note “not liking” your supervisor is not a difficulty

• If a supervisor is to be replaced it can take some time

Getting Started• The first step in writing any

dissertation is establishing its relevance

• Your must prove that what you have planned to study meets the learning objectives of the dissertation

• This means demonstrating– The topic is relevant to the

programme of study (academically and professionally)

– The topic fits within the context of existing research (e.g. it adds, extends, refutes existing publications)

– The dissertation can be related to existing academic work published on your topic

How is this done?• Students link their work to trends or

patterns they are seeing within academic research

• Students demonstrate how their work fits the demands of professionals working in the industry to which their subject(s) is/are linked

• Students cite other academics who have already identified gaps within academic research to show that there is a real academic need for their topic

• Students show the relevance of their work to society, the economy or a specific community

Example 1 – Why do a study on destination event marketing?• World Tourism Organization

(UNWTO) estimated that in 2002 international arrivals generated receipts of US$463 billion, supporting over 200 million jobs (8.2% of total employment)

• Events have been recognized as one of three contributors to destination image (Kotler 1993).

• The integration of tourism and sport events has not only contributed greatly to tourism destinations, but also attracted the interest of a number of researchers in the tourism literature in recent years (Weed and Bull 2004, Standeven and Knop 1999, Hudson 2003).

• In contrast, the level of published research on sport event marketing in the context of destinations is still limited, compared to the importance of the phenomenon in tourism.

Example 2 – Why do a study on marketing Oktoberfest?• Oktoberfest, which

attracts some 6.2 million visitors a year, has a noteworthy impact as an international brand.

• The Expectancy value theory and the uses and gratification theory founded by Martin Fishbein in the 1970s, two directly linked communication theories, will be utilized to research this questions and to explore and examine the causes and effects of thecommunication channels.

Example 3 – Why do a study on event authenticity/integrity?• Tourism is one of the largest industries in

the world. In 2005 it accounted for 10.4% of the world’s gross domestic product.

• Event tourism studies rarely study the complex aspects of the human psyche because they are paid for by funders with financial motivations.

• Promoters often over estimate the benefits and ‘push’ the community to hosting an event without considering if it fulfils the needs of those concerned (Getz, 1994).

Over to you …

Questions???