Quantitative Tourism Research and Statement of Statistical Assumptions: A Case Study of Articles Appearing in Tourism Management

The purpose of this study is to investigate the frequency of the six most commonly used multivariate statistical techniques used in Tourism Management, a journal currently listed in the SSCI and considered as the representative of historical and traditional academic journals in tourism and hospitality, between 2006 and 2012. We also examine whether the researchers defined and complied with required statistical assumptions before and during data analysis. The method for ascertaining the presence or absence of statistical assumptions was based on the practical issues of statistical assumptions described by Tabachnick and Fidell (2007). Book reviews, research notes, and commentaries were excluded due to the absence of research methodology. Our results show that most research in Tourism Management over the last seven years has depended on quantitative survey research, and few quantitative survey research studies mentioned and accepted all of the requirements in accordance with the fundamental statistical assumptions of the six multivariate statistical analyses. This study confirms the importance of statistical reliability in quantitative survey studies accepted for publication. By focusing this study on the assumptions underlying the advanced statistical analyses used by authors in the journal, the intent was to challenge researchers and improve quantitative survey research.