SUBMISSION TIME

I have just finished research proposal and I must admit it was the hardest piece of work. I am glad it is over now and I would recommend to future students to start their research as early as possible !!! Now, the largest piece of work is awaiting me, therefore it is time for some consideration. Once again I need to work on my time management as it has remained bad. I have prepared timetable as it is part of research proposal and I have promised myself that this time I will start all necessary work earlier. I have found large amount of helpful books which helped me to understand some issues and points relating to research methods. It only looks complicated, and contemplenting theory made me go beyond. Now I must allow my mind to rest for a while and hopefully I will start off with data collection at the beginning of June.

I do wish other students lots of luck with their dissertations.

GROWING FEAR

5 Days left until submission of research proposal. This is the first time I need to carry out a task like that. Fear grows in my stomach and I am scared of failing this assignment. I have read a criteria and example of proposal so many times. But I still have a lot of questions, and no matter how hard I try I cannot find answers.

One thing I am happy about is the topic. I am glad I will be comparing one of the largest Zoo in Poland with Wildlife Park in UK. The questionnaire has been prepared and I am hoping to get all data easily. In the meantime some pictures from Polish Zoo:

IDEA FOR DISSERTATION TOPIC

Our group have been recently allocated to their supervisors. It has been decided that I will be under the guidance of Dr Peter Chowne. Myself and Dr Peter had a meeting just before Easter, to discuss a progress of research and topic ideas. As I am interested in wildlife tourism Dr Peter suggested to do a comparative case study of two zoological parks: Zoo in Gdansk-Oliwa (Poland) and Marwell Wildlife in Hampshire. Other area of my interest is travel motivation therefore I am going to write about phenomenal of zoological parks. Over few years, there has been a lot of changes in both parks. I will be carrying a research to find out why people visit these parks and how the ecological issues and sustainability has been influencing parks throughout years. Now I need to create research questions which will help me to keep tight focus on topic of dissertation: "Phenomenon of zoological parks. Comparative case study of Zoo in Gdansk-Oliwa and Marwell Wildlife in Hampshire".

DRAFT RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Time is flying...

Tomorrow is a due date for draft research proposal so here I am, sitting in front of the laptop, wondering what to write ... As I have mentioned earlier on I am interested in motivations for travelling. My first thought was to analyse travel motivations of domestic and foreign tourists in Gdansk but recently my friend (also a postgraduate student) suggested to consider travel motivations for Polish tourists in London. And I believe this is a good idea. However due to limited literature sources in English I could mainly focus on questionnaires, interviews and observation and I fear that I will not be able to comply with agreed number of words for dissertation. The best tip for me is to do lots and lots of reading. Lately I have been searching for books regarding research in tourism and I must admit that the amount of available materials is tremendous. I would highly recommend books by A. J. Veal (research methods for leisure and tourism), M. Saunders (research methods for business students) or L. Altinay and A. Paraskevas (planning research in hospitality and tourism). It is worth to look at the internet as it is full of guidelines on preparing a research proposal:
http://researchproposalguide.com/
http://dissertation-service.co.uk/blog/dissertations/research-proposal

All I need is more time as it is hard to reconcile studying and reading with full - time work.

Because at this moment I just feel like standing on the beginning of a track which is 10.000 km long and I cannot even see the end of it ...

What to do ???

TUTORIAL ACTIVITY

Last week our group has been asked to develop a series of 10 questions for a questionnaire about visitor motivations for chosen destination. As this blog is about my country I have decided to prepare a questions regarding my home city - Gdansk.


THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Visitor motivations.

1. Have you visited Gdansk before?
 Yes
 No

2. How did you find out about Gdansk?
 Internet
 TV/Radio
 Family/friends
 Travel agency
 Guidebook
 Brochures
 Newspapers
 Other ______________________

3. Do you think Gdansk is a popular choice for visit?
 Yes
 No

4. Whom are you going to spend visit in Gdansk with?
 Alone
 With partner
 With family
 With friends
 Other ______________________

5. What is the main motive of visiting Gdansk?
 Vacation
 Work
 Therapeutic
 Visiting family and friends
 Religion
 Education
 Sport
 Other ______________________


6. Which 3 factors made you choose Gdansk?
 Location
 Advertisement
 Date and length of stay
 Brand name
 Price
 Services offered (food, insurance, optional trips etc.)
 Quality
 Comfort of purchasing
 Other ______________________

7. What do you expect from visit in Gdansk?

Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree

 Extend a knowledge
 Experience new culture
 Relax in a new place
 See attractive location
 Get away from work
 Meet new people
 Spend time with family/partner
 Learn something new

8. Which sources are you going to use to get around the location?
 Family/friends
 Information points
 Internet
 Local brochures
 Tour guides
 TV/radio
 Guidebooks
 Other ______________________

9. How are you going to spend time while visiting Gdansk?
 Going to restaurants, coffee houses
 Reading
 Visiting sacred sites
 Visiting parks, wildlife reserves
 Improving shape
 Staying away from people
 Listening to radio/watching TV
 Walking around
 Visiting monuments
 Clubbing
 Visiting spa
 Learning new language
 Other ______________________

10. How important are the factors related with tourist attractions and cultural sites?

Very important / Important / Neutral / Unimportant / Very unimportant

Noticeboards
Brochures
Interactive boards
Audio guides
Tour guides
Souvenirs
Access for disabled

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

So, here it is ... my first blog written in English. I was supposed to set it up in a previous term, however due to some circumstances I have done it just now. A handbook for Critical Research Methods says that blogs are a useful tool for research so I hope it will inspire me to choose appropriate topic for my dissertation.

My previous dissertation (for Bachelor degree) was about creating a strategy for tourism development in Pomorskie Voivodeship. Criteria and whole structure of dissertation are completely different in Poland. Generally students in Poland are not required to do research. They just choose a topic and then with help of literature, journals etc. they must write an essay (at least 40 - 50 pages long). After submitting my dissertation (in a hard copy) I was required to defend it orally.

I am a part time student at University of Greenwich. I have started studies in September 2008 therefore I feel secure in terms of referencing, writing an essays etc. Still I feel uncertain about research. I do not know where to start from and I am not sure about topic. I have some ideas :
- tourism in Pomorskie Voivodeship
- visitor motivations (for specific location)
- wildlife tourism somewhere in Africa (very wide subject)

I do not want to start a dissertation and then stop somewhere in the middle because of lack of ideas or appropriate knowledge ...