When studying authenticity, qualitative and mixed method studies have used different research designs, while quantitative studies are dominated by survey (e.g., Leroy et al., 2013) on top of departures such as a combination of survey and experiment (e.g., Kifer et al., 2013) (Figure 14). Mixed-method studies use a combination of survey and focus group (e.g., Waller &
Lea, 1999), survey and interview (e.g., Grayson & Martinec, 2004), or scale development (e.g., Wood et al., 2008). Qualitative studies use either a single design such as content analysis (e.g.,
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Armstrong, 2004), interview (e.g., Zhu, 2012), or case study (e.g., Beverland, 2006), or a combination of interview and participant observation (e.g., Conran, 2006), participant
observation, interview, and analysis of artifacts (e.g., Cohen-Aharoni, 2017), market mapping, participant observation, and interviews (e.g., Szmigin et al., 2017), or content analysis,
participant observation, and interview (e.g., Mkono, 2013).
Figure 14: Methodology used in authenticity research (by fields/disciplines)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Number of Studies
Research Design Mixed Qualitative Quantitative
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The previous section has justified the use of quantitative methodology in the present study. This section justifies the study design as survey (study design) conducted in the web-based form (study mode) (Groves et al., 2009; Stern, Bilgen, & Dillman, 2014). First, the survey design elicits quantitative data that can be used to build generalizable results of a broad
population. That is, by issuing standardized questions to a small number of respondents,
researchers are capable of making accurate estimates about patterns exhibiting among a broader population. The survey design stands in contrast of popular qualitative approaches such as focus groups or in-depth interviews that aim at constructing an in-depth narrative of case-specific phenomena.
Second, the web-based-only survey mode reduces measurement errors from mode effects, namely the errors resulted from combining multiple research modes (Zikmund, 2003).
Measurement error is the elicitation of inaccurate answers due to poor wording, mode effects, or respondent attributes (Dillman & Bowker, 2002). Dillman (2006) points out that when using more than one survey modes, errors tend to occur because respondents respond to situations differently. For example, when asked about their marital status, a web-based survey may show the question with five options: single, married, separated, divorced, widowed. This design elicits a higher response rate for the in-between answers such as separated, divorced, or widowed, which are deemed more personal. When asking the same question in a telephone interview, however, the telephone interviewers tend to bring in their personal styles and prefer to ask the question in an open-ended manner. In this situation, more respondents provide simple responses such as single or married instead of revealing the detailed situation of the other three situations.
It is because the respondents do not know they needed to go into the details since no options were provided to them; meanwhile, respondents generally do not feel comfortable about
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revealing too much about their personal business to a stranger over the phone. With the potential measurement error in mind, the present study collects data through only one survey mode: the web-based survey. While respondents may differ between answering the survey on their
desktops or smartphones and hence leading to other unintended measurement error (Stern et al., 2014), the errors induced from the device difference is deemed fewer than those induced from mode difference such as a combination of face-to-face, mail, telephone, and web-based surveys that some research employ.
Third, web-based surveys reduce the coverage error of data collection compared with other survey modes. Coverage error is the result of some members in a population not having a non-zero chance of being sampled; that is, coverage error is greater when some members of a population are simply inaccessible (Dillman & Bowker, 2002). Dillman (2006) argues with a 2011 statistics that web-based surveys will cause considerable coverage error due to the “low”
household Internet coverage in the US (75%). However, a recent report shows a significant increase in Internet penetration rate in North America (89.4%) as of June 30, 2019, followed by Europe (87.7%) (Internet World Stats, 2019). Another report on state-wide broadband coverage in Q2 to Q3, 2018, shows that among the 50 US states, 23 states have a coverage over 90 %, with New Jersey and Connecticut reaching 99%; meanwhile, 22 states show a coverage between 80%
and 90% (BroadbandNow Team, 2018). Therefore, with a much higher Internet and broadband coverage in the US in 2019, it is reasonable that web-based survey is now faced with much fewer coverage errors.
Lastly, web-based survey is appropriate for reaching the target population of the current study despite the field norm of on-site surveys (Figure 15). Among the reviewed quantitative literature on authenticity, two-thirds of the studies were distributed in the pen-and-paper mode to
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tourists, students, residents, or employees on site (e.g., Kolar & Zabkar, 2010). The pen-and-paper mode makes sense for these studies as their purpose was to examine people’s perception about the subjective object-based authenticity of specific destinations, such as specific cultural heritage sites (e.g., Yi et al., 2016). However, the present study, along with the rest of the reviewed literature, looks to examine a broader population and thus cannot be restricted to respondents showing up at specific locations. For instance, the existing studies on dispositional authenticity often employ web-based survey (e.g., Kifer et al., 2013) as the dispositional characteristics under investigation are universal for all humans. In a similar vein, the current study focuses on US tourist perceptions and post-trip characteristics based on three national destinations, rather than specific sites within these destinations. Because of this difference, the on-site surveys do not match the purpose of the present study.
Figure 15: Overview of on-site or web-based surveys in quantitative authenticity literature
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
On-site Web-based
Number of Studies
Survey Mode
Survey Mode of Quantitative Authenticity Research
Subjective Object-based Authenticity Dispositional Authenticity
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