Analytical autoethnography in tourism research: when, why, how, and how reliable?

ABSTRACT

Analytical autoethnography involves direct and detailed observation of a researcher’s own perceptions, emotions, thoughts and actions. Approaches include retrospective, experimental, and collaborative. Data sources include records, multimedia, social media, and memories. Analytical autoethnographies can be combined with ethnographies, participant observations, or interviews. In tourism research, analytical autoethnographies have addressed experiences, tourists, attractions, and activities, especially adventure activities. Autoethnographic methods are a specialised tool, most valuable where a researcher’s experience provides data or insights at greater depth or detail than available otherwise. Examples include tourism experiences that are ineffable, or those that affect only particular tourists, e.g. because of capabilities or demographics. A comprehensive research toolkit should include specialised as well as unspecialised tools, and analytical autoethnography therefore deserves broader application and greater familiarity amongst tourism researchers.

KEYWORDS:

• Participant
• analytical
• ethnography
• reliability
• observation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ralf Buckley

Ralf Buckley is Emeritus International Chair in Ecotourism Research at Griffith University, Australia. His current research interests are in the role of ecotourism, protected areas, and outdoor recreation in mental health.

Mary-Ann Cooper

Mary-Ann Cooper is Director Ecotourism at Instituto Profesional de la Fundacion Duoc UC de la Pontificia, Universidad Católica, Viña del Mar, Chile. Her research interests are in destination marketing and management, and training for ecotour guides and entrepreneurs.