Diversity in Statistical Research Techniques: An Analysis of Refereed Research Articles in the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing Between 1992 and 2010

ABSTRACT

This article reports the findings of a study that analyzes the statistical methods used in articles published in the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing (JTTM) in the period 1992–2010. A content analysis of 462 articles identified 68 different statistical methods, grouped into 17 categories. Factor analysis and ANOVA/MANOVA were the most commonly used methods, following descriptive statistics. There was a substantial increase in the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) in recently published papers. While a diverse range of statistical methods was used in the articles studied, their application was somewhat unbalanced. More use of multivariate statistical methods for further development of the travel and tourism marketing field is thus proposed. This article is of use to readers seeking to understand the development of statistical methods in travel and tourism marketing research, using JTTM as a case study.

Keywords:

• Travel and tourism marketing
• content analysis
• statistical methods
• journal review

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor Kaye Chon for his support on this study. The constructive comments offered by the three anonymous reviewers about an earlier version of this article are greatly acknowledged. This research is partly supported by a research grant funded by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Notes