Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Research Framework
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Affect travel plan decision
Share information Demographics
Frequency of travel
Perceived trustworthiness
Perceived usefulness
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Framework
This study aims at examining the relationships between the use of social media and consumer’s travel plan decision making as well as his or her information sharing.
Taking into consideration the variables previously stated, I proposed a research framework as follows:
Figure 3.1 Research Framework for the study
The research framework has two dependent variables: ‘affect travel plan’ and ‘share travel information’. The two focal independent variables of interest are trustworthiness of the source and usefulness of information. However, three demographic variables—gender, age, and education—and frequency of travel are also included in the framework as control
variables. The purpose of it is to examine the impact of the focal explanatory variables on the dependent variables in the presence of the control variables, namely, consumer’s
demographic variables and travel frequency.
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3.2 Data collection
An online questionnaire survey was used in collecting the data. The questionnaire consisted in questions regarding demographic information (age, gender, occupation, etc.).
Consumer satisfaction and trustworthiness towards social media are also included. These questions aim to find out more about the effect of social media on the consumer’s behavior and his/her intentionality of sharing information after using social media. It also helped in finding out more information about the travel planning process of the consumers that use social media and how they make use of them along the different trip stages.
The questionnaire (see Appendix, p.61) was uploaded to the website Qualtrics
(www.qualtrics.com) in order to facilitate the data gathering process. The questionnaires were distributed from May 24th to June 15th of the year 2013 during different times of the day to increase participation. As for the sampling method, participants were chosen using purposive sampling. Survey respondents were foreigners from different universities in Taiwan. In order to reach them, the researcher joined different Facebook groups where foreigners in Taiwan are part of. These groups were:
1) FSIT: Foreign Students in Taiwan
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForeignStudentsTaiwan/) 2) NCCU International Association
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/nccuia/)
3) NTUFSA: National Taiwan University Foreign Students Association (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NTUFSA/)
4) National Taiwan University – Exchange Spring 2013 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/149280115230873/)
5) National Sun Yat Sen University International Students 2012 - 2013 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSYSUISA1314/)
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After joining the groups, the researcher uploaded the link of the questionnaire on the websites and requested for the collaboration of those who are part of these groups. Foreign students in Taiwan were chosen as the main target to facilitate the research data-gathering process. Also, because of the language barrier, the researcher chose to approach foreigners rather than Taiwanese students in order to facilitate communication in English. This selection criterion helped in narrowing the chances of having a sample that contains a larger number of individuals that are heavy users of social media (96% of all university students have a
Facebook profile). This also helped in building a demographic profile for heavy users of social media in travel planning and to investigate which variables affect the trustworthiness of social media and their frequency of usage.
3.3 Research Variables
There are two dependent variables: ‘affect travel plan’ and ‘share travel information’.
The two focal independent variables of interest are trustworthiness of social media and usefulness of information. Since the two explanatory variables are measured by multiple questionnaire items, therefore, factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to validate the reliability of the composite variables based on multiple indicators.
3.3.1 Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is the key factor that will predict whether the user makes use of the information found on social media and compare it with that from traditional sources of information or official Websites from companies related to the tourism industry. It will affect the consumer behavior and also the intentionality of sharing the information with others.
For this study, the variable “Trustworthiness in social media” was created by computing two items from the questionnaire:
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- ‘The contents found on social media are trustworthy’ (Q. 10)
- ‘The experiences and comments found on social media are trustworthy’ (Q. 22)
Table 3.2 Scale indicators and reliability for intervening variables
Scale and Variable Label Factor Loading
1) Trustworthiness of social media
- The contents found on social media are trustworthy
- The experiences and comments found on social media are trustworthy
Cronbach Alpha: .803
.82
.82
3.3.2 Usefulness
Usefulness with the information found develops into willingness to share the
information found online. After the user has evaluated the data and found that it was helpful and relevant to its research purposes, he/she approves of it by trusting the source. This may lead in sharing the contents with others.
To avoid the problem of multicollinearity, the author constructed a composite measure of the predictor variable ‘usefulness of social media’, by including multiple highly correlated predictors in a multiple regression analysis. The variable was based on the following items found in the questionnaire:
- ‘The information I find in social media is always relevant to my inquiries’ (Q. 17) - ‘The experiences shared on social media are helpful’ (Q. 19)
- ‘The information found on social media is frequently updated’. (Q. 20)
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Table 3.3 Scale indicators and reliability for intervening variables
Scale and Variable Label Factor Loading
1) Usefulness of social media
- The information I find in social media is always relevant to my inquiries
- The experiences shared on social media are helpful
- The information found on social media is frequently updated
In addition to the two focal independent variables, consumer’s demographic variables and travel frequency were included in the analyses. The following demographic variables were included: age, gender, level of education. Frequency of travel was also included to stand for the consumer’s interest in and previous experience of travel, meanwhile, it may also distinguish the frequent travelers and the less frequently travelers.
3.3.4 Social media affect travel plan decision
The attitudes toward the information retrieved on social media -and whether it is useful or not- affects directly and changes the consumer’s mind towards their travel planning, the likelihood of following the recommendations, and the share intentionality of their own travel experiences. The variable ‘Social media affect travel plans’ is also created by computing two items from the questionnaire:
- ‘Reading experiences from others on social media helps me in making decisions’
(Q.18)
- ‘The comments and messages I read on social media affect my decisions’ (Q. 23)
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Table 3.4 Scale indicators and reliability for intervening variables
Scale and Variable Label Factor Loading
1) Social Media affect Travel Plans
- Reading experiences from others on social media helps me in making decisions
- The comments and messages I read on social media affect my decisions
Cronbach Alpha: .781
.80
.80
3.3.5 Other single indicator variables
Other variables were measured by single question from the questionnaire. These variables
- Recommend use of social media: ‘I recommend my friends and family to look for information regarding travel planning on social media’ (Q. 21). This question was measured using a five-point Likert scale (Strongly agree to strongly disagree)
- Share travel experiences: ‘I share my own travel experiences on Social Media’ (Q. 26).
This question was measured using a simple yes/no scale.
- Affect travel decisions: Two questions derived from the previously explained variable
‘social media affect travel decision’ to find out differences between the influence of positive and negative comments. These questions were measured using a five-point Likert scale (Strongly agree to strongly disagree):
o ‘Negative comments will make me not want to visit a place’ (Q. 24) o ‘Positive comments will make me want to visit a place’ (Q. 25)
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3.4 Hypotheses
Three hypotheses are derived based on the research framework:
Hypothesis 1: The greater the perceived usefulness of social media, the more likely an
individual will recommend his or her friends and family to look for travel related information on social media.
Hypothesis 2: The greater the perceived usefulness of social media, the more likely an individual will share his or her travel experiences.
Hypothesis 3: The greater the perceived trustworthiness in social media, the more likely an individual will be affected in his or her decision on travel plans.
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CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
The survey questionnaires were distributed as mentioned in chapter 3, from May 24th to June 15th of the year 2013 during different times of the day to increase participation. As for the sampling method, participants were chosen using purposive sampling. After joining the Facebook groups stated in chapter 3, responses from 150 different people from the target (international students in Taiwan) were received. The statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 20.0 to examine the data as well as to test the hypotheses. The following section discusses the results and findings, as well as the validity of the previously stated hypothesis.
4.1 Descriptive Analysis
Before going to the analysis of the hypothesis, an overview of the sample and other relevant information will be addressed in the following section.
4.1.1 Sample structure
Out of the 150 respondents, 87 (58%) were females and 63 (42%) were males. The Facebook groups where the sample was taken from had members from both sexes; however, as the results show, females were more willing to respond the survey which was uploaded several times in different days and hours during the period of gathering responses (two weeks). This could be an indicator of how the gender variable affects the use and active participation in social media. This can be expanded to the virtual sphere of the Internet. In this case, women showed more interest than men in answering the online survey.
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Table 4.1 Demographic information
1.Gender Number Percentage
Male 63 42%
University/College 60 41%
Master 75 51%
5.How many trips have you made during the last 12 months
1 – 3 37 25%
4 - 6 73 48%
7 or more 40 27%
Total 150 100%
Note: Missing values correspond to unanswered questions.
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Regarding the trustworthiness towards information found in social media, the majority of respondents (both male and female) showed a neutral-to-agreeable opinion (86.6%) towards data found in social media. However, by running a T-test on SPSS to compare gender differences in trustworthiness towards social media, there were no statistical differences between men and women.
There is a tendency to agree that the contents in social media are trustworthy,
however, there is a gap that separates those who agree from those who strongly agree on this statement. This shows that, even though participants trust the contents to a certain level, they are aware that the information found in social media cannot be trusted completely. Further on, we also analyze how age and trustworthiness are related. Regarding the differences in age between the participants, most of the people who answered the survey were of ages between 21 to 30 years old (82%). This is because the majority of the survey recipients were
university students that are either on exchange programs or studying a Master’s degree in Taiwan. The second most prevalent group is that of people from 31 to 35 years old. As for the relation between age and their perception towards Social Media contents trustworthiness, the following chart shows where we can find statistical significance between groups:
Table 4.2 Trustworthiness differences on social media by age
N Mean F Sig.
15 – 20 years old 7 4.8571 2.346 .044
21 – 25 years old 61 5
26 – 30 years old 49 5.3191
31 – 35 years old 14 5.0714
36 – 40 years old 8 5.3750
Older than 40 years old 9 6.6250
Total 148 5.2168
Scheffe Test
21 – 25 years old & Older than 40 years old .066
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There are significant differences (p=.066) between two of the age groups: those in the 21 – 25 years old category, and those that are older than 40 years old. The majority of people surveyed chose neutral-to-agree choices, concentrating the 86% of the sample population. It is interesting to point the younger audience tend to trust more in the contents found in social media. Those in an age range between 21 to 35 have less credibility perception towards the information but still maintain certain level of trustworthiness.
Regarding the educational level of the respondents, those who are currently studying at university or doing a Master’s degree hold the majority of the sample population (92%), followed by people studying a PHD (6%). Since the respondents are primarily young people, it is also no surprise to find out that 91% of them are single, while only 9% are already married.
Going further in understanding the target, when asked if they consider themselves frequent travelers, 76% answered ‘Yes’, leaving 24% as non-frequent travelers. This could be a very subjective question, after all, what does ‘frequent’ stands for? In order to have a better understanding, the next question deal with the number of trips made during the last year.
Even though some of the respondents previously answered that they do not consider themselves as frequent travelers, we can see that the range of people that have made from 4 to more trips in the last year sum up to 75% of all the respondents (this range of trips is
considered by the researcher as being a ‘frequent traveler’). The rest of them have made at least one trip in the last twelve months. Now, regarding the use of the Internet when planning a trip, the responses were as follow:
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Figure 4.3 Use of Internet when planning a trip
The vast majority of the respondents go online to look for information when planning a trip (98%). This shows that the target chosen for this study is a heavy user of the Internet and relies on this media to gather information. As previously seen in the demographic information, this is a young audience (from 21 to 30 years old) with superior studies (98%) which makes it easier to understand why they use the Internet not just for entertainment, but also to gather information for different purposes (such as academia or travel planning).
Following up, when asked if they go specifically to social media to look for information regarding travel planning, 93% confirmed that they indeed visit these sort of websites. To do a further analysis on which social media they use in the different stages of travel planning (before, during and after the trip), the results will follow after a quick description of each of the social media mentioned in the question:
A) Facebook
An online social networking service. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, exchange messages, and receive automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join
82%
11%
5%
1%
1%
Almost always Often Sometimes Rarely Never
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common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other
characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends". Facebook is the leading social networking site based on monthly unique visitors.
B) YouTube
A video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.
Unregistered users can watch videos, while registered users can upload an unlimited number of videos.
C) Twitter
An online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters known as "tweets". With over 500 million registered users as of 2012, it generates over 340 million tweets daily and handles over 1.6 billion search queries per day. Since its launch, Twitter has become one of the ten most visited websites on the Internet, and has been described as "the SMS of
the Internet." Unregistered users can read tweets, while registered users can post tweets through the website interface, SMS, or a range of apps for mobile devices
D) TripAdvisor
A travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums.
TripAdvisor claims to be the most popular and largest travel community in the world, with more than 32 million members and over 100 million reviews and opinions of hotels,
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restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses. TripAdvisor was an early adopter of user-generated content. The website services are free to users, who provide most of the content, and the website is supported by an advertising business model.
E) LinkedIn
A social networking website for people in professional occupations. As
of 2013, LinkedIn has 178.4 million visitors globally. One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, called “connections”. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.
F) Wikipedia
A collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia. Wikipedia's 30 million articles in 286 languages, including over 4.2 million in the English Wikipedia, are written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone having access to the site. It is the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, ranking seventh globally among all websites as of July 2013, and having an estimated 365 million readers worldwide
G) Instagram
An online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 16:9 aspect ratio now typically used by mobile device cameras. In 2012, it was announced that over 30 million
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accounts were set up on Instagram, and that58 photographs were being uploaded and a new user was being gained each second. The total number of photographs uploaded had exceeded one billion.
H) Couchsurfing
A website that offers its users hospitality exchange and social networking services.
The website provides a platform for members to "surf" (stay for free) on couches by staying as a guest at a host's home, host travelers, or join an event. In March 2013, the website had 6 million members in 100,000 cities worldwide
Now, after defining each of the social media websites that were stated in the questions, we will proceed to define the stages of travel planning and which social media were used the most during each of the stages. First, the use of social media websites before the trip is done in the planning process.
Figure 4.4 Social media websites used before the trip
4%‧
Before the trip takes place, most of the surveyed people answered that they go to Wikipedia (76%) to look for information on the place they are going to visit. The second most used social media website is TripAdvisor. People go to tripadvisor.com to look for more detailed information regarding the place they want to visit, get feedback and read reviews from people that have already been to the place. On the third and fourth place we have Facebook and YouTube. Facebook, being a social network, can be accessed to interact with people and ask directly for their opinions or for information. As for YouTube, being an audiovisual platform, it allows the user to gather more information regarding the place to be visited and to actually see the place itself. Audiovisual material can be more helpful in getting an idea of how the place one is going to visit looks like and if there are also videos that promote the most prominent tourist attractions.
The choices of social media for the ‘Before the trip’ stage point that the respondents go to websites that can provide them with the information required beforehand to visit a particular place.
Figure 4.5 Social media websites used during the trip
5%‧
While the person is travelling, the choices for using social media vary. In this stage, Facebook becomes the number one choice (81%), mostly for sharing with others their current location and to post pictures of their current trip. Second comes TripAdvisor, which indicates that the traveler still requires information and feedback from other travelers regarding the place he/she is visiting. Following comes Instagram. Again, during the trip, the “sharing”
element is the predominant one, in contrast with the first one, where “searching” for information was the priority in their use of social media.
Figure 4.6 Social Media websites used after the trip
Finally, after the trip is completed, the respondents choose in their majority Facebook as their favorite social media website. Following up, respondents were asked to also state the
Finally, after the trip is completed, the respondents choose in their majority Facebook as their favorite social media website. Following up, respondents were asked to also state the