A comparative evaluation of qualitative data analytic techniques in identifying volunteer motivation in tourism

This paper reports on a project which used analytic triangulation (convergent validation) to process responses to an open-ended question asked of a sample of service providers (volunteers) at a major tourist attraction. Three analytic techniques were used: (1) two researchers completed manual coding of the open-ended responses using an inductive approach suggested by Taber (1991); (2) one researcher completed a keyword search of the data using Word 6.0; and (3) two separate researchers completed classification and analysis using the Nud.ist 4.0 qualitative computer software. There was substantial convergence of the results, across methods and with the published volunteer motivational literature, but some differences were noted. The paper discusses the conceptual and practical uses, requirements, and constraints of the various methods, with implications for conducting research and decision making in tourism marketing management. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.