University of Florida
College of Health and Human Performance
Department of Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management
LEI 4880: Research Methods for Leisure, Recreation and Tourism
FALL 2014 (3credit hours)
FLG 280
Tuesday 8:30 – 9:20 am and Thursday 8:30 – 10:25 am
Instructor:
Joohyun Lee, Ph.D
FLG 106A
(352) 294 1683
joohlee@hhp.ufl.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:30 – 10: 30 am or By Appointment
Course Website:
Images from lectures will be available for students to review at the course website. The website
is found in the E-Learning system at: https://lss.at.ufl.edu It is very important for students to
access this site. If you experience any difficulty, contact me as early as possible.
Required Text:
Sirakaya-Turk, E., Uysal, M., Hammitt, W.E., Vaske, J.J. (2011). Research Methods for Leisure,
Recreation and Tourism. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI International. ISBN: 1845937635.
Additional Resources:
Website that we will reference is titled, “Research Methods Knowledge Base” by Richard
Trochim and can be found at this address: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/
Course Description:
Methods, techniques and applications of the evaluation process related to leisure services.
Purpose of Course:
This course is designed to provide you with the tools to conduct systematic research within
leisure, recreation and tourism settings. You will learn about problem-solving and decisionmaking based on research design and methods. With the economy the way it is and many
budgets being cut, it is more important than ever before to advise agencies effective and
efficient way to manage the programs and facilities. Thus, research methods which can provide
the solution for the programs and the agencies in the field of leisure, recreation and tourism is
an extremely important area.
Course Goals and/or Objectives: By the end of this course, students will:
1. Be able to read and understand various scientific research papers
2. Have knowledge about concepts and terminologies in scientific research and apply them to
own research
3. Be able to summarize the steps used in the scientific research process
4. Develop the knowledge about basic analytic techniques useful in leisure, recreation, and
tourism research.
5. Be able to successfully conduct simple data analyses, using descriptive and inferential
statistics.
6. Have a basic understanding of scientific research demonstrated through their successful
performance on several in-class assignments and homework assignments. Typical topics
will include:
a. Conceptualization, Operationalization, Measurement, and sampling
b. Research Design (how to conduct a research project)
c. Data Analysis (different statistical techniques)
7. Demonstrate their ability to write a research proposal paper.
8. Be able to thoughtfully discuss the components of program evaluation and demonstrate
this knowledge through a research proposal paper.
Course Policies:
Attendance Policy:
This course requires regular and consistent attendance at class. You are expected to: (a) read
and synthesize assigned readings prior to class meetings, (b) arrive to class promptly, and (c)
remain for the entire duration of the class period. However, if you need to leave early, you
must inform and get approval from the instructor prior to the beginning of the class period. If
you cannot attend class due to illness, family emergency, travel related to team sports, or
university sanctioned activities, contact in advance. Otherwise, it is your responsibility to obtain
the information from a classmate.
Participation Policy:
You are expected to be actively involved in class discussion and activities. You are encouraged
to participate in class by asking and answering questions, sharing ideas, experiences, and
resources, and debating issues.
Assignment Policy:
In-class assignments will be completed throughout the course. These assignments will be used
as a method of ensuring your comprehension of the course material. No make-up will be given
for any in-class assignment. Failure to attend class on the date of an in-class assignment,
without prior arrangement with the instructor, will result in a zero (0) for that requirement.
Students who arrive late to class on these days will not be given extra time to complete the
requirement.
Homework assignments will be posted in using Sakai. A link and instructions will be posted on
Sakai. These homework assignments will help us to understand the course material and to
complete the final proposal. All assignments should be submitted through Sakai and with a
Word document. Feedbacks and comments about your homework assignments will be posted
on Sakai. All assignments should be submitted by the due date. Late assignments will be
accepted with penalty. If the assignment is handed in within 24-hours of the due date, it will be
accepted with a 20% deduction. The instructor will NOT accept any assignments that are more
than one day late.
Student Conduct Policy:
Please be considerate of the other students and the instructor in the class. It is up to you
whether or not you choose to attend class and if you choose to pay attention. However,
behaviors that disrupt other students’ learning are not acceptable (e.g., arriving consistently
late for class; cell phone use, reading non-course related materials, or social conversation
during class), and will be addressed by the instructor. No food is allowed in the classroom.
UF Policies:
University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities:
Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of
Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide
documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor
when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting
assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore,
students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking
accommodations.
University Policy on Academic Misconduct: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental
values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF
Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.
Getting Help:
For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Sakai, please contact the UF Help Desk at:
● Learning-support@ufl.edu
● (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
● https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml
Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:
 Disability resources – https://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/
 Library Help Desk support
Grading Policies:
1. Exams: This course will have three tests and one optional final exam. Each test will have
multiple-choice questions and article -related questions. Each of the first three tests will
cover the text and lecture material from the chapters, and the reading assignments that
have recently been discussed in class. Each of these tests will count 20% toward your
final grade. The final exam will be comprehensive and can replace the test you missed or
on which you did poorly. If you take three regular tests and are satisfied with your
grade, you may skip the final exam. If you miss a test, or if you do poorly on a test, you
can drop that test and take the final exam to replace it. In this case the better test score
(regular test or replacement) will count. The final is the only option for a missed or
failed test. There will be no other makeup tests under any circumstances.
2. Final paper and presentation: The final proposal paper will count 15% toward your final
grade.
3. Assignments: Homework assignments and In-class assignments will be assigned
throughout the semester and will count 25% toward your final grade.
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Final proposal paper
Presentation
Homework assignments
In-class assignments
Total
20%
20%
20%
10%
5%
15%
10%
100%
Grading Scale:
Letter grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
E
Grade point
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.0
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.0
0
% Earned
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
60-69
59 or below
Grade description
Outstanding
Superior
Excellent
Very good
Above average
Average
Slightly below average
Below average
Poor
Failure
Course Schedule
Week
Date
1
8/26
1
8/28
Topic
Introduction and Syllabus
What are research methods?
2
9/2, 4
3
9/9, 11
4
9/16, 18
Purpose of Research Methods
Research process
Conceptualization,
Operationalization,
Hypotheses
Literature review
5
6
6
9/23, 25
9/30
10/2
7
10/7, 9
8
10/14, 16
9
10/21, 23
10
10
11
10/28
10/30
11/4, 6
12
12
11/11
11/13
13
11/18, 20
Variables and relationships
Exam 1
Writing proposals
Process of writing paper
Sampling and questionnaire
Questionnaire and data
collection
Reading results Making tables
and charts
Exam 2
Interpretation of data
How to relate the research
result to the real world
Veterans day – No class
Research reports
Reading
Assignments: Article reading and
critiques: Students’ leisure & Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Research Methods for
Leisure, Recreation and Tourism
Chapter 2 : Leisure, Recreation and
Tourism Research Design
Chapter 3: Finding and Summarizing
Literature review
Chapter 4: Measurement of Variables
Chapter 5: Proposal Writing
Chapter 6: Survey Research: Sampling
and Questionnaire Design
Chapter 6: Survey Research:
Sampling and Questionnaire Design
Chapter 12: Summarizing Data
Chapter 13: Inferential Analysis of Data
Chapter 14: Relationship Analysis
Chapter 16: Communicating Research
Results
Chapter 7: Qualitative Research
Qualitative approach of
conducting research
14
11/25
Cross cultural approach of
Chapter 11: Cross-cultural research
conducting research
15
11/27
Thanksgiving day – No class
16
12/2, 4
Presentations
16
12/9
Exam 3
16
12/11
Reading day – No class
17
12/17
Optional final exam (10:00 –
12:00am): comprehensive
* This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester,
those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity. Such changes are
not unusual and should be expected. Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in
the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester. All changes will be
announced in class and through e-mail message.