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The ‘Cruise Ship Railing Dance’: Conducting Academic Research in the Cruise Domain

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Cruise Tourism and Society

Abstract

Cruise-related research is regarded as interdisciplinary, pre-paradigmatic. As a research domain, cruises are characterised by high specificity and scarcity of available documented research. Thus, transferring methodological approaches from a variety of academic disciplines is inherently associated with epistemological risks and practical obstacles for cruise researchers. This paper synthesises research methodologies commonly applied in the cruise sector, ranging from conventional methods (hypothesis testing, case-studies, qualitative interviewing) to emerging, non-traditional approaches (e.g. web-based data analysis). Reflective accounts and examples are utilised in order to discuss their applicability and relevance in the chosen context. On this basis, requirements for cruise-adapted research methods are drafted and recommendations are made.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, An der Karlstadt 8, Bremerhaven, 27568, Germany

    Alexis Papathanassis

  2. Teesside University Business School, Teesside, UK

    Imke Matuszewski

  3. Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Paul Brejla

Authors
  1. Alexis Papathanassis
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  2. Imke Matuszewski
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  3. Paul Brejla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexis Papathanassis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Cruise Tourism Management, Bremerhaven University of Applied Scienc, An der Karlstadt 8, Bremerhaven, 27568, Germany

    Alexis Papathanassis

  2. University of Dubrovnik, Branitelja Dubrovnika 29, Dubrovnik, 20000, Croatia

    Tihomir Lukovic

  3. of Applied Sciences, Bremerhaven University, An der Karlstadt 8, Bremerhaven, 27568, Germany

    Michael Vogel

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Papathanassis, A., Matuszewski, I., Brejla, P. (2012). The ‘Cruise Ship Railing Dance’: Conducting Academic Research in the Cruise Domain. In: Papathanassis, A., Lukovic, T., Vogel, M. (eds) Cruise Tourism and Society. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32992-0_13

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