1. Choose a topic that you are interested in!

2. Narrow your topic down to something thats manageable.

3. Review the guidelineson topic selection outlined in your assignment.

4. Refer to lecture notes and required texts to refresh your knowledge of course and assignment.

5. Talk about your research idea with tutor and friend.

   READ! READ! READ!

   MY TOPIC SO FAR: Analyzing the impact of ethnocentrism to intercultural class.

Saunders et. al (2012) states the attributes of a good research topic. If you are undertaking a research project as a part of a course of study, then the most important attribute will be that it meets the examining body's requirement and, in particular, that it is at the correct level. You must choose your topic with care. Your research topic must be topic must be something you are capable of undertaking and one that excites your capability.

Your dissertation journey will be much more enjoyable and rewarding if you choose a topic that genuinely interests you. Consider what you are passionate about within your field of study. Is there a particular issue, theory, or phenomenon that fascinates you? By aligning your research with your interests, you'll find the motivation and enthusiasm to dig deep into the subject matter.

Your research topic should basically answer two questions:

(1) Capability, - Is the topic feasible? and (2) Appropriateness: Is it worthwhile?

Review existing literature to find gaps. Assess the feasibility in terms of resources and expertise. Ensure that your topic is relevant and is applicable to the real world.

Once you have decided on the research topic, you try to find the research question which is the questions that your research aims to answer. The research aims are the broad statements that describe the overall purpose of your study. They provide the general direction of your study and show the intended achievements of your research. The research objective is the idea you want to understand deeper by preforming research.

With the knowledge gained in class, I can now develop my research question, aims and objectives of my topic which i am still discussing with my tutor. I have two topics as at now:

1. Cultural barriers faced by international students in Edinburgh Napier University.

2. Analyzing the impact of acculturation of the Kenyan community in Edinburgh in promoting cultural tourism.

   I hope to settle on one soon.

After correction, it was time to pen it down. I had two research topics and I was not yet sure on which way to go and I depended on my tutor to help me settle down with one. After agreement with my tutor, we had a zoom meeting the following day to discuss my topic.

The meeting started well although I could not hear my tutor well through my laptop so he requested me to opt to the option of typing back in response of the questions he asked. This was a challenge to me since I was not a computer guru and typing quickly was nothing to joke about. I had to struggle but I gave up and had to admit the reality. I  requested to leave the meeting to try and identify the problem with my sound system then join again. It was then that I realized the stupid thing that I had done. Joining two meeting with one tutor and ending one meeting was the solution to having clear communication with my tutor.

I started by explaining my undergraduate course which was Agroforestry and Rural Development, a course that involved intergrating trees with crops and/or animals. My passion for trees and environment was instilled by my mum since childhood. After lengthy discussion, my tutor suggested that I work on a research topic around the impacts of social media influencers. I never knew that with my course I could even think of social influencers. I now understood that we always have something to write down but not unless we share and exchange ideas, deep thoughts would not be initiated. I got my research topic, question, aim and objectives done within an hour.

According to Ilieva (2023), “Social media is increasingly taking up the daily time of users and becoming a major source of impressions about tourism destinations. The role of the intermediary is also changing dramatically, which today largely overlaps with the role of the influencer.” There is now a greater need for and importance of identifying the social influencers and their role on promoting the environmentally friendly visitor behaviors at cultural Heritage visitor attractions.

Research topic.

A Critical Evaluation of the Impacts of Social Media Influencers on Fostering Environmentally Friendly Visitor Behaviors at Cultural Heritage Visitor Attractions

Research question.

What are the impacts of social media influencers on fostering environmentally friendly visitor behaviors at cultural heritage visitor attractions?

Research aim.

The aim of this study is to critically evaluate the impacts of social media influencers on fostering environmentally friendly visitor behaviors at cultural heritage visitor attractions.

Research objectives.

1.        To critically review literature in environmental sustainability, culture and heritage tourism, and Heritage Visitor Attractions to gain an understanding of the impacts of social media influencers on fostering environmentally friendly visitor behaviors at cultural heritage visitor attractions.

2.       To critically analyze the impacts of social media influencers on fostering environmentally friendly visitor behaviors at cultural heritage visitor attractions.

3.       To contribute new knowledge in environmental sustainability, culture and heritage tourism, Heritage Visitor Attractions that will be useful to academics in these fields.

4.       To add value on the existing knowledge on the impact of social media influencers on fostering environmentally friendly visitor behaviours at cultural heritage visitor attractions.

After the meeting ended, I decided to do some literature analysis to find some articles that I will be engaging with for my literature review and by the course of the week, I had reviewed eight books and added them to my Mendeley. Am glad to be making some progress in my project work with the great help from the tutor.

Our tutor introduced us to literature review, mastering the art of literature review which aims at filling gaps through reading. Machi & McEvoy (2022) define a literature review as “a written document that presents a logically argued case founded on a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge about a topic of study.” (pg. 5) The authors argue that literature review involves six that include: selecting and defining a topic, developing tools of argumentation, searching the literature, surveying the literature, critiquing the literature and writing the review. The literature review aims to critically analyze, evaluate, and synthesize research findings, theories, and practices by scholars and researchers, specific to a particular area of study, (Efron and Ravid, 2018).

According to Creswell, (2018), one cannot conduct the study without gaining a deep understanding of the research topic and learning from the work of other researchers and academia in the field. Being critical in research is important since it helps in evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and significance of existing research by identifying gaps and inconsistencies in the literature. It helps you develop your critical framework which usually comes after your literature review.

Something new that I learned in class was the different aspects of the critical approach. I always thought that being critical is just but one aspect of arguing your points or stand concerning a particular subject and supporting it with citations and references. I have learned the four approaches to critiquing which are:

1.       Critique of rhetoric,

2.       Critique of authority

3.       Critique of tradition, and

4.       Critique of objectivity.

You have to ensure the use of the right language and support of your work with citations and references. In my field of interest, heritage and cultural tourism, the critique of authority is used since more dominant views exist. I also learned that you cannot cite the same source more than once in the same paragraph.

Reference List

1. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design : Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (Fifth edition, international student edition.). SAGE.

2.       Efron E. S.,and Ravid R.(2018) Writing the Literature Review. A Practical Guide. Guilford Publications

3.       Machi A. and McEvay T. B. The Literature Review- Six Steps to Success. 4^th Ed. Corwin Press. (2022)

Writing my research my research proposal was a very adventurous journey since decoding one puzzle of my research question leads to another set of questions that I need to read more on the existing academic research questions and spend a lot of my time watching videos on TikTok and Instagram to develop my ideas and support their work with what the academic giants have done on the topic of environmental and cultural sustainability. With the book, Bentley et. al. (2021), that my tutor recommended that I should elaborate more on its content since it has a lot of information on the role of global influencers and their significance in improving positive consumer behaviors, I have a lot to read more.

With the research proposal now done, I find that research is a continuous process since you have to always piece up the puzzles to fill the gap existing in the academia of environmental sustainability and cultural tourism and am glad, I am learning to appreciate the un-rewarded role of the social media influencers.

Bentley, K., Chu, C., Nistor, C., Pehlivan, E., & Yalcin, T. (2021). Social media engagement for global influencers. Journal of Global Marketing, 34(3), 205–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2021.1895403

The first question was to do with our research proposals which was something new to the majority of the class and that we were not aware of, but at least, I had some background knowledge since I conducted full research when I was doing my bachelor's degree back in Kenya.

A new order to write the research proposals was given with the key things to consider.

1.       Provisional title for your dissertation - a clear concise research topic title is written here.

2.       Rationale- Your arguments and views on the subject in matter is presented. Here the researcher gives his/her own thoughts and opinion on the topic. Reasons as to why the topic was chosen should be elaborately discussed in this section.

3.       Research questions- Also known as the research hypothesis, the questions that the research question aims to answer are presented here. Usually this are two or three questions.

4.       Methodological approach- gives a description of the methods to be used during the research.

5.       Main stages of data collection. The sources of information and data are highlighted. This might include the literature review part of the task.

6.       Ethical considerations. If research involves methods of data collection that might end up in collecting people details and information, there should be some ethical practices that should be followed. The university offers a clear guide of such ethical considerations

7.       List of references. All citations and referencing sources should be given in a reference list showing the name of the authors, title of the book/journal, year of publication and the publishers. Also, for documents that have more than one edition, the edition number should be noted here.

The class ended with the tutor requesting us to work on our research proposal since submission was due.