Information Package / Course Catalogue
| Course Code | : TUR540 |
| Course Type | : Area Elective |
| Couse Group | : Second Cycle (Master's Degree) |
| Education Language | : Turkish |
| Work Placement | : N/A |
| Theory | : 3 |
| Prt. | : 0 |
| Credit | : 3 |
| Lab | : 0 |
| ECTS | : 5 |
The aim of this course is to enable master’s students to develop scientific thinking, construct theoretical frameworks, and design research in tourism studies. The course aims to help students understand how theories are developed in social sciences, become familiar with key theories used in tourism research, and develop research questions and conceptual models based on these theories. It also seeks to strengthen students’ ability to conduct independent academic research and to provide a solid theoretical foundation for their thesis studies.
The course covers the nature of scientific knowledge, research paradigms in social sciences, and the fundamental principles of theoretical approaches in tourism research. It explains the role of theory in the research process by examining the relationships among theory, concept, and model. Theory development processes are analyzed through deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning approaches. The course introduces key theories used in areas such as tourism behavior, destination management, sustainability, and experience economy. Students learn how to define research problems, identify research gaps from the literature, develop conceptual frameworks, and formulate hypotheses. In addition, the basic logic of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research designs is addressed, with the aim of enabling students to develop feasible research plans at the thesis level.
| 1. | Explains the nature of scientific knowledge and fundamental research paradigms in social sciences. |
| 2. | Analyzes the relationships among theory, concept, and model in tourism research. |
| 3. | Identifies and critically evaluates key theories in tourism literature. |
| 4. | Identifies research gaps in the academic literature. |
| 5. | Defines research problems on a scientific basis. |
| 6. | Structures relationships among variables (direct and indirect effects). |
| 7. | Independently develops an academic research design. |
| 8. | Constructs research frameworks aligned with international publication standards. |
| 1. | Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2016). The craft of research (4th ed.). University of Chicago Press. |
| 2. | Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. |
| 3. | Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications. |
| 4. | Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. |
| Type of Assessment | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm Examination | 1 | %40 |
| Final Examination | 1 | %60 |
| Activities | Count | Preparation | Time | Total Work Load (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture - Theory | 14 | 2 | 3 | 70 |
| Assignment | 15 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| Midterm Examination | 1 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Final Examination | 1 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) | 125 | |||
PÇ-1 | PÇ-2 | PÇ-3 | PÇ-4 | PÇ-5 | |
OÇ-1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
OÇ-2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
OÇ-3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
OÇ-4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
OÇ-5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
OÇ-6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
OÇ-7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
OÇ-8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |