Onsite or Online? A Comparison of Event Segmentation Data Collection Methods

Abstract

This chapter aims to compare two data collection methods to ascertain whether the method impacts the segments derived for events. A total of 1,180 onsite surveys were collected during a music festival and 522 online surveys were completed by attendees a fortnight after the event ended. Both sets of data were analyzed separately using TwoStep cluster analysis. Four valid segments were identified in both models. In each case 4 segmentation bases and 12 variables represented the final solutions with minimal but observable differences. Of note, a difference in the size of the clusters was identified. Furthermore, in a few instances a category that was ranked first for the onsite approach fell to second, or vice versa. Both online and onsite data collection methods are capable of providing data for segmentation purposes with a high degree of accuracy observed between data collection methods. Researchers must be aware that the choice of data collection will have a minor influence on the segments derived. Ideally researchers should seek to collect data using multiple data collection methods to gain a more holistic view of festival attendees.

Citation

Tkaczynski, A. and Rundle-Thiele, S. (2012), "Onsite or Online? A Comparison of Event Segmentation Data Collection Methods", Chen, J.S. (Ed.) Advances in Hospitality and Leisure (Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 247-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-3542(2012)0000008017