1 Tourism Impact Assessment Research Project Guide Weight: 45% mark out of 45 marks DESCRIPTION The assignment requires students to conduct a research project in a group of 3 or 4 students on the perceived impacts of tourism using the techniques discussed in lectures and workshops. You will play the role as a group of consultants who have been commissioned to work on a project to assess the perceived impact of tourism. You can investigate the impact of an event (e.g., Commonwealth Games, Schoolies), a new development (e.g., Queens Wharf Project), a type of transportation (e.g., air travel, cruise travel), a form of travel (e.g., volunteer tourism) or other issues pertinent to the industry (e.g. overtourism, climate change, sustainable tourism, wildlife tourism etc.). The project involves a review of industry reports, news articles and academic literature to identify the potential impacts of tourism, followed by selecting appropriate methods to investigate the impact. Your team will collect empirical data (interview or survey questionnaire) in Week 8, analyse the data and report the results. Based on the project outcomes, recommendations will be provided to manage the impact and promote sustainable tourism development. This assessment is evaluated based on FOUR components: 1. Group research proposal (5%) – Due in Week 6, 3 Sep Friday, 16:00 2. Group written report (30%) – Due in Week 12, 15 Oct Friday, 16:00 3. Peer evaluation survey (5%) – Due in Week 13, 18 Oct Monday, 16:00 4. Individual reflection on group communication (5%) – Due in Week 14, 25 Oct Monday, 16:00 GROUP RESEARCH PROPOSAL You are required to complete a brief research proposal in Week 6. The proposal provides an opportunity for your team to receive early and formative feedback on your project and research instruments (questionnaire/interview guide). The proposal is also a requirement by Griffith University Research Ethics Office to ensure that your project falls within the scope of the course ethical clearance. The proposal is graded and compulsory. Proposal Submission The proposal must be submitted electronically using SafeAssign submission point. Only one submission is required for each group. E-cover sheet is not required for the proposal. 2 GROUP WRITTEN REPORT The report should include the following headings: 1. Introduction: This section provides background information relevant to the project, explains the research objectives, establishes the importance of the project, and provides a brief outline of the report. You are encouraged to refer to industry reports, statistics, new articles and online resources to build the case for your project. 2. Literature Review: For this section, you will need to find academic journal articles and write a review summarising what has been found in previous studies. A minimum of 5 academic references are expected in this section ...

1. 1
Tourism Impact Assessment Research Project Guide
Weight: 45% mark out of 45 marks
DESCRIPTION
The assignment requires students to conduct a research project
in a group of 3 or 4 students
on the perceived impacts of tourism using the techniques
discussed in lectures and
workshops.
You will play the role as a group of consultants who have been
commissioned to work on a
project to assess the perceived impact of tourism. You can
investigate the impact of an event
(e.g., Commonwealth Games, Schoolies), a new development
(e.g., Queens Wharf Project),
a type of transportation (e.g., air travel, cruise travel), a form of
travel (e.g., volunteer tourism)
or other issues pertinent to the industry (e.g. overtourism,

2. climate change, sustainable tourism,
wildlife tourism etc.).
The project involves a review of industry reports, news articles
and academic literature to
identify the potential impacts of tourism, followed by selecting
appropriate methods to
investigate the impact. Your team will collect empirical data
(interview or survey questionnaire)
in Week 8, analyse the data and report the results. Based on the
project outcomes,
recommendations will be provided to manage the impact and
promote sustainable tourism
development.
This assessment is evaluated based on FOUR components:
1. Group research proposal (5%) – Due in Week 6, 3 Sep
Friday, 16:00
2. Group written report (30%) – Due in Week 12, 15 Oct Friday,
16:00
3. Peer evaluation survey (5%) – Due in Week 13, 18 Oct
Monday, 16:00
4. Individual reflection on group communication (5%) – Due in
Week 14, 25 Oct Monday,

3. 16:00
GROUP RESEARCH PROPOSAL
You are required to complete a brief research proposal in Week
6. The proposal provides an
opportunity for your team to receive early and formative
feedback on your project and research
instruments (questionnaire/interview guide). The proposal is
also a requirement by Griffith
University Research Ethics Office to ensure that your project
falls within the scope of the
course ethical clearance. The proposal is graded and
compulsory.
Proposal Submission
The proposal must be submitted electronically using SafeAssign
submission point. Only one
submission is required for each group. E-cover sheet is not
required for the proposal.

4. 2
GROUP WRITTEN REPORT
The report should include the following headings:
1. Introduction: This section provides background information
relevant to the project,
explains the research objectives, establishes the importance of
the project, and provides
a brief outline of the report. You are encouraged to refer to
industry reports, statistics, new
articles and online resources to build the case for your proje ct.
2. Literature Review: For this section, you will need to find
academic journal articles and
write a review summarising what has been found in previous
studies. A minimum of 5
academic references are expected in this section, and those
aspiring to achieve high
grades would be advised to look more broadly (e.g. at least 10
academic references).
3. Methods: In this section, you should outline and justify the

5. research method you would
use to assess the impacts of tourism. Discuss the population of
interest and sampling
strategy. Report your data collection plan and research
instrument. You should then
collect some data. This does not need to be a large sample (10
questionnaires for each
group member or 12 interviews for the whole group) and it is
fine to use a convenient
sample including your friends and family. You should also
report how you analyse the data
in this section.
4. Results: This section presents the results using basic
statistics, interview quotes, tables
and/or graphs as appropriate. Start the section by reporting the
sample
profiles/demographics. Make appropriate comparisons in graphs
and tables. Provide brief
interpretations for your graphs/tables/quotes.
5. Discussion: In this section, you should summarise the key
results and compare the
results to the literature. Discuss the implications of the project
– why this type of research

6. is important and how can the
government/industry/community/tourist use your results.
Based on the project outcomes, provide recommendations for
impact management and
sustainable tourism development. Discuss the limitations of the
study and close the report
with a concluding remark.
6. References: APA 6 or 7 style
7. Appendices: Questionnaire or interview questions and a l ink
to your data file/folder
(including signed consent forms if applicable) on group Teams
channel.
The length of the report should be around 3500-4000 words. A
10% penalty will apply to
reports that exceed or are significantly under the stipulated
length (excluding title page, table
of content, reference list and appendices).
You must submit a link to your data file/folder in the appendix
section of your group report.
This is a compulsory requirement for ethical research conduct.
Your report will not be
marked if the link is not provided or inaccessible.

7. Group Report E-Cover Sheet
Each group member must complete an electronic cover sheet. If
the cover page is not
completed, your assignment mark will be withheld until the
completion of the cover page. There
is no mark allocated for the cover sheet.
Group Report Submission
The group report must be submitted electronically using
SafeAssign submission points (see
the assignment folder). Submit your draft report at the draft
submission point. This draft
submission does not count towards your final marks and will not
be marked. You will receive
3
a report indicating the proportion of text-matching within your
assignment. Reports with high
similarity index may indicate academic misconduct and should
be revised before submission.
There is no “acceptable” level of plagiarism. Some matching

8. issues identified by SafeAssign
are legitimate and will attract no penalty, while other
assignments may receive a zero matching
report and still represent serious academic misconduct. The key
to avoiding any academic
integrity concerns is to not plagiarise and always reference
correctly. Please ensure you
submit your FINAL report to the FINAL submission point. Only
one submission is required
for each group.
***University policies apply for plagiarism and late
submissions
Return of Marked Assessment and Release of Marks
The report will be marked according to the marking criteria
listed at the end of this document.
The marked reports and feedback will be available via
SafeAssign submission point TWO
weeks after the submission of report. Marks for all assessment
items will be recorded in the
Marks Centre and made available to students through My Marks
on [email protected]

9. PEER EVALUATION AND INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION ON
GROUP COMMUNICATION
You must work in a group of 3 to 4. The same word count and
expectations will apply
regardless of group size. By Week 4, you should complete the
online group sign-on. You
should inform your tutor of any changes in your group. No
changes are permissible after Week
6.
To facilitate your group work experience, you are required to
use group Teams channel for all
group work communication, including during workshops and
save all files and documents in
the channel. By doing so, all members will have access to the
documents and materials and
will be able to work on the report simultaneously. All
communication in this channel will serve
as an important supporting evidence to resolve group conflicts
and disputes.
The group collaboration and performance of individual group
members will be assessed. All
students are required to complete a peer evaluation survey (5%)
to review the performance

10. of the group members and submit a 250-word individual
reflection (5%) on group
communication. More information about the submission of peer
evaluation and individual
reflection will be made available on the course site.
MARKING CRITERIA
The following criteria form the basis of the marking sheet for
the written assignment:
1. Quality of research proposal
2. Understanding of the context and importance of impacts (5
marks)
3. Understanding of the impacts of tourism and related theories
(5 marks)
4. Understanding of methods for assessing impacts (5 marks)
5. Ability to implement methods (5 marks)
6. Understanding of implications of impact assessment research
(5 marks)
7. Referencing and overall presentation of the report (5 marks)
8. Peer Evaluation (5 marks)
9. Individual Reflection on Group Communication (5 marks)

11. 4
Criteria Assignment task Excellent (5) Very Good (4) Good (3)
Satisfactory (2) Unsatisfactory (1) Unsatisfactory (0)
1. Quality of
Research Proposal
PROPOSAL – Complete
a research proposal.
Outstanding effort in
completing all required
sections and excellent
understanding of ethical
research conduct.
Very good effort in
completing all required
sections and thorough
understanding of ethical
research conduct with
minor errors.
Good effort in completing
most required sections
and adequate
understanding of ethical
research conduct with
some errors.
Some sections are
incomplete (e.g. research

12. instrument is missing).
Limited understanding of
ethical research conduct.
Minimal effort. Most
sections are incomplete.
Inadequate
understanding of ethical
research conduct.
No submission.
2. Demonstrates an
understanding of
the context and
importance of the
impacts of tourism
INTRODUCTION -
Begin their assignment
with appropriate
introduction.
Introduction is thorough
and complete.
Introduction is mostly
complete with minor
issues.
Introduction is adequate
with some issues or
missing information.
Introduction is limited. Introduction is
inadequate.

13. Introduction is
absent.
3. Demonstrates an
understanding of
the social,
environmental
and/or economic
impacts of tourism
LITERATURE REVEIW
- Conduct literature
review and discuss
related theories and
potential impacts of the
tourism activity under
examination.
Demonstrates
outstanding
understanding of impacts
and theories. Literature
Review is thorough and
complete.
Demonstrates thorough
understanding of impacts
and theories. Literature
Review is mostly
complete.
Demonstrates adequate
understanding of impacts
and/or theories.
Literature Review is

14. adequate.
Demonstrates surface
understanding of
impacts. Minimal
reference was made to
theories. Literature
Review is superficial.
Demonstrates little
understanding of impacts
or theories. Literature
Review lacks many
important details.
Literature Review is
absent.
4. Demonstrates an
understanding of
methods for
assessing tourism
impacts
METHOD - Identify and
apply appropriate
methods for assessing
impacts.
Demonstrates
outstanding
understanding of the
methods.
Demonstrates thorough
understanding of the

15. methods.
Demonstrates adequate
understanding of the
methods.
Demonstrates surface
understanding of the
methods.
Demonstrates little
understanding of the
methods.
Method is absent.
5. Demonstrates an
ability to implement
the methods for
assessing tourism
impacts
RESULT - Analyse and
report results.
Analysis and reporting
demonstrate thorough
and complete
understanding.
Analysis and reporting
demonstrate very good
understanding.
Analysis and reporting

16. are good.
Analysis and reporting
are limited.
Analysis and reporting
demonstrate little
understanding and is
very superficial.
Result is absent.
6. Demonstrates an
understanding of
the implications of
impact assessment
DISCUSSION - Discuss
how the outcomes of
tourism impact
assessment would help
to achieve sustainable
tourism development.
Demonstrates
outstanding
understanding of
implications. Discussion
and recommendations
are outstanding.
Demonstrates thorough
understanding of
implications. Discussion
and recommendations
are mostly complete.

17. Demonstrates adequate
understanding of
implications. Discussion
and recommendations
are adequate.
Demonstrates surface
understanding of
implications. Discussion
and recommendations
are limited.
Demonstrates little
understanding of
implications. Discussion
and recommendations
are absent or very
limited.
Discussion and
recommendation are
absent.
7. Referencing and
Overall
Presentation
Accurately cite an
appropriate range of
literature. The quality
and relevance of the
references matter.
Present the report in a
professional and
consistent manner.

18. Reference list is highly
appropriate. Style is
consistent and correct.
Appropriate style and
formatting, excellent
written expression, no
spelling or grammatical
errors.
Reference list is mostly
appropriate. Style is
mostly consistent and
correct.
Appropriate style and
formatting, very good
written expression, very
few spelling or
grammatical errors.
Reference list is
adequate. Style is mostly
consistent and correct.
Adequate style and
formatting, adequate
written expression,
limited spelling or
grammatical errors.
Reference list is limited.
Style is somewhat
incorrect and/or
inconsistent.
Inconsistent style and
formatting, limited written
expression, a number of

19. spelling and/or
grammatical errors.
Reference list is weak
and limited. Style is
incorrect and/ or
inconsistent.
Inappropriate style and
formatting, poor written
expression, many
spelling and/or
grammatical errors.
Reference list is
absent.
9. Reflection on
Group
Communication
REFLECTION – Submit
a 250-word reflection on
group communication.
Reflective piece is
insightful and includes
critical observations. It
also includes both
looking in and looking out
components and is
supported throughout by
specific and relevant
examples as well as
focussing on the required
perspectives.

20. Reflective piece includes
both looking in and
looking out components
and is supported by
specific and relevant
examples as well as
focussing on the required
perspectives.
Reflective piece contains
only one of looking in and
looking out components
and/or is supported by
only 1-2 specific and
relevant examples. There
is only minimal focus on
the required
perspectives.
Reflective piece is
descriptive and not
supported by specific
examples.
Reflective piece is
inadequate.
No submission.