Originality: The Holy Grail of Tourism Research

Abstract

Originality is an important goal of research. However, relatively little is known about the characteristics and motivations of individual researchers or about the facilitating or hindering factors that, in combination, can lead to original research outputs. This is a gap this study aims to fill. Interviews with 20 highly original academics (identified by their peers) active in the field of tourism identify four shared main traits among such researchers—nonconformism, commitment, self-confidence, and interdisciplinarity—and the importance of situational factors. The findings also show that there is no single optimum way of “becoming original” and, therefore, efforts to “replicate” originality may constrain rather than enable originality. From a managerial perspective, this suggests that it is easier to remove barriers than to positively facilitate original research.

Originality in Research Publication: Measure, Concept, or Skill?

“…This letter set out to analyze the assessment process for originality in tourism research, as a commentary on Rodríguez, Makkonen, and Williams (2019) and Rodríguez et al (2021).…”

“…Originality remains hard to assess, either through the human expertise of reviewers and editors, pre-publication, or the numerical algorithms of bibliometrics, post-publication. The analyses by Rodríguez, Makkonen, and Williams (2019) and Rodríguez et al (2021) assemble and formalize qualitative data from multiple researchers and editors. Such data, however, suffer from a shortcoming inherent in a paradox of peer review.…”

“…This may include originality in theory, methodology, or setting. Rodríguez, Makkonen, and Williams (2019) and Rodríguez et al (2021) focus only on originality, and this comment does likewise. Rodríguez et al (2021) reached three main conclusions.…”

“…Rodríguez, Makkonen, and Williams (2019) and Rodríguez et al (2021) focus only on originality, and this comment does likewise. Rodríguez et al (2021) reached three main conclusions. The first relates to researcher personality: original researchers are confident in their ideas, and not easily discouraged.…”

“…They asked editors to nominate highly original authors, and then asked those authors what influences originality. The same 20 authors were nominated repeatedly by multiple editors and authors (Rodríguez et al 2021), suggesting that views on originality are consistent, albeit tacit.…”