Appendix 1: Codebook and Codesheet for Tourism Website Content Analysis
Coding Instructions: As per the training and guidelines provided, you are requested to code the presence and absence of the following features on the websites to be analysed. For each factor first you have to read the guidelines given adjacent to the factors in the table below (S.no 1-68) for assessing their characteristics which will help you in deciding the presence and absence of factors.
The website addresses are provided to you in the code sheet. You first have to type that address in your browser and asses the website to achieve a familiarity. Then based on instructions you have to analyse the website and if particular factor is present in website then you will write '1' in the code sheet, if you think the particular factor is absent then you will mark '0' and in case you are unable to determine the response you should mark NR (No response) which will finally be discussed with the experts.
Table 1: Codebook for Content Analysis
S.no / Factor / Coding Criteria1 / Tourist cultural information on destination is provided / Websites highlight the culture of the destination, such information can be found in 'about us' section or when information on a particular destination is provided. Cues like the history, habits, values, beliefs indicate that the cultural information is provided.
2 / Information on attractions / Details about the main attractions like cities, destinations, places to visit, monuments etc
3 / Information concerning relevant events are provided / Information about events like, fare, celebrations, gatherings, relevant for tourists are present
4 / Information about transportation means in destination area / Information on how can a tourist travel in the area, information on, availability of taxis, rickshaws, other vehicles relevant to travel in the particular area
5 / Information useful for staying at destination is provided / Information like facilities to stay in the destination area are provided in detail, what one should bring like clothes, safety measures, rules and laws of the city etc
6 / 2-3 click for needed info / Information required is available in 2-3 clicks, one not has to search more than 3 pages on website
7 / Overview of all information for final decision making / The presence of features like travel planner, make your travel plan, visit in a day, visit in a week, or similar features or options are present on the website
8 / Information on type of hotel / Type of hotels in the destination area based on star ratings, etc
9 / Information on hotel facility / Information on what facilities are provided by hotels like accommodation facilities, transportation, restaurants etc.
10 / Room availability & rate / Details of room availability in hotels and price is given
11 / Local weather information / Information like temperature in different seasons, weather predictions etc are present
12 / Map of surrounding area / Map is available on website of the region and attractions
13 / Information is non repetitive / Information is not repeated but novel
14 / Full details about package holidays are available / Holiday packages that tourist can avail , price of package, benefits are provided.
15 / How to reach suggestions / How tourists can reach to the destination form their place , through train, flights, etc
16 / Content logically structured in different sections / While surfing website every page is logically structured and related to each other and content is divided in to relevant heads, so that the user not gets confused
17 / Menus understandable & straight forward / The main heads are easy to understand and not confusing
18 / Site map/table of content available / Site map or table of content is available on the home page of the website
19 / Consistent navigation through site / While navigating on the website there is consistency in term of relativity of information, and users don’t reach a dead block where they have to start afresh
20 / Easy to find site / Open Google on a new tab in your browser, type the name of country and 'tourism'(eg China Tourism) in search pane and if the website is among the top ten results it would be considered easy to find. Otherwise mark 0
21 / Easy to explore specific idea or subject / information on adventure tourism, travel ideas, and other types of tourism are present on website
22 / Easy to return to main page / At any given page it’s easy to return to the home page in 1 or 2 clicks
23 / Easy to find specific information / Enter a query in search function of the website and if the information is provided in first five results mark 1. Otherwise mark 0
24 / Easy to access complete destination information / Information on a destination is presented in a consolidated manner, a summary of information is given, or in a single page information about destination can be read.
25 / Easy to use search engine / if the search function of the website is easy to use or show results fast or presents information in a accessible format mark 1
26 / Help function easy to use / Reach to the ‘help’ function click and find how information is provided. In FAQ format or search format etc. mark 1 on basis of your perceived ease of use
27 / No broken links / During your website access if you didn’t found any link which was not opening or contained no information mark 1
28 / Links labelled & defined / On every page the topic of the page is mentioned which gives an idea of the content of the page
29 / Possible to comeback from a diverging path / If previous links/heads are mentioned on current page then mark 1
30 / Possible to visualise ones past navigation path / An user can visualise the pages he has already surfed like denoting the information or pictures in previous visited pages
31 / Possible to understand ones position in the site / Labels are provided for the information present in other pages and how the current page is situated on website.
32 / Foreign language support available / Check on the home page or other pages if the function of ‘translate’ or ‘view site in other language’ is present
33 / Full company information available / Information on the tourist organisation is provided in detail
34 / Terms & conditions easily accessed / Terms and conditions are provide in detail and easy to read
35 / Email address of employees available / Under the ‘contact us’ section email address of employees is given
36 / Telephone & fax number available / Telephone or fax number is given on website
37 / Postal & physical address available / Postal address or office address is mentioned on website
38 / Easy to register on site / View the register page and make an attempt to register, mark your response on basis of your perceived ease of use
39 / Feedback forms available / User can provide feedback on website
40 / Quick reply to email enquiries / To asses this feature an email was sent to the websites posing as a tourists and if the websites replied in 24 hours 1 was marked as response, if no response or late response was reviewed mark 0. (was done by authors of the study)
41 / Online complain / Feedback form, message typing function are present
42 / Online query(FAQ) / A section on FAQ is present
43 / Easy access to online community / An online community of tourist is present on the website
44 / High degree of interactivity in community / Try to access the community and if you find frequent messages (more than 5) in last 10 days mark 1
45 / Chat room availability for tourist discussion regarding destinations and experiences / A chat room function is available on website
46 / Security systems accredited / Name of accreditation organisation is given
47 / Secure payment systems used / Presence of statements depicting payment systems and security
48 / Privacy of users protected / Statements depicting that user privacy is protected
49 / Security protocols well communicated / Details of security measures used by website provided in detail
50 / Security certificate adequate / Messages or signs depicting organisations from which security is certified, year or validity of certificates mentioned
51 / General privacy policy is available on site / Privacy policy of website can be read by user
52 / Information regarding security of payment is clearly represented / Information on how payments are made secure are clearly communicated
53 / There are seals which state that information on this site is secure / Signs of verified/secure/safe/protected on website e.g. https
54 / Home page concise & clear / Home page is attractive with clear links to information on website
55 / Effective use of white space / A room for white space is left, page not over filled with text or images
56 / Effective & consistent use of colour / The colour use is consistent throughout the website
57 / Effective & consistent use of background / The background is consistent throughout the website
58 / Effective graphics/type face/ colour combinations / The site graphics and colour combinations are consistent
59 / Graphics & multimedia facilitate understanding of site / Information about destinations is corroborated with pictures or videos which represent the information conveyed
60 / Icons easy to understand / Icons are readable and understandable: no jargons are used
61 / Proper Size of graphics & multimedia: no negative impact on loading / The graphics and multimedia are not very heavy so that it negatively impacts the loading speed of page
62 / Style of pages consistent / The overall style of the page does not varies much, a consistency is observed in design and colours
63 / Correct spelling & grammar / No spelling or grammatical mistakes found while reading the information on website
64 / Page sized to fit in browser window / The pages fit to window of the browser well
65 / Printable version of certain page available / Options to print the information on website is provided
66 / Text only version available / Text only version of the website is available
67 / Accommodation made for disabled users / Options like increasing size of text, ‘read out loud’ options are on website
68 / Good colour contrast / Colours are used with attractive contrast, rate on basis of your likeness
Table 2: Codesheet for Content Analysis
S.no / Factors / France http://us.franceguide.com/ / United States http://www.discoveramerica.com/uk/ / Spain http://www.spain.info/ / China http://www.tourismchina.org / Italy http://www.italia.it/en/home.html / United Kingdom http://www.enjoyengland.com/ / Turkey http://www.tourismturkey.org/ / Germany http://www.germany-tourism.de/ / Malaysia http://www.tourism.gov.my/ / Mexico http://www.visitmexico.com/wb2/1 / Tourist cultural information on destination is provided
2 / Information on attractions
3 / Information concerning relevant events are provided
4 / Information about transportation means in destination area
5 / Information useful for staying at destination is provided
6 / 2-3 click for needed info
7 / Overview of all information for final decision making
8 / Information on type of hotel
9 / Information on hotel facility
10 / Room availability & rate
11 / Local weather information
12 / Map of surrounding area
13 / Information is non repetitive
14 / Full details about package holidays are available
15 / How to reach suggestions
16 / Content logically structured in different sections
17 / Menus understandable & straight forward
18 / Site map/table of content available
19 / Consistent navigation through site
20 / Easy to find site
21 / Easy to explore specific idea or subject
22 / Easy to return to main page
23 / Easy to find specific information
24 / Easy to access complete destination information
25 / Easy to use search engine
26 / Help function easy to use
27 / No broken links
28 / Links labelled & defined
29 / Possible to comeback from a diverging path
30 / Possible to visualise ones past navigation path
31 / Possible to understand ones position in the site
32 / Foreign language support available
33 / Full company information available
34 / Terms & conditions easily accessed
35 / Email address of employees available
36 / Telephone & fax number available
37 / Postal & physical address available
38 / Easy to register on site
39 / Feedback forms available
40 / Quick reply to email enquiries
41 / Online complain
42 / Online query(FAQ)
43 / Easy access to online community
44 / High degree of interactivity in community
45 / Chat room availability for tourist discussion regarding destinations and experiences
46 / Security systems accredited
47 / Secure payment systems used
48 / Privacy of users protected
49 / Security protocols well communicated
50 / Security certificate adequate
51 / General privacy policy is available on site
52 / Information regarding security of payment is clearly represented
53 / There are seals which state that information on this site is secure
54 / Home page concise & clear
55 / Effective use of white space
56 / Effective & consistent use of colour
57 / Effective & consistent use of background
58 / Effective graphics/type face/ colour combinations
59 / Graphics & multimedia facilitate understanding of site
60 / Icons easy to understand
61 / Proper Size of graphics & multimedia: no negative impact on loading
62 / Style of pages consistent
63 / Correct spelling & grammar
64 / Page sized to fit in browser window
65 / Printable version of certain page available
66 / Text only version available
67 / Accommodation made for disabled users
68 / Good colour contrast