Data collection methods in rural tourism in the eyes of respondents

The aim of this study was to verify the reliability and user-friendliness of some of the most popular ways of collecting information from respondents. The article provides a synthetic review of the use of various research methods and techniques, which is supplemented by results of the author’s own survey of 280 people who visited guest farms in rural areas of Mazowieckie province in 2019. The respondents found online and paper-based surveys the most user-friendly method while they rated telephone interviews as the least user-friendly. Asked to assess the reliability of data collection techniques, the respondents considered covert observation and mystery shopping to be the most reliable, while the telephone interview was regarded as the least trustworthy. The assessment of the user-friendliness and reliability of different data collection methods and techniques varied by gender, age and the level of education. It can be expected that insights from the study can help to improve the methodology of rural tourism research.