Collection of the Data
Prospective respondents were approached to determine if they were visiting
the region as a visitor (staying in the Tamworth region for at least one day to
attend the festival), and then, based on their response to the filter question,
they were asked if they would be willing to participate in the study. If they
declined the invitation, they were thanked for their time, and the research
team member then moved on to engage another individual in the immediate
vicinity. If they accepted, the purpose of the research project was verbally
outlined to prospective respondents to ensure informed consent. All respondents
who freely chose to participate in the study had explained to them
the precautions put in place to maintain individual anonymity and confidentiality.
Consistent with the ethics approval given for this study, prospective
respondents were also informed that they were able to withdraw from the
study process at any time without penalty.
Nearly 1,500 surveys were collected over a 5-day period at various times
of the day and night during the staging of the 2008 festival event. Of the
total number collected, approximately 180 surveys were later found to be
unusable, leaving 1,320 usable surveys for inclusion in the final analysis.