The tourism and hospitality research landscape is constantly evolving and the field is growing in maturity. One of the distinguishing features that dominates this evolution is the proliferation of academic journals. The number of tourism and hospitality journals has increased from less than ten before the 1980s to around 300 in 2017. Within the various articles published in these journals, feature fervent debates on research methodologies and related aspects. Areas of discussion relates to the use of statistical techniques, specific methods related to qualitative, qualitative, and mixed method research and other design aspects of a study. This chapter succinctly summarizes these debates and situates the various contributions that define this handbook within the broader literature in the field.
