Theme Park Industry
OVERVIEW

Introduction

This tutorial is designed to help you begin researching the Theme Park industry. The Theme Park industry generally encompasses several interrelated businesses, such as amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, family entertainment centers, cultural and historical attractions, and carnivals and fairs. Sometimes aquaria, botanical gardens, museums, and zoos are also included.

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), amusement parks in the United States entertain more than 300 million visitors and generate more than $12 billion in revenue annually. In addition, these parks provide jobs for nearly 500,000 year-round and seasonal employees.
 

The Theme Park industry has thus far received limited academic study, though interest in the field is growing. Accordingly, it is relatively easy to find news announcements, brief articles, and anecdotal information on most topics, but it can be difficult to find scholarly information and meaningful statistics. This tutorial will help you discover existing information on this emerging field of study.

Topic Selection

A good topic for an academic project is one that interests you, fulfills the parameters of the assignment, and is researchable.  The following guidelines may assist you in choosing an appropriate Theme Park topic:

Try to choose a "manageable" topic that is not too broad or too narrow for the assignment.

For example, theme park attendance is probably too broad of a topic for a ten-page research paper.  You would quickly be overwhelmed with thousands of relevant books and articles on such a topic, way too many to use in a ten-page paper.

On the other hand, the impact of rain storms on attendance at Wet 'n' Wild water parks is probably too narrow for such a paper.  You would have difficulty finding information in trade or scholarly books and articles on such a specialized topic.

In this scenario, you might eventually refine your topic to something more manageable, such as the impact of weather conditions on attendance at outdoor theme parks and attractions.  A librarian or professor can also help you identify suitable topics in your area of interest.

Identify concepts associated with your topic: these are relevant main keywords and their synonyms and near-synonyms.  For example, for our topic of the impact of weather conditions on attendance at outdoor theme parks and attractions, you might identify concepts such as:

• Concept 1: theme park... amusement park... water park... attraction
  
• Concept 2: weather... climate... rain
• Concept 3: attendance... visitors... guests... customers
  
  

These keywords will be helpful when you search for information on your topic in library catalogs and article databases.  As you do more research, you may add or delete keywords (or even entire concepts) from your search.  Throughout the process, try to remain flexible and be willing to alter the focus of your topic as you learn more about it.