Improve the pilgrim experience

[AlbertoCamino]

Hello, we are conducting a completely anonymous study for the faculty with the aim of finding out what the ideal experience is for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

The questionnaire takes 2 minutes to complete, and you are free to share it with other pilgrims, which we would also be very grateful for. Have a good journey.

https://forms.gle/heTicR9kcJD82Y7P7

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Moderator note: this post was moved from another thread after some responses were posted on this thread.

Hello, I am a student at the Faculty of Tourism and I quite like walking.
I am currently preparing the TFG and I have launched a survey that you can find in the forum.

Greetings to all. Buen camino.

 

[henrythedog]

I would have to sign in with Google to complete the form, which I’m not going to do.

Alberto. Welcome.

Sometime soon someone’s going to ask you who ‘we’ are; what you’re going with the data and a whole lot more. Perhaps you could provide some more information?

 

[Tincatinker]

Hello, we are conducting a completely anonymous study for the faculty with the aim of finding out what the ideal experience is for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

The questionnaire takes 2 minutes to complete, and you are free to share it with other pilgrims, which we would also be very grateful for. Have a good journey.

https://forms.gle/heTicR9kcJD82Y7P7

I just completed your questionnaire. Every answer was a lie. Does that help?

Who are you and why are you asking?

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Hello, you just need to log in but no data is saved, most of the time the session is already started.

If you look when you enter the form it tells you that the form is anonymous and that no data is shared. When you log in it also tells you that your email is not shared. This is all generated automatically by the Google Forms platform, so you can be sure that it is anonymous and no data is stored.

The only objective is to know how to improve the pilgrim's experience, there is no other goal. We already have a few dozen responses, and also many criticisms, anyone who wants to do so we are grateful.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Sorry, my English is not perfect, we have a few hundred responses.

It is a simple questionnaire for a final year project from a tourism faculty.
Anyone who wants to help is welcome, and if not, nothing happens.

 

[SabsP]

Hello, you just need to log in but no data is saved, most of the time the session is already started.

If you look when you enter the form it tells you that the form is anonymous and that no data is shared. When you log in it also tells you that your email is not shared. This is all generated automatically by the Google Forms platform, so you can be sure that it is anonymous and no data is stored.

The only objective is to know how to improve the pilgrim's experience, there is no other goal. We already have a few dozen responses, and also many criticisms, anyone who wants to do so we are grateful.

Yes. But which faculty? Where? Which department?

And oh yes, the Camino does not need improvement nor does my pilgrim's " experience".

 

[Tincatinker]

Nah, go on, explain. How do you intend to improve the pilgrim’s experience? What are your criteria for success?

All I want is free aguadiente whenever I buy a “solo”. How do you propose to improve my experience?

 

[SabsP]

Nah, go on, explain. How do you intend to improve the pilgrim’s experience? What are your criteria for success?

All I want is free aguadiente whenever I buy a “solo”. How do you propose to improve my experience?

I will create you an aguardiente app! Secret code and all of that .

 

[Barbara]

Nah, go on, explain. How do you intend to improve the pilgrim’s experience? What are your criteria for success?

All I want is free aguadiente whenever I buy a “solo”. How do you propose to improve my experience?

Now, that's enough teasing. Be gentle. You need a very large aquadiente to improve the experience, obviously. Success is measured by the number of pilgrims falling over after their second breakfast.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Yes. But which faculty? Where? Which department?

And oh yes, the Camino does not need improvement nor does my pilgrim's " experience".

I hope you understand that that is your opinion. Many other pilgrims have written improvements in our questionnaire.

It seems like someone else has felt threatened and I still don't understand why. The form is anonymous and everyone is free to do so if they want.

 

[Tincatinker]

@AlbertoCamino, sorry amigo but you just got roughed up by a few people who are very passionate “pilgrims”. We don’t want the Camino to be “improved”. It’s just fine just like it is. It was just fine way back before Xunta de Galicia started paving it. It was just fine before baggage transport and breakfast smoothies and pre-booked beds and “your luxury minibus will transport you to the start of your 5 km experience”.

Camino doesn’t need improving or enhancing or any other bloody ‘ing. It needs leaving alone. It needs just to be itself. A thousand paths, a thousand ways to Santiago, to the shrine of one who once may have stood with the Divine.

If you’re just seeking further justification for turning Camino into a theme park. Shame on you

 

[cecirarias]

I answered the survey and it seems to me more like someone looking to invest on a new accommodation and trying to understand how to make that unique. I found the question about the jacuzzi a bit funny, and too specific to be about the Pilgrim's experience.
BTW, it does collect personal data as I responded from a post on Reddit, and when I just clicked on the link, it said I already responded. If you weren't storing any personal data, I should be able to respond more than once.

 

[C clearly]

The form is anonymous

People are quite rightly nervous about entering any personal information on the internet.

They also become rather skeptical about random surveys, especially when the person posting it has not given any explanation.

Finally, please realize that forum members are passionate advocates for the Camino, but many are concerned about the mass commercialization. Therefore some members are alienated by surveys that ask, for example, whether we would like to have private Jacuzzis at our accommodation, or transport from our point of arrival (in the town?) to the accommodation (in the same town?), and then a ride to the point of exit the next morning. Many members would not consider these to be improvements to the Camino!

 

[Sirage]

People just need to visit this Forum and there is a chance that their Camino will be enhanced.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Okay, I understand.

I'm not looking to invest in anything, or create a theme park, it's just information for a TFG. I would probably do many other things before spending my money on the Camino.

I have already repeated it several times, NO DATA IS COLLECTED, when you enter the form it tells you clearly and tells you that your email is not shared, that is automatically generated by the Google Forms website. You can search for more information on your own to corroborate it.

In my opinion there are always things that can be improved, and that does not have to go against the perseverance of nature.

 

[C clearly]

it's just information for a TFG

What is a TFG?

 

[duncanwhyte]

Tfg

Totally fake graph?

 

[duncanwhyte]

Taken for granted

 

[Robo]

An interesting survey.

It's hard to imagine what the purpose is.
Do those really undertaking a Pilgrimage want Games Rooms, Organised Activities, Private Jacuzzi ?

I'll stop there before I get into trouble.............

 

[dougfitz]

There are over 70 definitions of the acronym 'TFG' here. Which of these, if any, would you want us to understand when you use it?

ps. I did find total fundoplication gastroplasty a rather appealing meaning.

 

[trecile]

Do those really undertaking a Pilgrimage want Games Rooms, Organised Activities, Private Jacuzzi ?

If all else was equal and one albergue had a jacuzzi, and another one didn't I would pick the place with the jacuzzi to ease my tired muscles. But definitely not something that I would search for.

And I have stayed at albergues that did offer group yoga, which was nice.

 

[dougfitz]

Hello, you just need to log in but no data is saved, most of the time the session is already started.

That just isn't true. I logged in, completed some responses, logged out and when I returned my data was restored. So it was saved somewhere by someone. Please be more careful about spreading what essentially looks like mis-information to me.

 

[Theatregal]

The AI Trap: Top Signs that Social Media Content is AI Generated

1. Repetitive Language Patterns.
2. Absence of Personal Stories.
3. Broad, Generic Responses.
4. Formal and Rigid Tone.
5. Inconsistent Style and Voice.
6. Missing or Misunderstood Context.
7. Lack of Genuine Humor.
8. Factual Errors or Misrepresentations.

 

[Kathor1]

There are over 70 definitions of the acronym 'TFG' here. Which of these, if any, would you want us to understand when you use it?
ps. I did find total fundoplication gastroplasty a rather appealing meaning.

Funny.

I did not know what the abbreviation means but it is pretty obvious in this context: Google came up immediately with numerous search results about TFG and TFM. One of the first results explains the difference:

• ¿Qué es un Trabajo Fin de Grado o TFG?
• ¿Qué es un Trabajo Fin de Master o TFM?

It is the last project during the last year of a course that leads to a Bachelor degree. The University of Castilla-La Mancha has this definition in English:

The Bachelor’s Degree Final Project (TFG) is a compulsory 6-credit ECTS module/subject that will be carried out throughout the [final] year and will be defended once students have passed the rest of the subjects of the Degree.​

There have been similar requests on the forum before. My attitude is: Participate or leave it to others. Their purpose is to allow students to practice some skills and get their degree, and in general, these final year projects achieve nothing else nor are they meant to do that.

 

[Kathor1]

- https://forms.gle/heTicR9kcJD82Y7P7

I’ve not yet looked at @AlbertoCamino‘s questionnaire.

The first thing I do before I click on a link is looking at the url. So here is another unusual abbreviation: GLE. The website whoapi.com has some info about this domain name. It is owned by Google and serves to provide a specific service of Google’s many services.

Scroll down to the topic of forms.gle – popular use of .gle domain. (The text is rather technical; there are probably better ones with an explanation for Google Forms and data protection).

 

[Kathor1]

I’ve not yet looked at @AlbertoCamino‘s questionnaire.

I've now looked at it. It is a short questionnaire. I've seen worse student questionnaires and requests to fill them in on this forum. I answered it without fibbing. The title is actually "What would your ideal experience on the Camino de Santiago be like" and not "Improve the pilgrim experience" but I do understand that such wording can be infuriating.

The questionnaire does not collect my personal data. Right at the beginning the email address with which I log into Google services is displayed with the notice that it is not shared, i.e. Google knows it but not the owner of the form. And now Google knows and remembers that this email account has already logged in before and has completed the questionnaire when I log in again. But that is what Google knows and not the owner of the form who is (in GDPR speak) the data controller of the information entered into the questionnaire but not the data controller of all the personal information that Google collects and stores about me and the email address I use and that is associated with everything I do on Google's websites.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

As I already said, it is a final degree project, it could be a hostel, an apartment, a cabin in the mountains, a snack machine, I don't know, it depends on the results.

Everyone here begins to create their own movies without any basis; that I want to turn the road into a theme park, that I collect data, that it is made by artificial intelligence... too much genius in so little space.

The questionnaire does not collect data and is done manually question by question. Before accusing someone you have to corroborate that what you believe is true. I'm surprised to see even veterans of the forum act this way.

Thanks for providing some wisdom Katharina. We are not interested in anyone's data.
It is a simple questionnaire, those who want to help us are grateful and those who do not are also grateful.

 

[filly]

Yes. But which faculty? Where? Which department?

And oh yes, the Camino does not need improvement nor does my pilgrim's " experience".

… we are STILL awaiting answers to these most basic questions. So please reveal WHERE you are studying and what is the ACTUAL degree course. Some rightly feel they need this before they even consider whether to click on the link!

 

[Kathor1]

Thanks for providing some wisdom Katharina. We are not interested in anyone's data. It is a simple questionnaire, those who want to help us are grateful and those who do not are also grateful.

Not wisdom, just sharing what I found and collected from general knowledge .

BTW, for others: ECTS means European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. I am way past my uni years. The whole tertiary education system (universities and other higher education institutions) has been completely remodelled in most if not all current EU countries with the aim of making courses and degrees more comparable. This happened many decades ago but I am still not very familiar with it. When and where I studied at uni (founded more than 600 years ago by the ruling Prince-bishop so with a long and distinguished tradition) we did not have Bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees and Erasmus programs and mobility between unis in different countries. It was a different world.

I must say that I don't like it when there is no further explanation on these forms for questionnaires and surveys with no name of the student behind it, no name of the supervisor, no name of the faculty or institution. However, in the age of the internet (with its sh** storms) I actually do understand this wish for anonymity and I respect it and I have no issues with it. When it is the higher echelons in academia, i.e. a faculty member or perhaps even just a PhD student labouring on her or his thesis who asks for participation in a survey my expectations are higher, however, and then I would want to know exactly who and what and why and for whom and what happens (if anything) when results and conclusions are published.

I wish you all the best for the future, @AlbertoCamino!

PS: He does say in one of the earlier posts of this thread that he is a student at the Faculty of Tourism and that the questionnaire [is] for a final year project from a tourism faculty.

 

[Kathor1]

If all else was equal and one albergue had a jacuzzi, and another one didn't I would pick the place with the jacuzzi to ease my tired muscles. But definitely not something that I would search for. And I have stayed at albergues that did offer group yoga, which was nice.

I now regret that I did not do the survey in the original Spanish and did not make screenshots to help me remember the wording of the questions that are asked. I think that the options for the answers were usually along the lines of "yes, please", "no, never" and "could not care one way or the other".

As to "jacuzzis". The albergue Camino del Perdon in Uterga, an albergue not exclusively for pilgrims but oriented towards them, as so many albergues are because there are not enough albergues exclusively for pilgrims on the Camino Francés, has an adjacent building with a room with a hot tub in English - it is a bañera hidromasaje in Spanish. Perhaps just a bath tub with some fancy options ... . Come to think about it, I am amazed that showers with hot water are tolerated. I've been on week long treks (not pilgrimage treks) where there was only cold water available, and it did not even come from a showerhead.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

… we are STILL awaiting answers to these most basic questions. So please reveal WHERE you are studying and what is the ACTUAL degree course. Some rightly feel they need this before they even consider whether to click on the link!

I don't know if you've bothered to read the previous messages. I study tourism at a university in Galicia, and that's all I want to say.

I now regret that I did not do the survey in the original Spanish and did not make screenshots to help me remember the wording of the questions that are asked. I think that the options for the answers were usually along the lines of "yes, please", "no, never" and "could not care one way or the other".

As to "jacuzzis". The albergue Camino del Perdon in Uterga, an albergue not exclusively for pilgrims but oriented towards them, as so many albergues are because there are not enough albergues exclusively for pilgrims on the Camino Francés, has an adjacent building with a room with a hot tub in English - it is a bañera hidromasaje in Spanish. Perhaps just a bath tub with some fancy options ... . Come to think about it, I am amazed that showers with hot water are tolerated. I've been on week long treks (not pilgrimage treks) where there was only cold water available, and it did not even come from a showerhead.

Perhaps some questions are not so accurate or liked by pilgrims, such as the one about the jacuzzi, but they help to know their profile, which is what the survey is about.

It is a fact that there are different types of people who do the Camino, some do it for religious reasons and others because they love nature or hiking, some walk 30km a day and others prefer to do 15, some prefer hostels and others apartments or rural houses. Each person has different preferences depending on their age, ideas, motivations...
What is not normal is that someone believes they have the absolute truth and say that the Camino does not lack anything, because our results say many other things.
I am planning to repeat the Camino in 2025 and I am clear that I would not do it again walking so many kilometers a day or taking it as a race, and I would not be cold in any hostel either, I would prefer a quieter apartment and enjoy it as a vacation to repair body and mind, and that is why everyone has different opinions and they must be respected.

 

[Tincatinker]

Perhaps some questions are not so accurate or liked by pilgrims, such as the one about the jacuzzi, but they help to know their profile, which is what the survey is about.

So, the purpose of your survey is to profile the respondents?

Don't you think you ought to have declared that?

If you are not prepared to disclose your University, Supervisor or authorising body then I would profile you as "suspect" and I would urge the Moderators to close this thread thereby protecting members of this forum from harm.

 

[dfox]

So, the purpose of your survey is to profile the respondents?

Don't you think you ought to have declared that?

If you are not prepared to disclose your University, Supervisor or authorising body then I would profile you as "suspect" and I would urge the Moderators to close this thread thereby protecting members of this forum from harm.

IMHO, this survey sounds more like a scam than a professionally run survey.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

So, the purpose of your survey is to profile the respondents?

Don't you think you ought to have declared that?

If you are not prepared to disclose your University, Supervisor or authorising body then I would profile you as "suspect" and I would urge the Moderators to close this thread thereby protecting members of this forum from harm.

The ideal pilgrim experience is obtained by profiling ANONYMOUS respondents, I suppose you can understand that.

You started by saying that the pilgrim experience would be improved with aguardiente and now you say that a survey can cause harm to people by saying whether they prefer to sleep in a hostel or an apartment.

You have run out of arguments, it's okay, just try not to dirty the thread please.

IMHO, this survey sounds more like a scam than a professionally run survey.

To consider your humble opinion you should have first checked the information.

I hope you did not answer that you prefer to enjoy a common area with a barbecue, be careful, it is a scam, and another thing, you do not need to be a professional to carry out a survey.

 

[Barbara]

The ideal pilgrim experience is obtained by profiling ANONYMOUS respondents, I suppose you can understand that.

You started by saying that the pilgrim experience would be improved with aguardiente and now you say that a survey can cause harm to people by saying whether they prefer to sleep in a hostel or an apartment.

You have run out of arguments, it's okay, just try not to dirty the thread please.


To consider your humble opinion you should have first checked the information.

I hope you did not answer that you prefer to enjoy a common area with a barbecue, be careful, it is a scam, and another thing, you do not need to be a professional to carry out a survey.

Are you getting a little bit cross? Did you choose the wrong subject for your homework? You do realise, I hope, that many people from outside mainland europe, and in particular, those who live on small islands have a different sense of humour to other europeans? We have a phrase in english (even if we aren't english) about what we are doing here called 'taking the mickey' or possibly 'extracting the urine'
We are having fun, even if you aren't. Especially if you aren't. Please can we wind you up a bit more? Try to work out who is being serious here, go on, please do.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Are you getting a little bit cross? Did you choose the wrong subject for your homework? You do realise, I hope, that many people from outside mainland europe, and in particular, those who live on small islands have a different sense of humour to other europeans? We have a phrase in english (even if we aren't english) about what we are doing here called 'taking the mickey' or possibly 'extracting the urine'
We are having fun, even if you aren't. Especially if you aren't. Please can we wind you up a bit more? Try to work out who is being serious here, go on, please do.

Your first comment did seem funny to me and I let you know with an emoji.

I don't find it funny that someone accuses me of wanting to adulterate the Camino de Santiago or of collecting data, and I don't find the intention of suggesting that the moderators close the thread funny either. In short, your crude excuse is useless to me.

Of course I'm not angry, but where I'm from we have a certain tendency to speak truthfully and clearly, so that misunderstandings are avoided.

 

[Barbara]

Your first comment did seem funny to me and I let you know with an emoji.

I don't find it funny that someone accuses me of wanting to adulterate the Camino de Santiago or of collecting data, and I don't find the intention of suggesting that the moderators close the thread funny either. In short, your crude excuse is useless to me.

Of course I'm not angry, but where I'm from we have a certain tendency to speak truthfully and clearly, so that misunderstandings are avoided.

Ooh, you are cross! So, if you are not collecting data, what are you collecting? I don't think the Camino will worry about it, what with it being a path and not a live entity, but you do seem to have rather a thin skin. By the way, what am I supposed to be excusing? Just asking.

 

[LTfit]

It seems like someone else has felt threatened and I still don't understand why. The form is anonymous and everyone is free to do so if they want.

I'll admit that I haven't yet looked at the questionnaire but why in the world would someone feel threatened? And "improve" my experience? Oh my, what is there to improve and how? Each pilgrimage is different, not better or worse but different. As one says "it is what it is". I personally feel no need to improve anything about my past 20+ Camino's.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hello, we are conducting a completely anonymous study for the faculty with the aim of finding out what the ideal experience is for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

I personally don’t have any problem with all these “camino surveys,” though I don’t participate myself. You have seen some very strong opinions in the responses, @AlbertoCamino, but I think that one thing that you should tell us is the name of the school and the specific purpose for which it will be used.

Others have questioned whether the survey is truly anonymous, so I would encourage anyone who has those concerns to resolve this issue for yourself.

 

[filly]

I don't know if you've bothered to read the previous messages. I study tourism at a university in Galicia, and that's all I want to say.


Perhaps some questions are not so accurate or liked by pilgrims, such as the one about the jacuzzi, but they help to know their profile, which is what the survey is about.

It is a fact that there are different types of people who do the Camino, some do it for religious reasons and others because they love nature or hiking, some walk 30km a day and others prefer to do 15, some prefer hostels and others apartments or rural houses. Each person has different preferences depending on their age, ideas, motivations...
What is not normal is that someone believes they have the absolute truth and say that the Camino does not lack anything, because our results say many other things.
I am planning to repeat the Camino in 2025 and I am clear that I would not do it again walking so many kilometers a day or taking it as a race, and I would not be cold in any hostel either, I would prefer a quieter apartment and enjoy it as a vacation to repair body and mind, and that is why everyone has different opinions and they must be respected.

Sorry.. but I am offended by your comment at the top of your reply. I have ‘bothered’ to read all the posts. I have a degree (B.A.,Upper Second) in Modern Languages from King’s College, University of London. It is a pity that you state so late that your are unwilling to be more specific than ‘study tourism at a university in Galicia’. You do yourself no favours… and you thus deserve, I feel, the honest scepticism.

Charm school might be an option next!

 

[AlbertoCamino]

I'll admit that I haven't yet looked at the questionnaire but why in the world would someone feel threatened? And "improve" my experience? Oh my, what is there to improve and how? Each pilgrimage is different, not better or worse but different. As one says "it is what it is". I personally feel no need to improve anything about my past 20+ Camino's.

Well, I would change many things from the first time I did it.

I am planning to repeat the Camino in 2025 and I am clear that I would not do it again walking so many kilometers a day or taking it as a race, and I would not be cold in any hostel either, I would prefer a quieter apartment and enjoy it as a vacation to repair body and mind, and that is why everyone has different opinions and they must be respected.

I personally don’t have any problem with all these “camino surveys,” though I don’t participate myself. You have seen some very strong opinions in the responses, @AlbertoCamino, but I think that one thing that you should tell us is the name of the school and the specific purpose for which it will be used.

Others have questioned whether the survey is truly anonymous, so I would encourage anyone who has those concerns to resolve this issue for yourself.

I study tourism at a university in Galicia, and that's all I want to say.
As I already said, it is a final degree project, it could be a hostel, an apartment, a cabin in the mountains, a snack machine, I don't know, it depends on the results.

I don't think this is in breach of the forum rules, so please feel free to criticise the survey, but the explanations are all given.

I have conducted other surveys at school, years ago, in other sectors, and I have never encountered such animosity. In person it would be different, but it's too late.

 

[sinein]

Albert, is your faculty, expecting you to follow ethical guidelines?

In the UK, all research by final year students is expected to have been through an ethics approval process and cannot commence without approval. All surveys of this nature should require participants to be informed about the nature of the survey, who is conducting the survey, and include the name of your supervisor or other appropriate academic to contact should there be issues that arise for participants. Those taking part are then informed about the study and able to decide whether or not to give their informed consent if they decide to participate.

I know how important final year projects are so please do help us to help you by letting us know this information.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Sorry.. but I am offended by your comment at the top of your reply. I have ‘bothered’ to read all the posts. I have a degree (B.A.,Upper Second) in Modern Languages from King’s College, University of London. It is a pity that you state so late that your are unwilling to be more specific than ‘study tourism at a university in Galicia’. You do yourself no favours… and you thus deserve, I feel, the honest scepticism.

Charm school might be an option next!

Privacy is a right, it has been recognized in Spain since the 1978 constitution. The survey is anonymous based on the same premise. I have already said that I study at a tourism faculty in Galicia and that limits the perimeter sufficiently.

I did not make any reference to your training, since I do not value people based on their qualifications. In any case, I did not intend to bother you, I really thought that you had not read what I had written previously.

 

[AlbertoCamino]

Albert, is your faculty, expecting you to follow ethical guidelines?

In the UK, all research by final year students is expected to have been through an ethics approval process and cannot commence without approval. All surveys of this nature should require participants to be informed about the nature of the survey, who is conducting the survey, and include the name of your supervisor or other appropriate academic to contact should there be issues that arise for participants. Those taking part are then informed about the study and able to decide whether or not to give their informed consent if they decide to participate.

I know how important final year projects are so please do help us to help you by letting us know this information.

Anyone can conduct a survey, but you might get into trouble if you collect data from respondents.

Of course, there are professors at my faculty and they are aware of the survey I am conducting. The origin and purpose of the survey are perfectly defined; if someone wants to contribute, fine, but if you don't want to, that's fine, but please don't let this become a boycott.

 

[Theatregal]

where I'm from we have a certain tendency to speak truthfully and clearly, so that misunderstandings are avoided.

I study tourism at a university in Galicia, and that's all I want to say.

@AlbertoCamino
Perhaps I was a bit off the mark with my AI Signs post - perhaps not - who knows? Apologies if I truly was.

I have no problem with surveys. Sometimes I participate, sometimes I don't. The ones I choose to participate in are only those that clearly state the credentials of those who the request is coming from, who they are affiliated with and how the data will be used. If there is resistance and secrecy in response to the request for this information, why should anyone openly participate? I'm surprised that you are opposed to this despite several requests. Surveys are a two way sharing process.

I would think that the professors of your faculty would understand the need for the answers that have been requested of you.

 

[dbeatriceb]

Hello, we are conducting a completely anonymous study for the faculty with the aim of finding out what the ideal experience is for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

The questionnaire takes 2 minutes to complete, and you are free to share it with other pilgrims, which we would also be very grateful for. Have a good journey.

https://forms.gle/heTicR9kcJD82Y7P7

When I see these kinds of requests I always wonder whose book we are being asked to help write.

 

[VNwalking]

if someone wants to contribute, fine, but if you don't want to, that's fine, but please don't let this become a boycott.

Exactly. Frankly, I don't really understand the pile-on that you are getting.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

My impression from the survey is this is a sort of market research for a commercial enterprise, rather than an academic project. Perhaps that is why people feel uncertain about this.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

My impression from the survey is this is a sort of market research for a commercial enterprise, rather than an academic project. Perhaps that is why people feel uncertain about this.

I work in a department in which we regularly assign a ‘graduating fieldwork assignment’ as a capstone. My world is adjacent in the sense that there is an ‘anthropology of tourism’ (though we do not cover that where I am), but I have worked closely with people who are in travel, tourism and/or heritage studies. Without having looked at the survey I would expect that as the student is in tourism:
1) the capstone project will, of necessity, reflect commercial interests
2) as an undergraduate project, it is meant to be a learning experience and will be far from a perfectly designed survey (making mistakes is kinda the point)
3) The survey itself will have all the requirements on it for the approvals, whom to contact, the supporting department, etc (If not, then local convention for the faculty differs for undergrads *or* it is a doomed project, but that is for the faculty supervisor to determine)
4) there’s been a big pile up here by a bunch of Anglos on a Spanish national student for studying a heritage/tourism domain in *their own country*… that’s a rather poor look, frankly.
5) the student does not likely need hundreds of people to reply, probably fewer than 20 (that would be typical), and the student will be tasked with analysis g parts of the process that stymied potential respondents, but I would suggest that the student consider the derision of their efforts to ask on a largely English language forum signals not so much their own failure as one of the recipients.
6) I wish that the OP invitation had a letter of introduction from the supervisor, but for an undergraduate project (apparently from one of the unis in Galicia) that may not be the custom.
This thread has been, with some exception, highly cranky, uncharitable and leaning toward the anti-scholarly and conspiratorial in terms of wildly flung accusations.
How regretable.
I wish @AlbertoCamino all the best for the completion of the project.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I didn't see any information about the institution in the survey. I did respond and am happy for my input to be used, but I still have a nagging doubt that this is really commercial rather than academic given the information available

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Sorry, my English is not perfect, we have a few hundred responses.

It is a simple questionnaire for a final year project from a tourism faculty.
Anyone who wants to help is welcome, and if not, nothing happens.

Alberto;
While I see that you have indicated that you have a few hundred responses already and so, may not need anymore anyway, that you post a formal document that identifies the University, the department, your supervisor and your ethics clearance (as would be standard in most programmes). The letter does not need to be posted here, but your survey ought itself to indicate the lines of accountability from yourself to your supervisor, and so on.
Respectfully,
A Full Professor of Anthropology from North America

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have not read all.of the posts in relation to the OP's survey, but I never participate in surveys on this forum unless they are offered up by members for interest or their simple curiosity.
Maybe I am skeptical, maybe I am lazy and I'm not really sure, but I am happy to let others take the bait.

 

[Kathor1]

It is the last project during the last year of a course that leads to a Bachelor degree.

I wish to correct this sentence. I wrote it because of my lack of familiarity with Spanish terminology and the Spanish tertiary education sector. It should read:

TFG stands for trabajo fin de grado. It stands for work that a student delivers at the end of an educational course. It is not necessarily for obtaining a Bachelor's degree. It can be for obtaining any other kind of diploma.​

​

And to be clear: Tertiary education refers to all formal post-secondary education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools.

 

[filly]

Alberto - credit given where credit is due…

Your command of English is sensational: no survey required!

All best in your endeavours. Felipe

 

[trecile]

I didn't see any information about the institution in the survey. I did respond and am happy for my input to be used, but I still have a nagging doubt that this is really commercial rather than academic given the information available

The OP is a student in a tourism program, so the kinds of questions asked seem appropriate for that industry.

 

[Gringazolana]

Alberto yo hice tu encuesta ya, pero el tema común de las quejas aquí tiene que ver con publicar como parte de la encuesta, los propósitos de la misma. No es que somos mala gente, solo que estamos acostumbrados a hacer las cosas de una manera más formal. No lo tomes mal porfa… es algo que te va a llegar con la experiencia! Te deseo toda la suerte en tu proyecto.

 

[Saint Mike II]

@AlbertoCamino, sorry amigo but you just got roughed up by a few people who are very passionate “pilgrims”. We don’t want the Camino to be “improved”. It’s just fine just like it is. It was just fine way back before Xunta de Galicia started paving it. It was just fine before baggage transport and breakfast smoothies and pre-booked beds and “your luxury minibus will transport you to the start of your 5 km experience”.

Camino doesn’t need improving or enhancing or any other bloody ‘ing. It needs leaving alone. It needs just to be itself. A thousand paths, a thousand ways to Santiago, to the shrine of one who once may have stood with the Divine.

If you’re just seeking further justification for turning Camino into a theme park. Shame on you

For me, I would love to go back to (say) 2003 or even 1993 and walk from St Jean all the way to the sea. No internet, nor mobile phone, a rudimentary guide book, bring my sleeping bag and sleep where ever there is a roof over my head. I would have eaten what the locals eat (although the 2100 /9.00 PM starting time for dinner might have been a bit late for this pilgrim). But now I am definitely a senior or very senior pilgrim so some of the comforts are required. Beun Camino

 

[dick bird]

TFG sounds like what we would call ´Final Assignment´ in English, in other words, a student project to be assessed internally, probably by faculty staff and unlikely to be published, and certainly not regarded as research.

Privacy and data protection laws are very strict in Spain, probably more stringent than in most other countries.

We all very protective, one might say possessive, of the Camino de Santiago and feel very uncomfortable, perhaps justifiably, with anything that seems to conflate pilgrimage and tourism. This explains some of the less than serious replies on this thread.

Alfredo, we might have felt more reassured if you had given us the name of the institution you are studying at, especially when asked, and explained the acronym TFG (which even Spanish speakers are not all familiar with). In any case, good luck with your studies, and if you ever walk the camino, assuming you haven´t already, buen camino.

 

[susanawee]

I work in a department in which we regularly assign a ‘graduating fieldwork assignment’ as a capstone. My world is adjacent in the sense that there is an ‘anthropology of tourism’ (though we do not cover that where I am), but I have worked closely with people who are in travel, tourism and/or heritage studies. Without having looked at the survey I would expect that as the student is in tourism:
1) the capstone project will, of necessity, reflect commercial interests
2) as an undergraduate project, it is meant to be a learning experience and will be far from a perfectly designed survey (making mistakes is kinda the point)
3) The survey itself will have all the requirements on it for the approvals, whom to contact, the supporting department, etc (If not, then local convention for the faculty differs for undergrads *or* it is a doomed project, but that is for the faculty supervisor to determine)
4) there’s been a big pile up here by a bunch of Anglos on a Spanish national student for studying a heritage/tourism domain in *their own country*… that’s a rather poor look, frankly.
5) the student does not likely need hundreds of people to reply, probably fewer than 20 (that would be typical), and the student will be tasked with analysis g parts of the process that stymied potential respondents, but I would suggest that the student consider the derision of their efforts to ask on a largely English language forum signals not so much their own failure as one of the recipients.
6) I wish that the OP invitation had a letter of introduction from the supervisor, but for an undergraduate project (apparently from one of the unis in Galicia) that may not be the custom.
This thread has been, with some exception, highly cranky, uncharitable and leaning toward the anti-scholarly and conspiratorial in terms of wildly flung accusations.
How regretable.
I wish @AlbertoCamino all the best for the completion of the project.

I totally agree with Perambulating Griffin:
"This thread has been, with some exception, highly cranky, uncharitable and leaning toward the anti-scholarly and conspiratorial in terms of wildly flung accusations.
How regretable.
I wish @AlbertoCamino all the best for the completion of the project."
Most of the responses above have been less than polite - I also believe that the mods have let it go on for way to long.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I totally agree with Perambulating Griffin:
"This thread has been, with some exception, highly cranky, uncharitable and leaning toward the anti-scholarly and conspiratorial in terms of wildly flung accusations.
How regretable.
I wish @AlbertoCamino all the best for the completion of the project."
Most of the responses above have been less than polite - I also believe that the mods have let it go on for way to long.

Yes it’s been pretty ugly and very disheartening! Not sure why it’s been allowed to go on this long! Hopefully some folks will reflect on their behaviour! Time to move on!

 

[ivar]

I will close this thread..