A tapestry analogy: Analogical thinking to support academic research

Abstract

Analogical thinking is a tool that can help resolve complex intellectual challenges that has rarely been employed in tourism and hospitality academic research. This research note briefly explains the background to analogical thinking and introduces the concept of tapestry analogies. The example of a tapestry analogy, adopted as a solution to resolving a mental blockage in a PhD by publication, illustrates how analogical thinking can be applied. Analogical thinking can be utilised in a wide range of hospitality and tourism research challenges. • Explores the concept of analogical thinking as a tool to resolve complex academic research problems. • Solving problems can be constrained by bounded rationality: analogical thinking can enable researchers to find a solution. • The example of a tapestry analogy illustrates how apparently disparate subjects can be visualised as a coherent entity.