Addressing data quality in Airbnb research

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the primary supply data sources that have been used for research into the sharing economy, and the advantages and limitations of these sources in the literature.Design/methodology/approachTo address the research aims, this study conducted a systematic literature review and content analysis of all relevant articles. Following the review, the methodological sections of the selected papers were examined to identify the characteristics and limitations of all data sources used in the papers.FindingsThis study revealed several limitations of the use of three major data sources, namely, web scraping with self-made bots, inside Airbnb and AirDNA, for sharing economy research. The review shows that the majority of the selected papers did not acknowledge any limitations, nor did they discuss the quality of the data sources.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this paper can serve as guidelines for selecting appropriate data sources for research into the sharing economy and cautions researchers to address the limitations of the data sources used.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explores the advantages and limitations of data sources used in short-term rental market research.