Apply an AHP technique for content analysis of chinese student’s satisfaction for studying in Thailand

Abstract

In recent decade, with the development of globalization, almost every country has been actively seeking cooperation with others in strategic areas such as economy, culture and politics. International education, as a traditional field but with rapid development, has been getting more and more attention. China, as one of the countries which develop fastest, has the largest number of students studying abroad. However, when choosing study destination, Chinese parents and students prefer universities in western countries. Because these countries are more developed and have stronger comprehensive strength and better environment, which is one of the biggest advantages to attract Chinese students. On the contrary, universities of South-East Asian countries don’t possess such an advantage. Although the student’s number has increased in past years, it is necessary and urgent for ASEAN countries, especially Thailand, which is an emerging study destination for Chinese students, to attract more students and improve services according to Chinese students’ expectations. Traditionally, AHP is used in the way of using preference pair-comparison questionnaire to collect data and then calculating the priority of each criterion. But now, instead of questionnaires, researchers combine AHP with other tools, among which content analysis is quite popular. Therefore, this research will be conducted in two methods to collect and analyze the data. One is combination of AHP with content analysis and the other is traditional method. Five dimensions of SERVQUAL model will be adopted in this research as the criteria for AHP hierarchy. The results indicates that there are differences in two methods, and the one that combing AHP with content analysis is better in this research. And in Chinese students’ opinions, Empathy is the most important aspect of Thailand’s public universities’ services. Opposite to the increase of Chinese students studying in Thailand, researches about their ideas and behaviors are relatively lacking. Thus, the objective of this research is not only understanding students’ opinions through data and modeling, but also making targeted marketing strategies for Thailand top five universities according to the results of data collection and calculation, so that the present situation of Chinese students studying abroad can be significantly refined. Meanwhile, by comparing two methods, the writer also wants to provide references for future researchers who want to adopt AHP.