Methodological aspects of doctoral and habilitation theses in the field of tourism and recreation concerning mountain areas

The main objective of the work was to identify doctoral and habilitation theses that address tourism and recreation in mountain areas. Additionally, the implemented subjects and methodology were analyzed. The research covered 52 works in this field defended in Poland between 2003 and 2023. The main disciplines within which these works were prepared were geography and physical culture sciences. Content analysis of the titles and abstracts of the papers revealed the most important research problems: forms of tourism and physical activity; historical and cultural aspects; mountain safety; tourist infrastructure; the effects of tourist traffic in the mountains; and cross-border cooperation. Empirical research conducted among the authors of the papers using the Methodological Imaging of Scientific Papers method revealed that promotional papers concerning mountain areas generally have methodological profiles similar to those of all papers in the field of tourism and recreation.