*3.2. Data Collection and Analysis*

The data for this study was mainly obtained from three ongoing field surveys that were conducted from May–July 2022, and the data acquisition methods use an omnibus strategy, including web-based information, participatory observation, and in-depth interviews, the most cited format for qualitative research [76,77]. It is an approach that contains a mixture of information-gathering techniques that include diverse forms of observation [78].

The first stage of this research was conducted in May 2022 through a field pre-survey and web-based information collection [72–78]. The purpose of this stage was to understand the basic situation of the natural environment, tourism resources, infrastructure, and development status of the Longji terraces. The second stage of the research was conducted in June 2022, and a total of 21 in-depth interview samples were obtained through a convenience sampling method due to typical interviewees being more informative and contributing to a deeper understanding [72–79]. The third stage was conducted in July 2022. Based on the collation and analysis of the pre-interview data and reflection, a total of five in-depth interview samples were obtained using a purposive sampling method because typical interviewees with rich information helped to understand the case in greater depth. At the same time, to better understand the research context, the research team followed up on the energy use of tourism in the village using participant observation to understand the perceptions of the residents and their related behaviors towards energy in the field. The semi-structured questions included the knowledge of local residents on energy, the environment, and energy use before tourism development; energy consumption by households after tourism development; energy consumption by tourists related to water, electricity, transport, gas, waste, and sewage; the relationship between energy and resources related to the tourism landscape; residents' perceptions of tourists' energy use; and their own evaluations of energy awareness and opinions about the future of the tourism landscape, environment, and energy use in harmony. The interviews and on-site observations complemented each other during the study until the relevant material was nearly saturated. All Interview recordings were transcribed into text and came to around 174,000 words. In addition, 21,000 words of memo notes were taken, as well as 475 photos that were related to energy literacy and sustainable tourism.

The combined three studies resulted in a sample of 26 in-depth interviews, all of which were within ~0.5–1.5 h and recorded with the consent of the other party. Of these, 15 were male, and 11 were female. There were 23 local people and 3 external local businesses: Two tourism managers in the village, 24 people directly involved in tourism (operating different grades of B&Bs and tourism catering), one person working in tourism transport-related jobs, and one student. As there are 108 households in Ping'an Village, the 26 interviewees involved in the in-depth interviews are all from different households, and they come from different types of businesses such as restaurants, accommodation, bars, souvenir selling, and transportation, etc., and three of them are engaged in the management of both the scenic spot and the village, so they have an in-depth understanding and information of the village. The qualitative research is committed to finding the right interviewees in relation to the theory in the field, and our interviewees are typical, basically representing the different types of business and demographic characteristics in the villages. Also, our third author is of Zhuang ethnicity and knows the ethnic language of this village, enabling us to conduct interviews in greater depth.

Finally, all collected material, including transcribed interview data, web material, field notes, and photos, were stored in memos in NVivo 11 software for analysis [68]. Once the data collection was complete, the authors attempted to obtain the main ideas and key messages by reading transcripts of all observation notes and interview transcripts and then analyzing and qualitatively interpreting all the material using Thematic analysis [79,80]. The data was analyzed and coded based on how the energy literacy of the residents changed before and after tourism development; what contributed to the changes in the energy literacy of the residents; and how the energy literacy of the residents brought about changes in tourism destinations and tourists, thus contributing to the sustainable development of local tourism.

To protect the privacy of the interviewees, the interviewees were coded as "S+ interview No.". The research data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach, firstly by open coding the original data, labeling and classifying the data sentence by sentence, making initial naming, and marking them as free nodes. Secondly, concepts of similar incidents were gathered to further abstract the free nodes that had previously been marked; then, axial coding aims to put concepts and categories back together by making connections between them. Based on situational understanding, 10 main categories were developed in a long process of continuous breaking up and stitching together of all the material and codes: low level of energy knowledge, unpleasant energy attitude, simple energy behavior before tourism; upward energy knowledge, economic attitude towards energy and positive energy behavior after tourism; external and internal factors; guiding tourist's behavior, change the structure of energy use and improve tourism infrastructure. In the open coding and categorical coding process, the three authors first read all the data materials separately and then open-coded them according to the main research questions; then, the three authors exchanged coding results and made coding decisions after thorough discussion. Finally, based on the coding decisions, all authors discussed the data in context and further analyzed the relationships between the 10 independent clusters to develop the conceptual framework. The overarching concepts and categories that emerged from this process are shown in Figure 2.

**Figure 2.** Conceptual Framework of the relationships between energy literacy and sustainable tourism (Source: by own study).
