Community College Eateries
Running Head: COMMUNITY COLLEGE EATERIES
Group Project Qualitative Research:
Community College Eateries
Quentin Hart, Heidi Peterson, Jennifer Terry Boyenga
Res Ev 580: Qualitative Methodology
Dr. Monica Bruning
June 11, 2006
Introduction
Community colleges are filled with a myriad of eating possibilities. Vending machines and soda machines line the halls, dispensing non-nutritional sugar and caffeine alternatives to keep the student going. Another alternative is to leave campus to obtain nourishment, but on some campuses the scheduling is so tight that this is impossible for most students to leave between classes. And, students never want to risk losing a good parking place near the building to obtain a snack or meal. Community colleges have responded to the needs of students seeking nourishment by providing facilities for food. These facilities also provide a place for social interaction and entertainment. A qualitative review of three facilities on two different community college campuses indicates similarities exist across community college eateries.
Methodology
Qualitative researchers for this study are all full time employees of community colleges and regularly spend time in the eateries of their respective campuses which provides them with ample access to the dining options available to students at each institution. The three researchers are employed at two different community colleges: Hawkeye Community College (HCC) is an urban community college without on-campus housing and Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a rural community college with on-campus housing in the form of dormitories available to students. The campuses are both located in Iowa, one on the northern side of I-80 and one on the southern side of the I-80 line that bisects the state. One of the qualitative research methods used in this study was participant observation of three facilities and their occupants: the IHCC cafeteria, the
Group Project Qualitative Research:
Community College Eateries
Quentin Hart, Heidi Peterson, Jennifer Terry Boyenga
Res Ev 580: Qualitative Methodology
Dr. Monica Bruning
June 11, 2006
Introduction
Community colleges are filled with a myriad of eating possibilities. Vending machines and soda machines line the halls, dispensing non-nutritional sugar and caffeine alternatives to keep the student going. Another alternative is to leave campus to obtain nourishment, but on some campuses the scheduling is so tight that this is impossible for most students to leave between classes. And, students never want to risk losing a good parking place near the building to obtain a snack or meal. Community colleges have responded to the needs of students seeking nourishment by providing facilities for food. These facilities also provide a place for social interaction and entertainment. A qualitative review of three facilities on two different community college campuses indicates similarities exist across community college eateries.
Methodology
Qualitative researchers for this study are all full time employees of community colleges and regularly spend time in the eateries of their respective campuses which provides them with ample access to the dining options available to students at each institution. The three researchers are employed at two different community colleges: Hawkeye Community College (HCC) is an urban community college without on-campus housing and Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a rural community college with on-campus housing in the form of dormitories available to students. The campuses are both located in Iowa, one on the northern side of I-80 and one on the southern side of the I-80 line that bisects the state. One of the qualitative research methods used in this study was participant observation of three facilities and their occupants: the IHCC cafeteria, the
References: Bogdan, R.C. & Bilken, S.K. (2003). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods. New York: Allyn & Bacon. Merriam, S.B. (2002) Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Appendix List 1. Appendix A: Environment 2. Appendix B: Food 3. Appendix C: Social Interaction 4. Appendix D: Entertainment 5. Appendix E: Original Field Notes and Computer Enhanced Field Notes 6. Appendix F: Reflections [pic][pic][pic]