Research Proposal

Explaining the ideas, connections, and intents on researching why and how
literacy impacts food service at Texas A&M University – Commerce.

JenAnne Shumway
English 102h
October 13, 2009
 The characters of the cafeteria at the Sam Rayburn Student Center of Texas A&M

University – Commerce consist mainly of two groups: students and staff. The latter contains two

sub-groups: general staff, such as line servers and cashiers, and management. Because the two

main groups rely so heavily upon each other (or rather, should rely so heavily upon each other), I

am curious to find out what interactions take place, and how their relationships together will

impact food service. The interactions I will observe are tangible literacy (comment cards,

newspaper reviews, etc.) as well as reading body language and friendliness from the staff.

(Example: Does the food taste better if a staff member is friendly? Is the student less likely to

complain about the food – or even notice the taste – if the overall experience is friendly and

uplifting?)

As a business management major, I often think in terms of economics, customer service,

and the quality of the product that is produced (whether a good or service). With my career intent

based upon the food industry, I am very prone to revolving my thoughts and ideas around the

business no matter where I go. I have been in food service for approximately 3 years now,

starting out as a semi-waitress for catering at the University, moving to waitressing at Mak’s

Place (a local restaurant), have previously been a cashier and greeter in the cafeteria during the

summer, and now I am working part-time as both an Einstein Bros. Bagels and catering

employee. All of these positions require an emphasis on customer service and interaction. The

better the service, the more likely the customer is going to return and thus produce greater

revenue for the business. The greater the revenue, the greater the chances are for a raise and

promotion.

Because I do think in a business mindset, and customer service is so incredibly important

to me, I chose my topic and thesis based upon what I am familiar with, comfortable with, and

deeply interested in. I do work in the cafeteria, and often hear complaints from management
about how students are rude and disrespectful. I tend to agree. However, I am also on the

opposing side – as a student – and understand that the way management responds to the students

can be just as disrespectful. I wanted to figure out how the two interact, and how their

relationship really impacts the food service and quality at TAMU-C. Because of my duel role,

and my pre-established comfort in the environment I will be doing my field working in, the task

of “never assuming anything” and stepping outside of the culture will be fairly difficult. I must

practice this idea, and execute it well, in order to provide the audience of my ethnography with

an outsider’s point of view.

The data collection and research will consist of a few different things. Firstly, as in my

second Writing Assignment, I will observe the use of the comment cards and the Comment

Board. I want to more closely observe who uses the cards, who responds to the cards, who is

aware of a comment board, and what the majority of the complaints are. To dig deeper, I want to

find a relationship between the attitude and politeness of the student’s comment and how the

management responds to such an attitude. (Example: If a student writes with rudeness and only

complains without suggesting an alternative, will the management be more likely to fix the

complaint?) This use of data collection will be more based around the quality of food and the

direct written literacy of students and staff.

A second form of data collection will be interviews from general staff, management, and

students. Though I do plan on observing the management and student’s interaction while in the

cafeteria (or lack thereof), an interview process will give me more solid evidence rather than

what I observe. The interviewees from the general staff will consist of line servers, cashiers, and

cooks. The management interview will be from that of both the retail manager and the general

manager. The interviews of the students will consist of a greater variety, and will be primarily

random: those that write cards, those that look at the Comment Board, students who interact with
staff, students who have clean plates when returning their trays, and students who have lots of

food left on their trays.

I have already discussed with the general manager/director of the cafeteria (and overall Sodexo

food service) to discuss my plans. He has complied and is actually very excited about my

research. He has provided me with previous comment cards to ensure I get very good details and

a deeper insight to the physical literacy between students and staff. I met with the director to

explain what my research was about, and how I would like to conduct my research. I answered

whatever questions he had, and agreed to present myself in a way – while in the field – that

reflected courtesy and respect to both the face of Sodexo and the body of students. While in the

meeting, the director approved the interview forms (on both staff and student sides) and signed

an agreement (see picture below).

The students and staff will read and sign the above permission form. I plan on targeting a

few key students, as stated above, and pull them aside. I will explain briefly what my project is,
and ask them for permission to conduct a short interview where I will ask questions such as: are

you aware of a comment board? why did you not eat your meal? you ate all of your food, do you

like it? if a line server is grumpy and leaning on the counter, are you more or less likely to enjoy

your food?, etc.

The majority of my in-field research will – hopefully – be conducted around the busiest

time for the cafeteria: lunchtime. I hope to observe for a minimum of one hour four days of the

week between the hours of 10:30am – 1:30pm. But because of my own scheduling conflicts, I

will be unable to accomplish a majority of these times. However, I do plan on obtaining a

minimum of 4 lunch-hour studies (which may mean 30 minutes for just over a week’s time). I

will plant myself at a table in the cafeteria near both the register/entrance and the comment

board, as well as at the tray return. I may take some notes while standing near the serving lines to

observe students’ interactions with the staff members, and survey the students who either have a

very positive or negative experience while in line. (Example: Does a scowl and no conversation

make the student want to come back to that line and eat the food that they were served?)

To reiterate, the literacy is found on a few different levels. Physically, the literacy is a

direct conversation between what a student writes on a comment card, newspaper review, or

letter to the editor, and how management responds. The attitude of the responses from the

management personnel will also be recorded: sarcasm, eagerness to please, willingness to

accommodate, or no response at all. The other literacy is less tangible: body language and social

interaction. I will conduct my research in a way that answers the question, “how does service

change the taste of the food?” As previously stated, I want to answer the question of “if the

overall experience of the visit is positive, is a student less likely to complain about the food?”

The opposite is a question as well: does a negative experience with the staff/servers cause the
food to taste worse (AKA give students a “bad taste”, therefore affecting their overall experience

and being dissatisfied with the food)?

The “Commerce Writes” project and my final ethnographic project go hand-in-hand. My

studies will reflect how literacy manifests itself into the Commerce community – both as

physical literacy and the social literacy (by body language). Not only does this project reflect the

ideas of “Commerce Writes”, but also supports and enhances my experiences as I go further into

my major and career.