Data Workshop Discussions: “Comparative Mealtime

In this Data Workshop, you will be doing participant observation research and writing a short ethnography on mealtime activity. See Chapter 2 for a review of this research method. You will pick two different mealtime settings or situations to examine. You can choose from among a range of possibilities, including the following:

• Which meal you study—breakfast, lunch, or dinner
• Where the meal takes place—in your family home, at a friend’s or a relative’s house, atyour own apartment or dormitory dining hall, or at a workplace lunchroom, picnic in thepark, or restaurant
• Who is eating the meal—family members, roommates, friends, coworkers, or strangers?

After you do the participant observation at the two meal-times, write some field notes and answer the following questions in as much detail as you can. These field notes will serve as data for your analysis:

• What are the prevailing rules, rituals, norms, and values associated with the setting andsituation? For example, does everyone sit down to eat at the same time? Do peopleleave after they finish even if others are still eating? Do you need to get in line to orderor pay for food?

• What kinds of complementary roles are the various participants engaged in? Who cooksthe food, sets the table, clears the table, does the dishes, and so forth? Or are youserved in a cafeteria or restaurant?

• What other types of activities (besides eating) are taking place at mealtime? Are peoplewatching TV, listening to music or a ballgame, reading the newspaper, or texting?

• What social purposes does the setting or situation serve other than providing amealtime environment for the participants? For example, what do the participants talk

about? If children are involved, do they talk about school or their friends? Are family activities or problems discussed? What kinds of interactions do you see among co-workers or roommates?

Further analyze your field notes to identify patterns within each setting and meal. What are the similarities and differences between settings and meals? How do participants make these mealtimes meaningful as social events?

Data Workshop Discussions: “Comparative Mealtime Answer

Two meal times which I have observed are breakfast and dinner. I live at my parent’s house and with my siblings, and meal times usually have a big impact on our domestic lives.  In both breakfast and dinner, we would not eat unless we are complete at the table. If someone is not around the house during these meal times, their plates are still on the table and their places untouched. This is a ritual formed by my parents to show how important it is to have family time despite the busy and hectic lives we individually have.