Original Survey Group 24 and Survey Analysis Group 25 Saturday December 6, 2008

After a week of e-mailing with preceptor Kevin Collins, Group 24 reports feeling much more confident about their understanding of the assignment.  Kevin decided to split the group into two parts, with one half analyzing the question, “How does income affect dietary trends?”, and the other looking into “How do dietary patterns affect obesity?” 

Reflecting on the data she examined, Freshman Leslie Bargmann was surprised to find that while obesity rates are higher among African Americans than among Caucasians, African Americans consume more fruits and vegetables.  From his study of existing surveys, Sophomore Joshua Oppenheimer said he “was able to see the project in a broader context.  Looking at surveys from the past gave me an idea of what kind of results our survey might generate.”

Group 25A worked together to finish writing the survey questions.  After brainstorming on how to add more bulk to the original twelve questions, the group members gathered together in Sophomore Fallon Atta-Mensah’s room to compile what they had come with on their own.  Christine Bokman, also a sophomore, feels as though the survey is going to produce just the kind of results that the CBLI project originally wanted.  “We asked a lot of questions about basic nutrition,” Bokman said, “I’m confident we are producing what Professor Harris-Lacewell wanted.” 

Group 25 C formatted the survey; while the original survey was only twelve questions, the final version was twelve pages!  Many group members were surprised that the survey had to be so long.   Junior Farrell Harding wonders whether people who got the survey in the mail would be willing to sit down and answer so many questions.  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Harding remarked.  

 

Original Survey Group 24 and Survey Analysis Group 25 Saturday November 29, 2008

This week both Groups 24 and 25 made significant progress in their efforts to create a survey and to get an idea of what kinds of results our group should expect to see when the survey starts coming back.  Members of Group 24 began individual research on existing research about if dietary patterns affect health.  Sophomore John Oppenheimer was relieved to get some clarity on his assignment, saying “I think I finally understand what I should be doing.”  “Our group was pretty lost,” freshman Leslie Bargmann remembers with a smile

Group 25 A had submitted three research questions at the beginning of the project and thought that those put together would act as the entire survey.  After talking to preceptor Kevin Collins, though, they realized that they would need quite a few more in order to form a comprehensive questionnaire to capture the information they needed.  They plan to spend this week coming up with more questions. 

Group 25B spent this week working to choose the survey frame.  Junior Paul Nehring, who had a little experience selecting survey frames and identifying how to reach certain groups, enjoyed the opportunity to work with other students to accomplish this task.  “The guidance from Kevin and from Dr. Freeland helped us a lot,” Nehring said.  “It was interesting learning more about using zip codes instead of phone numbers when you’re trying to find a random sample of lower-income families to send the surveys to.” 

Until the other two groups finish their tasks, Group 25C has no survey to format.  They are waiting to hear from their fellow group members before they meet again. 

 

Original Survey Group 24 and Survey Analysis Group 25 Saturday November 22, 2008

As a member of Group 22, the “Class Media Group,” I was given the task of tracking the procedures, progress, and findings of Group 24, “Survey Analysis Group” and 25, “Original Survey Group.”  Group 24 is responsible for analyzing existing data from similar surveys conducted in the past, and Group 25 is in charge of writing the survey questions, identifying who to send the survey to, and packing the survey so it can be mailed to people in Newark, Trenton, New Brunswick, and Camden.  I was asked to switch into this group from Group 23 on November 18, almost three weeks into the second half of the semester, so my blog posts are starring in the middle of the project. 

Here is some background about what the groups have done so far:

Group 24 members have been communicating with preceptor Kevin Collins to understand what goes into their project, and how they are supposed to conduct a statistical data analysis of surveys that have been done in the past about topics like food deserts.  Sophomore Jacob Oppenheimer told me, “I think we’re all still pretty confused at this point…we’re trying to figure out what is going on what we are supposed to be doing.”  Group 24 plans to do most of their work individually, and will not be meeting much in the following weeks.

            Group 25, which originally started off as Groups 13-16, was condensed after Dr. Freeland at Princeton’s Survey Research Center informed them that it was a bit too ambitious for four groups to each try and create it’s own survey, gather the data by phone, and analyze the results.  Junior Ben Adams was “shocked” when Dr. Freeland predicted that it would have taken each student eighty hours of work just to gather data.  With guidance from Professor Harris-Lacewell the survey groups decided to switch to a mailed survey not a phone survey, and Groups 13-16 were changed into Groups 24 and 25. 

Finally, Group 25 was broken down even further so that some people would be writing survey questions (25A), others would be choosing the survey frame (25B), and the remaining members would format the survey to be sent to locals in Newark, Trenton, New Brunswick, and Camden (25C).  Freshman Elle Powell remarked, “I think we’ve broken down the overall task of writing a survey into much more manageable pieces; I’m excited to get to work in a smaller group.”  Next week Group 25 will meet with their subgroups because the deadline for the survey to be finished is fast approaching! 

 

Groups 17-21: Stakeholders

With less than three days left before the CBLI project is due, Groups 17-21 are working diligently to put the finishing touches on both the individual and group portions of their reports. While the majority of Groups 17-21 have had more than a month to compile data, review transcripts and write their summaries, there were nonetheless a few individuals who were still waiting for final interviews as of a few days ago. Despite the delayed timetable, though, these affected groups are working together to incorporate the interview information whenever it may come, and all involved seem optimistic that the project will come together.

In various interviews with group members, many have expressed how valuable this project was to them in terms of getting hands-on knowledge of the link between food, race and health in New Jersey. A common sentiment expressed in these interviews was that one person's work was not necessarily enough to capture the complexities of these issues but that the CBLI project as a whole should turn out to be a valuable resource for Catholic Health East.

Stakeholders: Groups 17-21

This week, the stakeholders groups finally began interviews after waiting on feedback and specific instructions for which individuals to speak to and what questions all groups should ask. As winter break quickly approached, many groups decided to forego in-person interviews, conducting them over the phone. Some group members, though, did meet with their interviewees at their offices or work sites.

Elizabeth Borges conducted an interview with Mary Gay of the Trenton Rescue Mission after being referred to her by Jeff Zeiger from the Trenton Chamber of Commerce. They spoke at length about how food availability affects the Rescue Mission, and how the absence of well-stocked grocery stores in the central Trenton area presents a significant problem for the population of the city. Mary also recommended that Elizabeth speak with Phyllis Stoolmacher at Mercer Street Friends to gain a more direct understanding of how food availability affects the urban poor, so Elizabeth will likely conduct a third interview next week.

Devon Damiano met with Elyse Pivnick at Isles at the organization’s Trenton offices, located right in the middle of Trenton and surrounded by several community gardens that Isles supports. Elyse and Devon spoke about how Isles works with the community to encourage healthy eating and to make healthy food available to the local population. One of the biggest problems affecting health in the city, Elyse told Devon, is that the economic situation in Trenton leaves commercial grocers unwilling to enter the market, both because of the actual poverty in the city and because of stereotypes about the community. After the interview, Elyse pointed Devon to the gardens in the surrounding area, and she went to see them for herself. Isles helps start these gardens by providing basic supplies like seeds and fencing, but neighborhoods are expected to tend to the gardens on themselves, taking ownership of their new food source while reaping the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Elyse speaks to Devon in Isles' office
on Wood Street, in downtown Trenton.


Devon checks out Isles' children's garden
on nearby Academy Street.

Residents Speak: Groups 9, 10, 11 and 12

This past week the residents speak groups have found themselves in somewhat of a panic, scrambling to make sure they have acquired sufficient interviews before departing for winter vacation. The recent emergence of clearer guidelines and specifications for what their final projects must include have left the students frustrated, wishing they had known the requirements at the onset of the project. Two points of contention have arisen specifically. First, the students must participate in interviews in their specified cities or face missing out on receiving credit for a section of the assignment. Second, even students who did participate in CBLI organized interviews will have to conduct further interviews due to the insufficient amount of interviews with residents they were able to attain.

The first point has been expressed by the resident speak groups through emails and discussed in group meetings. They wish that they could have been made aware of the requirement that each student must participate in interviews earlier in the semester, especially because they were given the impression that it was unnecessary for all students to conduct the field work (and literally impossible because the CBLI organized field trips set limits on the number of representatives from each group). The students claim that they would have made more of an effort to visit their specified city earlier on if they had know that such participation was mandatory. Because many of them are preparing to leave campus and travel home for winter vacations, it will be hard for them to organize interview trips to their respective cities, especially for those students who do not live close to Princeton or their respective cities.

The second point is more specific to the New Brunswick and Newark group members, who even after going on their CBLI field trips will have to make another trip to their cities because they were unable to secure enough interviews. The New Brunswick group was sent to a food pantry where only heads of local food providing agencies were present and there were no residents to be found or interviewed. While the interviews they conducted with the agency heads will add to their final project, they will still need to make time to secure interviews with actual New Brunswick residents so to meet the requirements for their papers. The Newark group encountered a similar problem in which they were dropped off at a location to conduct fieldwork where no residents were present. They were able switch locations, but because of delays earlier in the day, only secured four interviews. They do not believe that four interviews will be sufficient to base their entire research project on. They have tentatively scheduled an independent trip into Newark for this Friday in hopes of conducting more research.

Ultimately, while inconvenient and frustrating, the students in the residents speak group need more interviews in order to complete their final projects. While it will be more demanding and require them to make more of an effort, it is by no means an impossible feat. Hopefully, in the next few days the groups will be able coordinate further research. If actual fieldwork proves to be unfeasible due to the last minute nature of the endeavor, referencing previous interviews and findings or conducting phone interviews have been proposed as alternatives for those group members who have not yet had the chance to personally investigate resident opinions about food.

Groups 5-8: Food Availability

As the project starts coming to an end, the groups have been busy making their final trips and compiling their data. Last Friday two members of group 7, Stephanie Fleurantin and Luwam Berhane, travelled to Newark, where they visited a Pathmark Supermarket and a small Health Food Store. Like the other groups, they used the Thrifty Food Plan Survey to look at the variety and prices of the food.

Stephanie Fleurantin and Luwan Berhane checking for items on the Thrify Food Plan in the Health Food Store

We were very well received at the Health Food Store - the owner even provided us with literature about the various herbs she sells, as well as with a free sample of a “wheatgrass shot.” While the researchers filled out their survey I got the chance to ask her about her store and the role it plays in the community. Interestingly, she told me that her store is very popular in the bustling neighborhood it is located in, and that the residents of Newark have a strong interest in health food, vegetarian diets and herbal remedies. Furthermore, she explained that many churches pool their money together to ensure that those affiliated with them can have access to health food. For this reason, many people with financial problems are able to purchase the food and herbal supplements that she sells.

The juice bar in the Health Food Store

Nevertheless, the researchers were unsure as to what extent this kind of store has an impact on food availability in Trenton. They were also concerned that it would be difficult to compare their findings in the Health Food Store with those in a larger supermarket, such as the Pathmark that they visited, because the kinds of food that the two sell are radically different. Furthermore, although the store offered a healthy variety of food, a lot of the food that is on the Thrifty Food Plan Survey was not present (especially meat). Therefore, although it would be possible to have a healthy diet shopping at the Health Food Store, it faire rather poorly on the survey. This brings into question the reliability of the Thrifty Food Plan in measuring food availability.

The Pathmark that was visited had a much bigger selection of food, and the researchers found most of the food that is on the Thrifty Food Plan survey. Overall the prices were much lower than at the Health Food Store. However, the researchers did not feel that the two stores can be compared and felt that visiting average corner stores would have been more useful. They may in fact go back to Newark on their own over winter break in order to conduct further research.

The groups that travelled to New Brunswick and to Trenton have been busy compiling their data, and there have been no updates from the Camden group. Soon the groups will be wrapping up their work, and we’ll be able to see how their findings compare to each other. Interestingly, all the groups have voiced the same concern that the stores they visited will not give them enough data to accurately assess the problem of food availability in their respective cities.