ottawa foodies

Are you interested in urban food consumption? Have you been to The Green Door Restaurant?

My name is Rebecca Warden and I am a graduate student in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University. I am looking for individuals who have been to The Green Door Restaurant and would be interested in participating in research that I am doing for my masters thesis.

The aim of my research is to understand the social value of a restaurant like The Green Door within our larger urban food system. I am hoping to interview 15 individuals who would be willing to share their experiences at The Green Door and talk about what this type of restaurant does or does not offer as a dining experience. I would love to include your insights in this work! Note that this project is in no way affiliated with The Green Door Restaurant, its owners, or its staff. This is not a business evaluation and The Green Door will not receive a report.

As an interviewee, you would participate in one semi-structured interview that would last approximately 1 hour. Interviews will be conducted in person, with the specific time and location arranged to accommodate the schedules of respondents. With your permission, this interview will be recorded and transcribed by myself. These recordings will be permanently deleted once the project has been completed (approximately May 2011).

Participants will be given pseudonyms in the transcription of interviews in order to maintain anonymity and ensure that no comments may be attributed to individual participants. Because no participants are reliant on, or implicated with, the owners or staff of the restaurant, there will not be any potential social risk for your participation in this research project. All views that you express during the interviews will be kept confidential. Also note that after participating in this interview, you may choose to withdraw from participating in this research project any time before December 17, 2010.

As a student researcher, I am supervised by Dr. Michael Mopas from Carleton University’s Department of Sociology & Anthropology and have had this project cleared by Carleton University’s Research Ethics Committee. The contact information for my supervisor and Carleton University’s Research Ethics Committee’s Chair will be readily available to all participants.

All responses would be greatly appreciated! Please respond via email to: rwarden@connect.carleton.ca.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Warden
MA Candidate
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Carleton University

I haven't eaten at the Green Door. But, I do find this project particularly interesting. One of my friends is taking Sociology of Food at Carleton as an elective (she's writing her Master's on the representation of food in historical exhibits). So, if you have been to the Green Door, might I nudge you nicely to contacting Rebecca?

Thank you Lady Who Brunches! And thank you to those who have responded so far! I am still looking for participants, so if anyone thought they might be willing to participate but didn't respond, I would love to hear from you. My email address is rwarden@connect.carleton.ca

Sincerely,
Rebecca Warden
MA Candidate
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Carleton University