University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Motivations and Consequences of Students Going Home on the Weekends: An Ethnographic Study at Illinois State University

Grill-Donovan, Katie; Gegg, Anne; Tippy, Erin

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16420

Description

Title
Motivations and Consequences of Students Going Home on the Weekends: An Ethnographic Study at Illinois State University
Author(s)
  • Grill-Donovan, Katie
  • Gegg, Anne
  • Tippy, Erin
Issue Date
2009
Keyword(s)
  • Going home
  • student involvement
  • family ties
  • ANT 285
  • Fall 2009
Abstract
At Illinois State, student involvement is a major issue because the university’s goal is to provide an enriched college experience beyond the classroom. With over 30% of students lining in campus housing, it is still observed that students leave campus during the weekends. The purpose of the study is to study why students decide to “get involved” or not by interviews with students and staff, surveys of students, and observations of campus events. Who is involved and who is going home on the weekends can help the university to better learn how to capture the student’s interests to get them involved and want to stay on campus more.
Series/Report Name or Number
The objective of this course is to provide students with hands-on training in ethnographic methods and writing and to help students become critical readers of ethnographic research. Instead of attempting to present a whole smorgasbord of research methods or to survey the vast literature on ethnographic fieldwork, we focus on a small selection of techniques that are central to much anthropological fieldwork (field note taking, participant observation, interviewing, mapping) and that are most useful and relevant for students' semester projects. Other techniques and issues are discussed and incorporated as they emerge from students' own research inquiries. Students will not conduct a full-blown research project but instead will get “a taste” of ethnographic research through a series of ethnographic exercises and students' own mini-project. At the end of the semester, students write an ethnographic research report based on their findings and reflections on the research process. This course is affiliated with the EUI and, as a part of this initiative, students are asked to try their hand at ethnographic research about their own institution, Illinois State University.
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16420

Owning Collections

Student Communities and Culture PRIMARY
The university offers an extraordinary opportunity to study and document student communities, life, and culture. This collection includes research on the activities, clubs, and durable social networks that comprise sometimes the greater portion of the university experience for students.