While writing my data analysis toolbox, I decided that I would pre determine a list of restaurants at which I will distribute my survey. The restaurants will be located within New Orleans, mainly the French Quarter, and surrounding cities such as Metairie and Kenner. I will attempt to have an equal amount of restaurants that serve native cuisine to those that serve food that isn’t unique to our city. The variables being measured will be the amount of business each restaurant receives and when they have the most customer traffic. I will attempt to get a count of business level at specific times of the day, namely breakfast, if applicable, lunch and dinner. Also, I would like to see on which days of the week business is the heaviest, and if certain holidays or times of the year are heavier than others. The level of business will be rated on a scale that goes from 1-10 or 1-5. A rating of 1 will be the least business and either 10 or 5 will stand for the most business. The rating will be determined by hopefully the manager of each restaurant. I would also like to include something in my survey that will help measure the amount of tourists in the restaurant as accurately as possible. I will record my findings using either a dot plot or box chart displaying the average rating for each restaurant. I will find the min, max, median, and average rating for each to represent the numerical interpretations. The point of gathering the data will be to see whether or not restaurants that serve traditional New Orleans food really do in fact get more business in its native setting, or do those that serve food that is not unique to New Orleans, or considered traditional, receive more business.
Data Anlaysis Toolbox.
Experimental Design.
Question.
What restaurants in New Orleans receive more business? (those with traditional New Orleans cuisine or those without)
Materials.
-List of restaurants in New Orleans and surrounding areas
-Specialized Survey
-Transportation
-Helping hands (to deliver surveys)
-Method of collecting data
Subjects.
-Subjects will be chosen based on location and menu (types of food served and whether unique or traditional to New Orleans)
Procedure.
-Incorporate some sort of waiver allowing use of restaurant name and dishes and to solicit customers if needed
-Research local restaurants and find those that serve traditional (Cajun, southern, food that is unique to New Orleans (jambalaya, crawfish, etc.) etc.) and non traditional dishes (foreign foods, etc.)
-Have list pre determined so that distribution is easier and more efficient
-Distribute survey to pre determined amount of traditional vs. non traditional restaurants (survey will include some sort of rating scale)
-Collect and analyze data according to scaling system
Project Topic.
I chose to focus my project around New Orleans cuisine. I chose this because Louisiana and New Orleans in particular is known for its unique cooking style. I'm stuck between two directions for this project. The first direction is to conduct a survey amongst traditional New Orleans restaurants vs. non traditional New Orleans restaurants. The purpose will be to see which of the two receive the most business, and at what times of the day, week, etc. they are the busiest. Is it true that just because a restaurant serves what is considered to be "New Orleans food" that they will receive the most business, or do the restaurants that serve food that strays from this stereotype receive more? Also, I would like to include something in the survey to try and keep track of the amount of tourists that are patrons of said restaurants. The second direction that the project can take is to conduct a survey amongst Copeland's restaurants to see how business has changes since his death. I would also like to see if the way the restaurants are run and whether or not his traditions are being carried on.