Observational Techniques

Being a nursing PhD student, I been given a researcher office inside the Northern General Hospital where there is a nearby restaurant within the campus for staff and visitors and as I'm not a daily bases visitor of this restaurant. I have chosen it to be my 30-minute period of observation setting to be kind of investable observer.

It located in the 2nd floor of the main building of the hospital which contains OPD clinics and some inpatients words. It has a good sunny glass surrounding the seating area and opens during the meal times only seven days a week and provides variety of choices of hot meals that including healthy options and Halal food. Furthermore, there are also many options from fresh sandwiches and other snacks and soft drinks displaying in a vending machines for out of hours.

The dining heavy duties dark brown colored chairs and tables were designed in arrows to provide more spaces and accommodate the hall with smooth edges as patient safety procedures. The space can approximately accommodate 40-60 in the same time but there was no much crowded this specific lunch time (2.00 PM-2.30 PM).

There was some garbage next to the cash desk. The tables were wiped and clean regularly and flower service as well. The cook and the casher who are interchangeable sometimes had no gloves on with not the best attires

The consumer start queue in the entrance of the bar in which food is placed where there are multiple dishes you can choose from that including salad, soup, hot meals and juices. When you finish selecting your meal and the cook handle you the dishes you will precede to the cash desk where you can pay for your meals to the casher then have your own seat.

As this kind of setting provides a natural physical environment for me to freely observe the interaction between people in this particular location as a non-participatory observation, I was relaxed and enjoying my meal with my hand bag beside me which helped me to take a detailed note about the full picture without being notice so there was no reactivity.

The restaurant costumers were mainly staff who come in group (2-5) with nearly similar age group and apparently the same profession so nurses with nurses and physicians with physicians etc. Almost more than half of them wearing uniforms or lab coats. I have noticed a couple of times some couple who obviously in a romantic one-to-one relationship ordering just some coffee and chatting intimately for 10-15 minutes then leaving quickly to catch up something.

Some employees greet each other's once in a while and having a quick professional conversation while they are waiting in the short queue then joined their original group members to eat. Sometime you can hear a hot discussion indicated by increasing voice and face language but i was not able to figure out what was about because of language (accent) barriers.