DESCRIPTION

To research sustainable practices in the restaurant industry and discover adoption rates by market. The project will begin with participants researching material sustainability issues for restaurants and possible practices to adapt to and mitigate these issues. The second phase will be designing a survey based on the initial research findings for a restaurant owner/manager audience to discover the level of adoption. The third phase will involve administering the survey to collect responses. The final phase will be the participants developing a research report based on the literature review and initial research and survey findings. 

Phase One: PLANNING AND LITERATURE REVIEW · Task: · To define research question and methods. · Define what is a “sustainable” restaurant, the relevant sustainability issues facing the industry, and the best practices to address them. 

Phase Two: SURVEY CREATION · Task: Develop a benchmarking survey of best practices for a restaurant owner and manager audience based on research findings. 

 Phase Three: DATA COLLECTION · Task: Collect responses from restaurant owners and managers. 

Phase Four: DATA ANALYSIS · Task: Analyze survey responses to discover sustainability trends and best practices in the restaurant industry. 

Phase Five: FINAL REPORT · Task: Culminate findings, methodologies, and other key findings into a final research report. *The process may evolve as the project commences

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Strong research skills 
•  Attention to detail 
•  Good writing skills 
•  Very organized 
•  Basic MS Excel and Word skills 
•  Survey design and collection experience an asset 
•  Knowledge of the restaurant industry is an asset

Bachelor, master, and Ph.D. students are welcome to apply.

LEARNING OUTCOME

• Develop a research question 
•   Prepare a literature review by collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing knowledge found in the literature related to the research question 
•  Understand and apply research methods 
•  Design and administer a survey based on research findings 
•  Collect, interpret and critique data to evaluate the research question
• Communicate research findings orally and academically

Meeting Frequency

Weekly check-in with project Lead (or as needed)

Research modes:

Primary Research: Online Survey 

 Secondary Research: Content Analysis

Notes:

There are two goals of this report. The first is to produce a white paper for the business community showing findings in a succinct manner. Second, the goal is to submit an academic paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Co-authorship will be offered to participants in the project.