Research Methodology

The survey was developed to gather data on the level of satisfaction that NSCC Marconi students
have in regards to the cafeteria and menu. To consistently rate the level of satisfaction, the bulk of
the questions on the survey were formatted in the form of Likert Scales. Therefore, the respondents
rated their level of satisfaction on a spectrum that started at 1 meaning very unsatisfied to 5 meaning
very satisfied. The other method that was employed on the survey was multiple-choice for the first
two questions given to respondents. This creates the opportunity to measure for correlation between
(for example) number of students that buy hot meals and overall satisfaction on food quality. 20
students were given the questionnaire during the lunch period on Wednesday, November 4th 2015.
The surveys were then collected on the same day and the results as listed below were tabulated for
further inspection.

Rationale
The purpose of this survey is to determine how students feel about the cafeteria and menu at Nova
Scotia Community College, Marconi Campus. The results could depend on the amount of days each
student purchases food from the cafeteria. The hypothesis is to look for a correlation between how
frequently respondents purchase different types of food, affordability, quality, nutritional value,
variety of food offered, hours of operations, and the customer service provided by the staff in the
cafeteria.

Rating Scale Used

The first question determines how many times each participant makes a purchase from the cafeteria
via multiple-choice options. The second question determines what he or she purchases the most via
the same method. The Likert rating scale used for the remaining questions was rated on a scale from
1-5. Each value had the meaning of 1 being very unsatisfied, 2 would be unsatisfied, 3 would be
neutral, 4 would be satisfied, and 5 would be very satisfied. This rating would easily give an
understanding on how each participant feels about each question.

Results
The results for the questionnaire are displayed as frequency of respondents answers for each
question asked on the questionnaire, with the total number of respondents being twenty. Charts that
display comparison of respondents satisfaction with different aspects of the cafeteria and menu
follow the individual tables.

Days people pruchase food in the cafeteria

2
6

1 day
2 days
3 days
4 days
5 days

What people purchase most

3
1

1
10

Hot meals
Sandwiches
Cookies
Salads/Yogurts
Beverages

COMPARING SATISFACTION OF MULTIPLE CAFETERIA ASPECTS:

Very Unsatisfied
Unsatisfied
Netural
Satisfied
Very Satisfied

Recommendations
The cost of food and the hours of operation were the areas the students were least satisfied. We
recommend that the cafeteria remain open for an additional hour in the morning and in the afternoon
to try and accommodate students schedules. Students who are studying may not get a chance to eat
right away and would benefit from the cafeteria staying open a little later and opening a little sooner.
This would take some investigation, asking the Culinary Department at NSCC what the feasibility of
this would be and if there could be a compromise.
We also recommend that the cafeteria evaluate their pricing and see if they can be improved to make
it cheaper for the students who may be on a strict budget or maybe give larger portions to
accommodate for the steep price. The cafeteria could also offer more affordable pre-made food
options, for example, left over food from the previous day made into sandwiches or salads.
Upon further inspection of the results, there are recommendations that can be made for the next
cafeteria and menu questionnaire. It may be advantageous to ask how the students felt about the
cleanliness of the cafeteria and how they felt about the speediness of service. It may have also made
a difference to add a comment section to allow the students to input their own opinions about the
survey and the cafeteria.