A pictorial data collection tool was developed (Appendix 3.4) depicting 12 food consumption settings and 3 beverage consumption scenarios. (See Table 30). I chose these settings based on my knowledge as a native of the typical daily routines of Maltese schoolchildren. Both meal- and snack-type settings were included as these were seen as truly reflecting Maltese foodways. Grazing or snacking has been described as the current modal behaviour amongst US children, warranting that researchers break out of the mindset of three meals a day as a typical eating pattern (Frank, 1994). Whilst acknowledging a similar increase in snacking amongst Maltese children, I did not seek to put emphasis on either snacks or meals, but rather to uncover typical food intake at home and out of the home. The idea of studying food consumption as ‘activity settings’ has also been suggested by Hawe (1998).
TABLE 30
Food And Drink Consumption Settings Investigated Food Settings
Breakfasts
After-school meals or snacks Tea-time snacks Weekday supper Saturday lunch
Sunday lunch School packed lunches Meals when the family eats out Snacks for a Sunday afternoon outing
Meals or snacks when visiting Valletta (the Capital city) Meals or snacks at the beach
Foods at a friend’s party
Drink Settings
When eating a meal When having a snack When thirsty and not eating
The research tools consisted of five A4 pages. This length was necessary to include clear pictures for each setting, whilst allowing enough space for 7-8-year-old children to write, especially as the latter often still use fairly large lettering. Each page showed drawings of different consumption settings on the left-hand side and was ruled on the right-hand side for children to write their choices. The children were required to list foods and/or drinks they would normally consume in different settings, as well as indicate which one of the items listed was their preferred choice. In order not to lengthen the task unnecessarily, or to jeopardise teacher co-operation, children could only list up to three alternatives for each setting.
Maltese and English versions of the tool were developed, considering that there could be English-speaking children in the classes and that the church and independent schools often preferred all work to be carried out in English. The Maltese version was assessed by a professor of Maltese linguistics and minor modifications were made to the original wording in order to facilitate understanding and reduce possibility of unreliable responses.
3.2.2.4.1 Pilot Testing
A pilot test was conducted with eight children from one school and the following day with a whole Year 3 class from another school. The first test did not uncover any problems with actual wording, though it emerged that the children would need to have clear instructions as to what was expected from them. There also proved some difficulty amongst a few children in distinguishing between ‘Tea-time snack’ and ‘After-School Meals or Snacks’. This first test was also audio-recorded.
The second pilot test involved both Maltese and non-Maltese speaking children, so both versions of the tool were used. In order to clarify what was expected from them, an analogy was used whereby the children were told that they had to list 3 outfits they would normally wear to go on an outing in the countryside. They needed to give the details for each outfit and then indicate which one was their favourite. An example was worked out verbally in class using the white-board to show how the items would be written down on separate lines, starting a fresh line for each new item.
During the pilot test sessions both the class teacher and myself moved around the class answering any queries and prompting for elaboration. The teacher was also tactfully cautioned not to make any leading or loaded comments. Children’s questions were often about spelling, although they had been told that “just for this once” correct spelling was not important. Some children also commented that they didn’t know what to write when they did not consume any foods in a specific setting. It was evident after this second pilot test that I would need the assistance of another person in order to prompt the children to give details related to the foods they were listing.
Following these two pilot tests a number of modifications and refinements were made to the tools and to the research protocol. These can be seen in Table 31 and Appendix 3.5.
TABLE 31
Modifications To The Research Tool And Protocol After Pilot-Testing
• The label ‘Tea-time snacks’ was changed to ‘Snacks (tea-time or when I get hungry)’ and the children were told this could refer to that time round about when they were on their way to religious catechism (a daily event in most Maltese 7-year-olds life).
• The numbers 1, 2 and 3 were written on each ruled section to emphasise with the children that they could write up to 3 responses for each setting. Additionally, three more dividing lines were ruled in to show children that they had two lines for each response.
• Before starting each data collection session, I would take a few minutes to explain some ground rules to the class teacher, indicating the necessity for ensuring reliability and for making the task more enjoyable and less strenuous for the children. (See Appendix 3.5).