Methods & Setting

Methods:

A review of literature indicates qualitative research and ethnography have been effectively employed in examining community health initiatives. Savage (2000) contends ethnography can be applied to healthcare issues as a way of accessing group beliefs and practices and gaining a deeper understanding of a group (p. 1401). As this research is concerned with documenting and evaluating a group’s perceptions and behaviors, ethnography was selected as a research methodology.

Participant observation of two BGJ meetups events in Chicago was conducted by a single researcher who is also a founder and member of the BGJ group. Each observation lasted just over two hours.

The researcher (me) jumping double dutch in Chicago, 2014

 

Interviews were conducted with five participants at a weekly jump rope meetup event at a public park on Chicago’s Southside. Interviewee demographic data was also collected. Data from interviews and field notes were coded by hand and analyzed.

Photographs created by several photographers are included.

Study Location

Participant observation and interviews were conducted at two public parks on Chicago’s Southside, a predominately African American populated part of the city. With one of the largest African American populations in the U.S., Chicago is a significant city in terms of black American culture and history–and home to perhaps thousands of double dutch jump rope players.

In recent years Chicago has gained attention for its high rate of violence. Thus visiting outdoor public parks may have been a concern for BGJ participants.

Park 1

Via Facebook and email, I invited BGJ participants to meet at Park 1 on a Wednesday morning for a special double dutch jump rope game and video taping. Lucy, a BGJ participant is also the editor of an African American health magazine.  Lucy contacted me and other BGJ participants and organized a videotaping for a Toyota-sponsored promotional campaign focused on African American health organizations.

Park 1 was located in Bronzeville, a Chicago neighborhood South of the downtown area. The neighborhood has been historically African American and is now considered a diverse, middle-class community. The park appeared clean and well-maintained.

Located at an intersection, the public park had a colorful playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, a football field and running track. Children played in the playground on swings and in a play area covered in turf, while a family appeared to play tennis on the tennis court. Several males were evident playing basketball on the basketball court. Other adults were standing and conversing in the park. Behind a park restroom building, two groups of male and female adults sat on benches in the shade. The adults shook and threw dice on the pavement while exchanging cash.

Six women and one girl participant met at Park 1 near the basketball courts. Two African American male videographers were present.  When I arrived, a group was assembled around a double dutch jump rope game.  Three participants engaged in a game, while three adult participants and the child looked on. Participants were dressed in fitness apparel, jeans or shorts. As a leader of BGJ, I was familiar with most participants and greeted them as I approached the group. Shortly after I arrived to the meetup, I took to the end of the ropes and began turning while conversing with the other participants.

Park 2

I organized and promoted a Sunday afternoon BGJ meetup event at Park 2 on Chicago’s far Southside. I post on Facebook Friday evening and sent an email to the 500 members email list on Sunday.

Rita, a woman who serves as a volunteer leader of this meetup group also lives in the Roseland neighborhood surrounding the park. Like the Bronzeville neighborhood, the Roseland community is historic, but is farther away from the center of the city and has a less favorable reputation amongst Chicago residents.

 

Park 2 however, is a much larger park with many trees to maintain shade. The vast park has a playground in a grassy area, and a dusty running trail around the park. There are also several areas with concrete, an outdoor swimming pool, and a park field house.

On Sunday afternoon when I approached the park, there were children playing in the playground.

Interviews: Key Informants

Interviews were conducted with five adult participants attending the BGJ meetup at Park 2. Four female and one male volunteered for interviews. One participant is the volunteer leader of the meetup group at the park; another participant was a first time attendee to the meetup group; a husband and wife  attending the meetup event were interviewed; and an active female member of group was interviewed.

The average age of interview participants was 37.6 years. All participants were African American.

Interviewees reported varying levels of physical activity. In terms of education level, two participants reported some college and three participants reported earning a graduate degree. Jump rope participants recruited spontaneously at Park 2 were not interviewed.