Significance of the research

As we will be exploring the segregation between the international and domestic student, it is useful to gauge how much interaction are there between international and domestic students. From the habits exhibited by the subject in question, we can see the extent of which the international student’s integration into the local society. Due to the fact that meal time encourages people who do not normally come out of their rooms interact with the rest of the student populace. In the case of both John’s and Ursula hall, the difference in the student population is compared and contrasted as both colleges boast different ratio of domestic and international students as well as being catered halls. This forces the students in the college to interact with each other and thus we will be able to identify the extent of segregation between the groups.
The information will be useful in terms of combating homesickness and adjustment to new environment, which are common challenges faced by the internationals student when they first arrive here. We will be using field notes and interview in this research so that we can find out the exact reason of why and how the students are segregating themselves. Other than identifying the problems that the students are facing, we will be also interviewing the domestic students regarding their opinions on the international student. As the discourse can be seen from both sides, the data can be used to get a perspective of what is going in the university particularly in the university international student community. Although the 2 colleges could not represent the while of the ANU population, the different ratio of students can be use to serve as a rough gauge of the general situation in the university.
Thus, the primary use of data can be applied to the University International Student Office where it can be use to plan events and talks to allow the students to feel more accustomed to the local environment, easing their transition to Canberra.