A Study of Social Isolation: Academic Prestige and its Effect on Social Interactions of
Duke’s Robertson Scholars
Overview: Duke University and its sister school UNC-Chapel Hill have a joint scholars program
referred to as the Robertson Scholars which provides full tuition funds and paid summer travel
the summer after junior year. Each school selects a group of 18 students from a competitive field
of applicants whose main objectives and pursuits are to make a pronounced impact both in their
community and globally. By providing these students with the opportunity to take classes at both
Duke and UNC, the program aims to foster strong relationships between both the students and
the faculties the scholars encounter at both schools. The program, along with requiring five
classes to be taken at the opposite school, includes spending the entire spring semester of the
sophomore year at the sister school. A special bus designated the name the “R-1” (R standing for
Robertson) runs every half hour or so to transport students the roughly ten miles between the
sister campuses. This bus departs from the West Campus bus stop of Duke usually with less than
ten people in total riding it, each sitting seats apart from one another. Such a circumstance raises
many questions about the social implications or disadvantages that may arise from such a high
prestige title.
Research Question: Through my research of the Robertson scholars, I aim to answer three
questions: i) to what extent does isolation from the rest of the Duke University student body have
on Robertson scholars’ social interactions within their peers both at Duke and UNC? ii) does the
separation and designated prestige foster stronger relations within the Robertson scholars
themselves? and iii) does the dual citizenship to rival universities limit the scholars’ senses of
school pride? The answers to these questions will extend the knowledge of isolations’ effects on
sense of identity along with possible negative outcomes of academic prestige.
Site: My research will be conducted almost exclusively on the R-1 bus that runs between Duke
and UNC. Since this is the main source of transportation for Robertson scholars, it an excellent
way to find the total 72 scholars out of 8000+ student body. Students do not travel on the R-1
bus during regular school hours since non-Robertson Duke students do not have classes at UNC.
This almost completely ensures that all the people on the bus will be Robertson scholars. The bus
ride takes approximately twenty to thirty minutes.
Methods: To gather information on the social aspects of Robertson scholar’s lives, I will ride on
the R-1 bus Monday – Friday during the typical school hours between Duke to UNC. During the
first one or two trips, I will solely observe the actions and conversations of the scholars and take
notes of events as they happen. After these initial trips, I will begin to engage in a series of
informal interviews with the scholars while riding the bus to try and gain a sense of the social
lives both within the small scholar community and on the larger campus scale of both UNC and
Duke. I will ask questions regarding their sense of school pride and particular emphasis will be
put on the effect the semester living on the sister campus had on both their existing relationships
at their mother school and new relationships at the sister school. I will also ride the bus after 7
pm on weekend nights to see if students move between campuses to access their social networks
to gain another angle on the social scene of the scholars
Additional interviews will be conducted with Robertson scholars in casual situations and
even at other social events. The vice president of the Duke Women’s Club Volleyball team is a
senior Robertson scholar. Being a member of the club, I will have direct access to interview her
while at tournaments or at team parties. These additional interviews will help to explore the
outside activities of Robertson scholars aside from their academic world.
Research Proposal: Part II – Addressing Ethnographic Issues
While ethnography opens doors to valuable cultural insight, there are several issues
regarding research that must be addressed prior to conducting studies. These issues range from
research issues to interpretation problems. By acknowledging and tackling these issues before
field research is conducted, an ethnographer will be able to better understand the cultural
differences and similarities between themselves and the group studied while gaining the insight
needed to answer their research questions.
Reflexivity is an author’s self-awareness of potential biases and error prone research
methods and recognizing how these factors may have interfered with accurate data analysis and
collection. In my research, I aim to avoid this issue by including information relevant to
exposing my biases and potential limited point of view on the Robertson scholars directly in the
final paper. For example, the issue of misrepresentation of the scholars is possible since I will
mostly be observing them on the bus to and from classes. This view may provide information
that leads me to see Robertson scholars as completely academically driven individuals whereas if
I studied them in a different situation, other conclusions may be drawn about their social habits.
Another important issue that often parallels reflexivity is subject position. Subject
position refers to the way the individuals studied view the researcher both in his/her intentions in
conducting research and acceptance in the greater community as a whole. Initially in my
research, I will be regarded as an outsider since I may appear unfamiliar among the limited
students who use the Robertson bus. However, according to Elisa Mathon (2010), “it is
necessary that the ethnographer learn to blend in with the subject’s community in order to act as
less of a liability or nuisance in the subject’s eyes.” Thus, the initial observation stage of my
research will be a very crucial aspect for gaining the trust of the scholars simply by allowing
myself to become a familiar part of the R-1 bus. The academic nature of my study may cause
scholars to limit their openness in response to my questions regarding social lives since exposing
too much could jeopardize the outside view of prestigious standards. The point of subject
position relates directly to reflexivity, seeing as I will need to account for the perhaps timid and
not completely true responses of subjects. As stated by Elisa Mathon (2010), “as the
ethnographer becomes more comfortable with the subject, the subject will in turn become more
comfortable with the ethnographer,” meaning the reactions of the scholars to my presence on the
bus will over time turn to acceptance. By gaining the trust of scholars through continued
exposure on the R-1 bus, I hope to change my subject position from stranger to friend, hopefully
leading to more truthful and open responses from scholars.
This issue of gaining trust leads directly into the next issue of ethnography to be
addressed; access. Gaining entry or access into the studied community is necessary for gathering
accurate information and learning about the true workings of a group. As noted by Chloe Smith
(2010), “without an entry into people’s lives, the ethnographer can only analyze what the society
looks like from the outside and cannot truly understand the practices and how the society works
as a community.” Thus, I will work toward acceptance in the Robertson community by sitting
with them on the long ride over to UNC-Chapel Hill, something which we can endure together.
If acceptance does not come simply from observing the scholars, I will dive into informal
conversation and hopefully find common interests between ourselves. Through these entry-way
conversations, I will be able to ask the questions concerning social lives and school pride more
intimately, hopefully gain insight on prestige’s effects on scholars’ relationships. Breaking the
access barrier is the first step in effective ethnographic research. Once this step is taken, the
doors to endless information are thrown open, leaving simply interpretation up to me.
Bibliography
Mathon, Elisa. “Subject Position: The Subject’s View of the Ethnographer.” The Lives of Others:
Exploring the Craft of Ethnographic Writing. October 3, 2010.
http://sites.duke.edu/writing20_87_f2010/2010/10/03/subject-position-the-subjects-viewof-the-ethnographer/
Smith, Chloe. “Access: Access into the Unknown.” The Lives of Others: Exploring the Craft of
Ethnographic Writing. October 3, 2010.
http://sites.duke.edu/writing20_87_f2010/2010/10/03/access-access-into-the-unknown/