Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS
This dissertation focused on the impact of sorority rituals on the behavior and values of
contemporary sorority women. Specifically, I studied sorority undergraduate women and their
experiences with ritual and what impact the ritual ceremony had on their values and behavior.
Sorority women and their experiences with ritual were explored through a detailed analysis of
their stories as told in their own words. This final chapter begins with the summary of the study,
discusses the common themes that emerged during the data analysis, and relates these themes to
the current body of literature pertinent to this study. The data analysis is followed by
recommendations for future research and conclusions.
Summary of the Study
The participants for this study were sorority women at four-year colleges and universities
within the United States. The interviews were conducted as individual interviews and in focus
group interviews. Nine focus groups on eight different campuses were conducted. The campuses
were from various parts of the United States. I conducted 23 individual interviews on seven
different campuses, interviewing 51 sorority women. The campuses were chosen based upon
their geographic location, the type of institution (public or private), the size of institution (large
or small), the type of sorority community that was on that campus, and my ability as a researcher
to travel to that institution. The same questions were used for the individual and focus group
interviews. The focus groups were comprised of two to eight sorority women either from the
same chapter or different chapters on the same campus. The women were selected randomly and
asked to volunteer to participate in the study either by a chapter officer, the Greek advisor, or me.
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