ABSTRACTAs the concern for controlling costs and improving productivity infoodsenices continues to increase, foodservice directors may look to existing research in foodservice systems for answers. As directors review existing research, they will find that the body of literature is limited with regard to alternative foodsevice systems. The purpose of this paper is to review the foodservice systems literature from 1950 to 1990 and to demonstrate the relatively untapped potential of statistical methodologies in the study of foodservice systems. Only 35% of authors of reviewed articles (n = 32) used descriptive or inferential statistical methods. The authors of the present study present examples of possible research studies along with appropriate statistical techniques that may be used to analyze the data.