Research in Tanzania

It's not often that an undergraduate gets to carry out his or her own research study from concept all the way to finished product. CIEE Tanzania gives all students this chance. Through an intense research methodology course, students first choose a topic related to community development that they are passionate about. They then learn how to do qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research. In this course they also learn about ethics, giving back to the research community, and how to write a complete research proposal, including a full literature review and all surveys, interview guides, and focus-group discussion guides they need.

This is where most research methodology courses stop. Here, the students go out into a village homestay for a month and actually conduct their research! They are assigned a Tanzanian research assistant and do everything outlined in their research proposal. 

What an experience!

Here are the titles of some of the final papers/video documentaries submitted by our intrepid students:

• Gender Inequality and Child Well-being in the Village of Ikaning'ombe
• The Use of Wild Edible Plants in the Village of Ikaning'ombe, Tanzania
• Cross-generational Perceptions of Child Marriage in Rural Tanzania
• Tanzanian Mental Health Policies and Implementation in Igoda Village
• Folklore Traditions in Ihanu Village
• Albinism Perceptions in Ihanu Village
• Aspirations of Orphans versus Non-orphans in the Mufindi District of Tanzania
• Investigating the Perceptions of Poverty in Ikanga, Tanzania
• Water Access, Use, and Quality in Relation to Health in the Village of Ikanga
• Microfinance and Female Empowerment in Rural Tanzania
• The Daily Life of a Tanzanian Woman: an Ethnography in Luhindo, Tanzania
• Women's Views of Education: Barriers and Facilitators to Girls' Participation in Secondary School
• Land Inheritance in Ikanga
• Barriers and Facilitators to Pediatric HIV Care
• Perceptions of Criminal Justice in Rural Tanzania

And this is only a tiny selection of the dozens of projects our students have carried out!

As you can see, these studies run across multiple disciplines. Whatever you are studying and are passionate about, you can come up with a research project that will let you dive deep into your discipline.