HALI-2 students Mwokozi Mwanzalila (left), Asha Makweta (2nd from left), Mary Mdachi (3rd from left) and Ashraf Mallya (right) receive certificates for completion of training from Professor Beth Yakes. Photo by Elizabeth Van Wormer.
By Ricki Watkins, LCC CRSP
Quick Points:
- Tanzanian graduate students participated in 16-day survey training provided by LCC CRSP researcher, Elizabeth Yakes.
- Each trainee showed progress and understanding in completing the training modules.
- Students still need more training before data collection will begin.
Although more training is to come, four Tanzanian university and graduate students, who will assist the LCC CRSP HALI-2 Project team in future data collection, have already shown growth and progress during their first 16-day training in July.
HALI-2 researcher Elizabeth Yakes, University of New Mexico, led the training, which was held in Tanzania.
“In my opinion, the students selected as data collectors for this project show excellent potential as researchers,” Yakes said. “They are a highly motivated group and they all have excellent people skills. During training sessions, the students clearly demonstrated an aptitude for the study procedures.”
The training went over a variety of subjects, from research ethics and methods to hands-on experience and readings. Each trainee passed all of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Human Subjects Research modules required by the University of New Mexico Institutional Review Board (IRB) as a part of the training.
The students also assisted in revising the nutrition questionnaires they will be using for future data collection.
Yakes said she believes the students still need a few more weeks of interview practice before actual data collection begins. In her report, she also suggested areas where the students can improve, such as in dietary intake interviews. Interview technique could be improved by focusing on consistently phrasing questions, providing the same illustrative examples to each respondent and asking appropriate follow up questions to determine comprehension.
While in Tanzania for the training, Yakes met with Professor Rudovick Kazwala, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and other HALI-2 researchers to finalize the HALI-2 study protocol.
Yakes also met with Mary Mdachi, a master’s student from Sokoine University of Agriculture, who will use data from this project for her thesis.