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Take the Pill, Discuss the Issues and Act: Using RCTs, PAR and FGDs to Evaluate a Media Entrepreneurship Programme in Tanzania

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Methodological Reflections on Researching Communication and Social Change

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change ((PSCSC))

Abstract

Media initiatives are widely used to educate and engage youth within the field of communication for behaviour and social change, but often the challenge is to find the right approach to evaluate their effectiveness. This chapter sets out to discuss and compare three different applied research approaches employed in the evaluations of the effectiveness of the reality television entrepreneurship competition in Tanzania—Ruka Juu. It sheds light on how the main approaches, randomized control trials and participatory action research, differ in nature, and how both yield better results when accompanied by focus group discussions. Through a pluralistic research approach, outcomes as well as depths and nuances of the issues at stake are captured.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Economic Geography, Umeå University, Umeå, Finland

    Linda Helgesson Sekei

  2. Femina HIP, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Naomi Benny Lugoe

  3. UNHCR, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Karen Marie Thulstrup

Authors
  1. Linda Helgesson Sekei
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  2. Naomi Benny Lugoe
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  3. Karen Marie Thulstrup
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication and Arts, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Norbert Wildermuth

  2. Department of Media and Journalism Studies, School of Communication and Culture Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Teke Ngomba

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Sekei, L.H., Lugoe, N.B., Thulstrup, K.M. (2016). Take the Pill, Discuss the Issues and Act: Using RCTs, PAR and FGDs to Evaluate a Media Entrepreneurship Programme in Tanzania. In: Wildermuth, N., Ngomba, T. (eds) Methodological Reflections on Researching Communication and Social Change. Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40466-0_10

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