I would be a fool to not try to conduct research while here on China for
my thesis yet pretty much everyone said it would be difficult about
approaching such a sensitive topic such as HIV in a developing country.
After a year of research, I have come to conclusion that this is such a
difficult topic needs more than just a political science journal
explanation; it needs real interviews as primary sources. One student who
is here, Oliver, who attends Princeton University , said “ you should
definitely take the opportunity to conduct research , IF, it is not a
sensitive subject or has to do with the government.” Too bad my research
was all of the above.
After speaking with one of the coordinators of the program, she urged that
we make sure to take advantage of our opportunities here and even if the
research topic was sensitive, she would rather a Chinese perspective to be
included in my research along with American and other international
scholars. Many of my resources from my prospective were from Chinese
articles, but I was not going to let this opportunity pass. The program
with most of the faculty who really knew about the HIV situation was that
they did not speak English. Despite this, my new friends were willing to
translate the research for me.
Later , I went bargaining at the different markets but ALL I could think
about was my research opportunities. I used to think about students
saying they are doing research on their thesis such as one girl who was in
my 496z Great Ideas in Political Science, she went to Dubai , and is
conducting her research there. To have such a global opportunity is
amazing, and I am glad for it.
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Posted By: Alicia Tambe, Shanghai, China
