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Costa Rica: Field Research in the Environment, Social Sciences, & Humanities

San José & field sites, Costa Rica

Recent research topics

Here is a partial listing of some recent research topics for students participating in the spring Costa Rica Field Research program:

 

Click here to learn more about possible areas of research!

 

Social Sciences

  • Effects of tourism on the ceramics industry
  • The Costa Rican political party system in transition
  • The development of rapid methods for community monitoring of water quality
  • The theory and practice of health education in a rural school district
  • The media and teenage body image in a rural town
  • Women and microenterprise in the Nicoya region
  • The teaching of creative writing in Costa Rican primary schools
  • Changing role of rural women
  • Citizen participation and the control of corruption
  • Costa Rican Bilingual Education Plan
  • Study of a major Costa Rican coffee company
  • Archaeological excavations
  • Government agricultural development policies and the small farmer
  • Women's relationship to food in a neoliberal environment
  • Effectiveness of government health programs

Natural Sciences

  • Sea turtle hatching success in the Ostional Wildlife Refuge
  • Contamination of river water
  • Hummingbirds and heliconia pollination
  • The effect of reforestation on plant and bird populations in a tropical rainforest
  • The relationship between ecotourism and animal behavior in Palo Verde National Park
  • Scarlet macaw chick development
  • Primates in the Osa Peninsula
  • Reproductive behavior of damselfish
  • Termite damage in lowland regions
  • Field guide to volcanic vegetation
  • Acidic precipitation at Poás Volcano
  • Ethnobotanical study of traditional medicinal plant usage
  • Relationship between jaguars and marine turtles

Humanities

  • The flute and modernization in Costa Rican music
  • Oral histories of Miskito Indian refugees
  • Poetry by Costa Rican women

Costa Rica: Field Research in the Environment, Social Sciences, & Humanities

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Mark Myers, Associate Professor and head of Ecosytem Studies Program at Northern Iowa University I considered a number of study abroad programs before choosing ACM, and what appealed to me about the Costa Rica Field Research program was that it allowed me to pursue independent research at a single site over several months, rather than "touring" many sites for just a few days at a time with larger groups of students, as was typical of many other programs. The educational "pay-off" of this approach, both in terms of insights gained from the many hours spent in the field and in terms of the language skills and cultural experiences gained from living in a small, rural community, was huge. My experience in Costa Rica was a strong influence in my decision to pursue a graduate degree in Conservation Biology, and many of the experiences and contacts I made laid the groundwork for future projects in Costa Rica.

—Mark Myers, Associate Professor and head of Ecosytem Studies Program at Northern Iowa University, Costa Rica, Spring 1995

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