Description as the basis for conceptualization and inquiry: studying perceptions and practices of citizenship in Tanzania and Kenya

This paper argues that description is an important antecedent for rigorous conceptualization and asking the right questions. To support this argument, it draws on research that takes as its starting point description of citizens’ perceptions and practices of citizenship in rural communities in Tanzania and Kenya, including 724 interviews and 16 focus groups with ordinary citizens. This paper focusses on the descriptive outputs of that research and reflections on the role of description throughout the research process. Privileging description of citizens’ lived experiences and understandings of citizenship was central to avoiding the imposition of preexisting conceptualizations of citizenship and knowing what questions to ask and how to frame them. Rather than relegating description to the “exploratory” phase of research, my work demonstrates that continued engagement with description as a principal component of multiple stages of research can not only ground our research but also improve our explanations of political phenomena.