An NCRM research team has produced a special issue on methodological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The collection, published by the International Journal of Social Research Methodology, illustrates the dynamism of social researchers, with examples of how they adapted methods during the crisis.
These include adapting sensory methods when experience of touch is disrupted, co-productive research with people on whom the pandemic has had disproportionate impact, and shifting ethics and collaborative practices.
The collection builds on NCRM’s Changing Research Practices project, which was led by Professor Melanie Nind, Dr Robert Meckin and Dr Andy Coverdale.
Professor Nind said: "The special issue was a really good way to bring this chunk of NCRM work a conclusion. We worked through the crisis of the pandemic enabling social researchers to provide mutual support when everything was so awful. And it was important to provide a vehicle to share accounts of what it means to do research in such uncertainty. I think the special issue will have lasting relevance."
The underlying premise of the special issue is that the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic resulted in immediate and ongoing implications for social research.
The collection shows how researchers are drawn to questions of what matters most to them, such as meaningful research collaborations, working within an ethic of care, and making research sustainable.
Through an editorial from the NCRM team and seven papers written by contributors, the issue serves to reinvigorate discussions on uncertainty in research design and research methods education.