{"id":2163,"date":"2020-09-17T09:11:32","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T09:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/?p=2163"},"modified":"2020-09-17T11:03:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T11:03:04","slug":"taking-part-from-a-distance-doing-participatory-research-during-covid-19-an-iet-literature-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/taking-part-from-a-distance-doing-participatory-research-during-covid-19-an-iet-literature-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Part from a Distance: Doing Participatory Research during Covid-19, an IET literature review\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Johanna Hall<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on how we live, work and do research<\/span>\u00a0(Ruppel, 2020)<\/span>, and most significantly when that research involves working closely with those in the field to build trust and co-produce knowledge. Participatory approaches such as\u00a0<\/span>Participatory Action Research (PAR)<\/span>\u00a0seek to improve social practice through a reflexive process of planning, implementing, observing and reflecting\u00a0<\/span>(McTaggart, 1989)<\/span>, and maintaining equity and openness between participants and researchers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When social distancing needs to be maintained\u00a0<\/span>or<\/span>\u00a0travel to fieldwork sites becomes disrupted due to lockdown measures, how can we ensure the equity and openness of participatory approaches are maintained? Furthermore, how can we support participants, especially those in developing countries which may still be experiencing the negative effects of lockdown, through what is, arguably, one of the most stressful global events in recent history? And how can equal-power relationships be maintained between researchers and participants if they are geographically dispersed, sometimes in dramatically different social and economic climates?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Institute of Educational Technology (IET)<\/span>\u00a0has been\u00a0<\/span>examining how these<\/span>\u00a0challenges may be addressed\u00a0<\/span>by undertaking a<\/span>\u00a0literature review detailing how participatory research is being adapted to a distanced context\u00a0<\/span>in light of<\/span>\u00a0Covid-19<\/span>\u00a0and future pandemics<\/span>. While still an emerging field, the review revealed\u00a0<\/span>a number of<\/span>\u00a0key findings such as:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unique<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Ethical Implications<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A main challenge for conducting participatory research during pandemic health crises is the implications of engaging participants in research during a highly stressful and uncertain time\u00a0<\/span>(Lupton, 2020a)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>For example, it may be likely that<\/span>\u00a0participants<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0normal routines are disrupted, and they may be experiencing negative effects associated with lockdown such as social isolation and frustration.\u00a0<\/span>Furthermore, w<\/span>hen research involves marginalised and vulnerable groups, there is the question of whether the researcher can be truly immersed in the research context if they are sitting comfortably at home, while participants may be living in highly chaotic environments<\/span>\u00a0still suffering from the pandemic<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Ruppel, 2020)<\/span>, and whether this may put the equity the research is built upon at\u00a0<\/span>risk.\u00a0<\/span>In such instances, it may be wise to ask whether the research could be postponed until more normal circumstances resume, however, for time-sensitive topics this may not be\u00a0<\/span>a possibility<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Witt & Schnabel, 2020)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Closure of Venues for Network Access<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Participant<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0in marginalised and rural communities may be reliant on venues such as internet cafes for their network access.\u00a0<\/span>Lockdown restrictions in many countries may result in the closure or reduced opening hours of these establishments and, as a result, taking part in participatory research from a distance, or engaging in online learning activities, may become a significant challenge for many participants\u00a0<\/span>(Dube, 2020)<\/span>. In such instances, researchers could consider using<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>lower-tech asynchronous<\/span>\u00a0and\/or analogue<\/span>\u00a0methods.\u00a0<\/span>Alternatively, community led\u00a0<\/span>device buy-ins and deals with<\/span>\u00a0data providers could provide cheaper network access<\/span>\u00a0from\u00a0<\/span>participants\u2019\u00a0<\/span>home<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Buckler et al., 2020)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Research\u00a0<\/span><\/b>N<\/span><\/b>ative to Covid-19<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The majority of<\/span>\u00a0empirical studies\u00a0<\/span>identified in the literature review<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0adaptations of existing\u00a0<\/span>participatory\u00a0<\/span>research. As such, the transition to a distanced context may have been easier due to pre-existing rapport and trust between researchers and participants. This poses the question of whether the true nature of participatory research can be established and maintained in research<\/span>\u00a0projects<\/span>\u00a0native to the pandemic context.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The effects of\u00a0<\/span>Covid-19 are still being felt and the length of time until circumstances return to normality is uncertain. As such, it is crucial that current and future research\u00a0<\/span>discovers<\/span>\u00a0methods of adequately addressing the unique challenges which the pandemic brings, in addition to\u00a0<\/span>unpacking<\/span>\u00a0how the wider challenges associated with distanced-based participatory approaches may be met.\u00a0<\/span>By addressing these challenges<\/span>\u00a0we will be more readily prepared for\u00a0<\/span>conducting research during\u00a0<\/span>future health pandemics, and have a greater understanding of how the collaborative nature of participatory approaches may be maintained in instances where it is impractical or impossible to work with participants and conduct fieldwork in a co-located context.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To find out more about this research, contact the\u00a0<\/span>lead\u00a0<\/span>autho<\/span>r<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Johanna<\/span>\u00a0Hall<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>johanna.hall@open.ac.uk<\/span>) and the supporting team (<\/span>mark.gaved@open.ac.uk<\/span>, Julia.sargent@open.ac.uk)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Johanna Hall Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on how we live, work and do research\u00a0(Ruppel, 2020), and most significantly when that research involves working closely with those in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2163"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2171,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163\/revisions\/2171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/opentel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}