Research In A Pandemic
PhD course, 19 November 2020
The current global health crisis has forced researchers to rethink and revise their research plans. They have had to self-isolate and cancel travels, and the people and institutions they are dependent upon in their research are under lockdown. How can we do our research when we cannot conduct face-to-face fieldwork or when we cannot visit archives and excavations?
In this one-day course for PhD students at Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (ToRS), we discuss these issues based on the challenges the participating PhD students face in their respective research projects. We introduce different methods and strategies for doing remote research and using digital technologies. We will work with these new ideas when we consider and develop our revised methodologies. How can we rethink and adjust our research strategies and methods for generating data? How can we plan our research projects to ensure progression rather than putting it to a halt, waiting for a post-pandemic time?
The course is predicated upon each PhD-student pre-circulating a 'Note on doing research in a pandemic' related to their individual projects. They present this note to the other participants as a basis for feedback and discussion. The 'Note on doing research in a pandemic' should be a reflection document where the PhD-student identifies the challenges of researching and writing the PhD-thesis and reflects on how this has affected the PhD-project and how they have had to rethink and revise the research plan and methods. Additionally, one can think of the 'Note on doing research in a pandemic' as a writing piece that can go into the final PhD-thesis.
Programme
Talk: “Distance” by Ravinder Kaur, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, UCPH
Paper sessions: The format will be a 10-minutes introduction by PhD student, followed by discussants (up to five minutes each), total 25 minutes of structured discussion. This will be followed by 25 minutes of general discussion for each presentation.
ECTS calculation
Readings and requirements for receiving ECTS include:
- Participation: Active participation in the PhD course on Thursday the 19 November 2020.
- Presentation: Submitting and presenting ‘Note on doing research in a pandemic related to the PhD project (maximum 2,500 words).
- Preparation: Reading the other participants' papers and preparing comments on a fellow PhD student’s paper. Reading three scholarly articles that discuss innovative methods and one document containing ideas and references on doing fieldwork in a pandemic (total 80 pages).
Sign up for the course before 22 October by writing to the PhD coordinator, Trine Brox
Dates
- Sign-up: 22 October 2020.
- Submit: Send your note (maximum 2,500 words) on researching during a pandemic to the PhD coordinator no later than the 5 November.
- Participate: Thursday 19. November 2020, 10-17.
Contact: PhD coordinator Trine Brox