Gionfriddo Michael R, Dadich Ann
Division of Pharmaceutical, Administrative and Social Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
School of Business, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, Australia.
Int J Qual Methods. 2023 Apr 5;22:16094069231165710. doi: 10.1177/16094069231165710. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted research. In this article, we explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the pandemic to a group of researchers using video-reflexive ethnography (VRE) - a methodology used to understand practices, grounded in: exnovation, collaboration, reflexivity, and care. To understand how the pandemic impacted researchers using VRE, we facilitated two focus groups with 12 members of the International Association of Video-Reflexive Ethnographers. The findings suggest the pandemic exacerbated existing methodological challenges, yet also provided an opportunity reflect on our own practices as researchers, namely: accessing sites, building relationships, facilitating reflexive sessions, and cultivating care. Due to public health measures, some researchers used insiders to access sites. While these insiders shouldered additional burdens, this shift might have empowered participants, increased the salience of the project, and enabled access to rural sites. The inability to access sites and reliance on insiders also impeded researcher ability to build relationships with participants and generate the ethnographic insights often associated with prolonged engagement at a site. In reflexive sessions, researchers had to learn how to manage the technological, logistical, and methodological challenges associated with either themselves or participants being remote. Finally, participants noted that while the transition to more digital methodologies might have increased project reach, there needed to be a mindfulness around cultivating practices of care in the digital world to ensure psychological safety and protect participants data. These findings reflect the opportunities and challenges a group of researchers using VRE had during the pandemic and can be used to stimulate future methodologic discussions.
新冠疫情对研究产生了巨大影响。在本文中，我们探讨了疫情给一组使用视频反思民族志（VRE）的研究人员带来的机遇和挑战——VRE是一种用于理解实践的方法，其基础包括：破旧立新、协作、反思和关怀。为了了解疫情如何影响使用VRE的研究人员，我们组织了两个焦点小组，成员来自国际视频反思民族志学者协会，共12人。研究结果表明，疫情加剧了现有的方法学挑战，但也提供了一个机会，让我们作为研究人员反思自己的实践，即：进入研究场所、建立关系、促进反思环节以及培养关怀。由于公共卫生措施，一些研究人员利用内部人员进入研究场所。虽然这些内部人员承担了额外的负担，但这种转变可能增强了参与者的权能，提高了项目的显著性，并使研究人员能够进入农村地区。无法进入研究场所以及对内部人员的依赖，也阻碍了研究人员与参与者建立关系，以及获得通常与在一个场所长期参与相关的民族志见解。在反思环节中，研究人员必须学习如何应对与自己或参与者身处远程相关的技术、后勤和方法学挑战。最后，参与者指出，虽然向更多数字方法的转变可能扩大了项目的覆盖面，但在数字世界中培养关怀的实践时需要保持谨慎，以确保心理安全并保护参与者的数据。这些发现反映了一组使用VRE的研究人员在疫情期间所面临的机遇和挑战，可用于激发未来的方法学讨论。
