Onuoha Onyinyechi, Lorenzetti Diane, Pearson Jacqueline, Lee Bernice, Beran Tanya
University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Alberta Health Service, Edmonton, Canada.
Health Psychol Rep. 2024 Jun 10;12(4):275-285. doi: 10.5114/hpr/187336. eCollection 2024.
Research assistants (RAs) are vital for the successful completion of research. When data collection and recruitment are disrupted, like during the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying restrictions, the effects on RAs attempting to conduct research are unclear.
This study explored RAs' perspectives of conducting research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five RAs who had begun collecting data at a mid-western children's hospital on how a robot named MEDi could help patients uphold health and safety procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic participated in semi-structured interviews.
Thematic analysis of the interview data identified four key themes (and sub-themes) that reflected RAs' experiences of conducting research during the COVID-19 pandemic: inspiration and motivation; research barriers; human connections and relationships; and creativity and problem-solving. The first theme focused on the sources of RAs' inspiration and motivation to participate in research; the second focused on the barriers that affected data collection and recruitment. The third theme described the impact that human connections and relationships had on the success of the research, and the final theme explored the RAs' creativity and problem-solving approaches, which aided in navigating the challenges faced during the pandemic. The RAs overcame the challenges with positive attitudes, creativity, and collaboration.
Overall, the results reveal how the RAs explored creative strategies to adapt research methods to suit unanticipated circumstances and develop interpersonal skills to facilitate participation in future research and career activities.
研究助理对于研究的成功完成至关重要。当数据收集和招募工作受到干扰时，比如在2019年冠状病毒病大流行及随之而来的限制措施期间，对试图开展研究的研究助理的影响尚不清楚。
本研究探讨了研究助理对在2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间开展研究的看法。五名在一家中西部儿童医院开始收集数据的研究助理参与了半结构化访谈，该研究是关于一个名为MEDi的机器人如何在2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间帮助患者遵守健康和安全程序。
对访谈数据的主题分析确定了四个关键主题（及子主题），反映了研究助理在2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间开展研究的经历：灵感与动力；研究障碍；人际关系；以及创造力与解决问题的能力。第一个主题聚焦于研究助理参与研究的灵感和动力来源；第二个主题关注影响数据收集和招募的障碍。第三个主题描述了人际关系对研究成功的影响，最后一个主题探讨了研究助理的创造力和解决问题的方法，这些方法有助于应对大流行期间面临的挑战。研究助理以积极的态度、创造力和协作克服了这些挑战。
总体而言，研究结果揭示了研究助理如何探索创造性策略来调整研究方法以适应意外情况，并培养人际交往技能以促进未来的研究和职业活动参与。
