Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon and Team Conduct Webinar on “Conducting Research Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic”

With the Covid-19 pandemic, our usual ways of life have had to change—and so must our research methodologies. As researchers examining phenomena in schools, families, and communities, the pandemic has affected the manner in which research is conducted. Current research studies will have to adapt to the “new normal” to factor in or adapt procedures to ensure the safety of not only the participants, but also the research staff.

In response to this, on 4 August 2020, Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon, Assoc Dean of Education Research in OER and Co-Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Child Development, and team—Dr Yang Xueyan, Research Fellow; Mr Lee Chiew Lim, Research Associate; Ms Roodra Veera, Research Associate; and Ms Dhannea Rohaizad, Research Assistant—conducted a Zoom webinar on “Conducting Research Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic: Moving Towards a New Normal in Research” for approximately 40 participants from the NIE research community.

The speakers discussed the way they have adapted standardised research practices to maintain research integrity and quality while ensuring the safety of all participants involved, be it students, teachers, parents, or research staff. They shared about the precautions they have taken for site visits, and in conducting survey research, direct child assessment, interviews, and observation sessions.

One of the tips shared was the use of Skype in conducting phone interviews for interviewees who did not have stable internet access, where the interviewer used Skype to call landline or mobile numbers directly in order to reduce the data burden of the surveyed participants. Other new procedures that have been implemented include preventing cross-contamination between different sites and research team members, coating stimuli materials in anti-viral coating, and ensuring safe distancing measures of at least 1-metre. 

The webinar concluded with a Q&A session where participants raised concerns, asked questions, and shared their own experiences with data collection during the pandemic.