Changing rooms : navigating the ethical and technical challenges of exploring workspaces online / by Amanda Simpson, Nicola Douglas-Smith, Kalia Kaparounaki, and Dina Sidhva
This case study will reflect on the ethical and technical challenges of designing and conducting online qualitative research. Utilizing photoelicitation and a written survey, our research team investigated the new or adjusted workspaces that educators and students used during the social restrictions and campus closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a new team conducting online and remote research for the first time, we identified a number of challenges involved in adapting qualitative and creative research to a fully online format. This case study will focus on exploring these challenges and the bespoke approach we adopted, which permitted flexible, anonymous collection of multiple forms of data via a single submission point. We reflect on our team's learning as we collaboratively embarked on an "emergency remote research" project as a new team, and we make recommendations for the adoption of a customized approach.