Has COVID-19 interrupted your research plans?  

Are you wondering how to move forward with your project--how can you do qualitative research while “social distancing?” 

This free, two-credit-hour, two-week-long online course will help you learn about and gain hands-on experience in a variety of types of qualitative research that you can draw on to help answer these questions! Come explore alternative resources and effective research techniques in this time of limited face-to-face interactions and barriers to traditional research sites. 

Course Modules:

1. Entrance self-assessment and introduction to types of qualitative and quantitative research. How does a scholar pivot or re-plan their research?
2. Digitally mediated research ethics. What ethical concerns or guidelines apply in virtual, digital, or distanced research? 
3. Forms of communication. How can researchers navigate various ways to communicate with and reach out to research sites and communities? 
4. Translating face-to-face interactions into “social distance” ones: methods, challenges, and best practices.  How can traditional social science methodologies translate into new forms of practice? 
5. Community collaboration: immersion and building trust in the context of “social distancing.”  How can researchers work to create social networks and collaborative relationships in this time of social distancing?  
6. Social science research in the context of interrupted travel and physical access to sites. What tools, techniques, and technologies are available for a researcher with limited or no access to the research site?
7. Public outreach and education: sharing results and getting feedback.  What are effective ways to share research and results with participating communities and the general public? 
8. Evaluation: course participants’ exit interviews/reports and peer-review that will be:
   1. Demonstrating the ways this course has informed their existing research or/and shaped their future research/projects/work.
   2. Reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work (e.g., research techniques, methods, and resources).
   3. Proposing improvements for this course going forward.

Format: Short lectures, hands-on exercises and assignments, journaling, Zoom discussion meetings (depending on the number of participants), and entrance and exit surveys.

Grading: Pass/Fail

Registering for academic credit does not complete your required internship approval process. Students must register and ‘request an experience’ in the UNH online platform of Handshake once they have their internship. Visit https://app.joinhandshake.com/experiences/new to complete your approval process.

For more information on how to complete the Handshake approval process visit, https://manchester.unh.edu/student-internships or visit the UNH Manchester Career and Professional Success Office with questions.