COVID-19, a pandemic the world wasn’t ready for even in the advanced digital stage it was in, everything still got affected by its traits and it proved to be disastrous for some businesses leading them to shut down completely and just like that it has influenced research methodologies and adapting strategies for Indian Scholars.
Just imagine all the researchers being unable to perform their tasks and get the data out of practical knowledge due to the shutdown of labs, restricted fieldwork, and the social distancing policies leading them to adapt methodologies.
As everything shifted to the online spaces researchers or scholars had to switch their entire focus onto something opposite to their fields. Such as a botanist would find it difficult to perform field studies when they are grounded and face challenges because of their research work.
In this blog, we are going to find out the COVID-19 impact on the Indian scholars whether good or bad who do research and their strategies for adaptation and methodologies. Let’s find out together!
The Thorny Thicket of Challenges Posed by COVID-19 for Indian Scholars:
COVID-19 has pushed every individual who is affiliated with the education and knowledge provision department to be the scholars who do all the research and experiments collecting data and stats through theoretical and practical practice. The following are the challenges or hurdles that were imposed on the Indian scholars and they faced it during this time:
- The digital divide:
The areas with limited internet access and the areas with access to high-tech technology came to a divide where the rural areas and the scholars living there would not be able to do their research and adapt their strategies.
They were unable to provide help to their students as well who would need thesis writing services in Delhi and they would be in some other place that doesn’t have an internet facility. Where on the other hand the privileged scholar population gets to do their job within the access of online solutions.
- Data scarcity:
Due to the lockdown collection of data and the system got interrupted and researchers or scholars became unable to identify data that was crucial and needed for their projects. This delayed their work and they lost access to the collection and failed to do the execution.
- Ethical dilemmas:
In sensitive research areas, the scholars have to go through particular consent and have all the ethical generosity towards the data they are collecting for their project or work. But under the COVID phase when everything got online privacy data breaches and ethical use of information raised questions and this became a hurdle for the scholars to perform.
- Mental health strain:
All of the scholars who were into researching and adapting their strategies put a stop and delay in their work that led to a possible failure and that could make a pause in the hard work of these scholars. This caused them to have a mental strain and stress about their research being undone and the pandemic on top of that.
How Did They Cope?
Whether there were challenges imposed by the pandemic the scholars possessed a coping mechanism and displayed remarkable resourcefulness:
- Low-tech solutions:
Researchers being professionals at their job brought different ideas to the table and explored low-tech solutions so they don’t have to suffer and let their projects be delayed, they started doing surveys on the phone and posted questionnaires to not rely on the internet and the scholar who is in underdeveloped areas without the facility of the internet were able to do their work.
- Focus on open access:
During the lockdown season, many scholars in India took the initiative to share the research data online without any restrictions, this helped students who needed phd thesis writing services in India so that anyone could benefit and so their collaboration wouldn’t get affected through online platforms they could connect and foster the work in their respective fields.
- Collaboration of community:
Many scholars immediately indulged in the communities so that their voices could be heard on all platforms without even being present at the moment due to the social distancing scenario and pandemic situation under COVID. Through this, they could facilitate data collection ensuring everything is captured under their research.
How Scholars Embraced Online Tools and Became a Springboard for Innovation:
During the COVID days, all the Indian scholars were in desperate need to find something that could compensate for their research methods and adaptive strategies. They innovated and almost crash-cursed the online research tools to bring everything together again. Here are the details:
- Virtual Labs and Collaboration:
The scholars brought research to light since the physical labs weren’t in the rage at the time making the virtual labs and online settings bloom. The data analysis and conduct of remote experiments were performed on online platforms and that brought their research to go international as well through the access of research in this landscape.
- The Rise of Untapped Sources:
The scholars turned to online resources with limited access to traditional data, and methods of collection, they utilized the online resources that became valuable for them. They research information from social behaviors, trends, and opinions online during the time of the pandemic.
- Public Health in the Digital Age:
All the scholars learned about the digital space and that fostered their knowledge making a positive impact they were able to research with new technology and used it for their research on effective disease surveillance, contact tracing, and public health communication.
Final Thoughts:
The COVID-19 pandemic holds a significant place in changing the entire scenario of the Scholarly world providing them both opportunity and drawback at the same time. Where they were not able to cope with the new technology and transitioning their research methods and adapting strategies, they learned from it as well and incorporated new beginnings in their process and brought the community closer and data more refined and open for everyone. This led to new research and inventions in the industry.
