Interview Guides and IRB Materials

The purpose of the project is to systematically study and document the impacts of the pandemic on this group of researchers who were themselves affected by and researching COVID-19. To do so, we conducted 30 qualitative interviews at two points in time between 2020 and 2022 to address four research objectives: 1) To illuminate how researchers are drawing upon existing theoretical frameworks and concepts to develop innovative ways to apply existing knowledge as they navigate this new territory; 2) To understand how researchers are collaborating and networking through the pandemic; 3) To determine ways in which the current and ongoing situation is influencing researchers’ thinking about disaster research; and 4) To learn how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting researchers both professionally and personally.
Data from this project can be used by other researchers interested in studying how researchers do research, particularly when they are part of the situation they are attempting to study. Findings can be used to better prepare employers and the research community for future pandemics or unexpected disruptions.
This research was supported by the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, with funding from the Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, with funding from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas, and with support from the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduate Supplement (NSF Award # 1847373). We also express thanks to the National Science Foundation-funded Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) network and the CONVERGE facility at the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder (NSF Award #1841338) for initial funding of this study.