When your data has COVID-19: how the changing context disrupts data collection and what to do about it

Abstract

Global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, change the context for research and bring with them many professional challenges for IS researchers – not the least of which is disrupting carefully thought-out data collection efforts. In this confessional tale, we describe how moving from an “open research ecosystem” to a “socially distanced research ecosystem” has affected a long-planned data collection effort. While government orders to socially distance and physically isolate may have made the world “stand still” for some, we found that these orders had dynamic and consequential effects for our in-process research. Against the backdrop of significant threats posed by the contextual change to our data collection, we explain how the crisis also opened up opportunities to invigorate our understanding of how the environment affects how we conduct research. We conclude our tale with guidelines for how to successfully respond when your research is interrupted by a change of context.