Doctoral Side Effects: Damage Limitation Versus Unexpected Benefits to PhD Research in a Pandemic

Abstract

In May 2021, following up on a publication by PhD Design students of the University of Porto on the topic of the various kinds of impact of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in doctoral research, the authors organised an informal online meeting for Arts and Humanities PhD students and recent graduates. The goal was to share insights, strategies, methodologies and other concerns that have been emerging empirically and intuitively in individual contexts. The present article therefore reports on these shared concerns, and subsequently analyses them. The session was held informally via Zoom, with an international presence; two virtual rooms were created for the purpose of accommodating linguistic diversity; conversation was spontaneous while moderated. Moderators provided a synthesis of discussed topics at a final joint segment of the session. Various students and graduates recognised the potential for the session to become a template for an extended support network; this is an additional motivation for the present article. Furthermore, the session provided a recurrence of experiences and adaptive measures, and the possibility of incorporating certain adaptations as permanent. Lastly, the present article ends with an inventory of identified adaptations, and their critical analysis as potentially permanent, positive changes in doctoral research procedures.

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Author Information
Adriana Fernandes, University of Porto, Portugal
Aleksandra Kosztyła, University of Porto, Portugal
André Casteião, University of Porto, Portugal
Diego Mergener, University of Porto, Portugal
Eduardo Morais, University of Porto, Portugal
Heitor Alvelos, University of Porto, Portugal
Hugo Palmares, University of Porto, Portugal
Ivy Francielle Higino Martins, Federal University of Cariri, Brasil
Luciana Lopes, University of Porto, Portugal
Marcela Rosa, University of Porto, Portugal
Ana Miriam Rebelo, University of Porto, Portugal
Miriam Regina Zanini, University of Porto, Portugal
Pedro Fragoso Lopes, University of Porto, Portugal
Santiago Luiz Gonçalves Mourão, University of Porto, Portugal

• Category: Academic Practices Outside the Classroom

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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