Challenges and opportunities of research in the COVID-19 pandemic: the lived experience of students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

Objective: The efficiency and quality of higher education, which has the serious responsibility of developing human resources and developing society, can affected by many factors, including the social and economic conditions of the society. The outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019 affected various aspects of human life, including the quantity and quality of higher education. Based on this, the purpose of this research is to study and understand the lived research experience of students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: The research method is the qualitative and descriptive phenomenological approach. To conduct research from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, as the field of research, 16 people were selected purposefully and based on the snowball method. The findings of the research were collected using structured interviews and analyzed with Colaizzi's (1973) method. The reliability of the findings (credibility, transferability, reliability, and verifiability) was verified through the description by peers, review by members, the use of thoughtful notes, and a rich and detailed description of the research process. Result & Discussion: The higher education system in the present era is affected by technological progress, and economic, cultural, and social changes in society, as COVID-19 in December 2019 affected different dimensions of higher education, including research. The findings of this study were presented in two areas of research challenges of students during the COVID-19 period in the form of 4 themes 'Physical and mental problems', 'Non-cooperation of some professors, university, subjects and researchers', 'Weak informational, network and scientific infrastructures' and 'Creating a negative attitude while not mastering the research' most important opportunities in the form of 4 themes 'facilitating library and office facilities', 'virtual communication equivalent to face-to-face', 'saving Time and money and convenience of virtual communication' and 'Strengthening writing, analytical, knowledge and communication skills'. Undoubtedly, strengthening educational, technological, and research infrastructures, developing ethics standards and mutual duties of supervisors and advisors-students, reviewing the curriculum of research- based units, and establishing an electronic library are among the most important strategies to reduce challenges and strengthening research opportunities in the COVID-19 pandemic and even after it.