Covid 19: Unveiling The Social Science Research Dimensions
The spread of the Covid-19 virus across the world has
presented an unparalleled challenge for society, academia, and the social
sciences. COVID 19 is a test of societies, of governments, of communities
and of individuals. At the time of social distancing, the situation demands solidarity
and cooperation to tackle the virus, and to mitigate the effects, often
unintended, of measures designed to halt the spread of the virus. During Covid-19
one cannot deny persistent societal realities—such as entrenched racial and
economic inequality, the proliferation of misinformation, and anxieties about
the ability of the world’s democracies to confront major crises.
There is a need to
understand social understanding to apprehend the crisis. The pandemic has several social sciences and
inter-disciplinary & trans-disciplinary dimensions apart from medical
science. The better understanding of social science pivotal issues creates
multiple research opportunities for social science researchers. The research-based evidence on social science or inter-disciplinary dimensions could enrich
the understanding of policymakers to take a more a more informed decision and
respond efficiently to such situations.
In the present crisis, social research is relevant. However, opening up research is not enough on
its own, and for social research to be more useful, much work needs to be done
organizing and representing this expertise. Here there is a clear role for
scholarly societies, research institutions, and publishers. Social scientist has a lot of opportunities in the to study the responses of the community during
quarantine, social distancing, social behavior, societal understanding of the
disease and related risks, social trust, health-seeking behavior, healthcare
infrastructure, preparedness, and interventions, political preparedness,
economic and livelihood implications of such pandemic, global recession,
decelerating growth and development, Industrial revival, recovery on external
and internal trade fronts, employment implications, issues related to migrant laborers,
change in the global economic and political order, changes in behavior and
thinking, experiences of people esp. the sufferers, environmental concerns and
so on.
Furthermore, it will not be wrong to say in reality
practicing social science research is a threat, Covid-19 threatens the actual
practice of social science. There are clear ethical and safety concerns
around carrying out forms of qualitative and engaged research at a time when
social contact should be kept to a minimum. There are opportunities for some of
these efforts to be redirected into different activities, such as revisiting
datasets, refining methodologies, and exploring distance approaches to
collecting qualitative data. However, the implications for many research
projects and researchers will be profound.
Further, social distancing is also affecting the
dissemination and development of social research. As conferences, seminars, and
public events are canceled, so are many of the informal mechanisms by which
social research is communicated and made useful. This article in the form of
concept subsumes that there is a lot more to do for social science researchers
during COVID 19 and after it. It depends on social science expertise that how
he/she can contribute to society in his/her own subtle ways. Perhaps one cannot
deny the fact that time will tell where we will head but the present planning
and actions will define the future of social sciences.
Ms. Ritika
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