The challenges of the Corona epidemic on the planning, implementation and publication of academic research

Abstract

In this research, the challenges of the Corona epidemic on the planning, implementation and publication of university research were studied. The approach of qualitative research and its method was interpretive phenomenology. The participants of the research included 38 agents and managers of universities and ministries, as well as experts of higher education in universities and the central headquarters of the Ministry of Science and Research, which were purposefully selected and the process of collecting information continued until reaching theoretical saturation. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and validated using the alignment method. Data analysis was done using the theme analysis method in the MAXQDA software environment. The results of the research include three planning challenges (role ambiguity, lack of motivation and reluctance, preference for training, intra-group and inter-discipline disagreement, the effect of infrastructure on the quantity of research, change in research funding sources), implementation (dependency on the path, lack of facilities and infrastructure, concealment of participants, monitoring It became defective, limitation of scientific travel and communication, filtering) and publication (change in the policies of publication of scientific works, excitement in the dissemination of results, dishonesty, slowing down of the process of evaluation and publication of journals) in academic researches.

Corona disease is an epidemic caused by the Covid-19 virus. This virus belongs to the family of corona viruses and is a dangerous type. Corona includes from the common cold virus to the cause of more severe diseases such as Sars, MERS and Covid-19. In the years 2019 to 2023, it caused the death of millions of people around the world and increased mental and physical injuries. This virus was a mild cause of mild infection syndrome with symptoms such as cough, fever, headache, muscle aches and digestive disorders. At the beginning of the outbreak of this epidemic, measures such as quarantine, social distancing, quick tracking of patients and restrictions on being in closed spaces and crowding were carried out. In the absence of definitive treatment and effective vaccines, these measures were somewhat effective but had a negative impact on society. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of human life around the world and created adverse social and economic consequences that will continue for years.

University and university research can be mentioned among these influences. Academics suffered a lot because they had never faced such a phenomenon and did not have the necessary skills to deal with it. So that some of them were judged by the society and their scientific usefulness was seriously tested. On the other hand, the guidance of a large number of post-graduate students should be continued so that their planning does not become irregular. Also, the continuation of the development of the research line was another expectation that they had from themselves. The importance of academic research is that people should rely on it because they do not have a personal opinion. On the other hand, people trust the results of university research as one of the most important factors in shaping the future world.

Lack of clarity in the guidelines for preparing and compiling a research plan, weakness in writing, lack of free time for employees, lack of clear priorities and research needs at the university level, compliance with social distancing and anxiety are some of the challenges.

To improve the research status of higher education in times of crisis, the first step is to identify its main challenges based on a critical approach in the form of qualitative research. Identifying challenges creates efficient management and prevents wasting time and energy. It seems that higher education has felt the consequences of this virus in different fields of research. The changes that occurred during the corona disease in different parts of the society, especially in relation to the political, social and industrial environments in many countries, have increased the demands, expectations and created new laws in this sector according to the mentioned materials and Backgrounds reviewed The main purpose of this article is to examine the challenges of university research management. To achieve this goal, it is tried to identify, classify and thematize the cases.

Keywords: higher education, research management, corona epidemic, challenges, critical approach.