Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab
Qualitative research methods had to quickly adapt to using online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic to limit in-person interactions. Online platforms have been used extensively for interviews and focus groups, but workshops with larger groups requiring more complex interactions have not been wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221149871 |
| _version_ | 1797961853356212224 |
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| author | Belinda Li Tammara Soma Nadia Springle Tamara Shulman |
| author_facet | Belinda Li Tammara Soma Nadia Springle Tamara Shulman |
| author_sort | Belinda Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Qualitative research methods had to quickly adapt to using online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic to limit in-person interactions. Online platforms have been used extensively for interviews and focus groups, but workshops with larger groups requiring more complex interactions have not been widely implemented. This paper presents a case study of a fully virtual social innovation lab on bioplastics packaging, which was adapted from a series of in-person workshops. A positive outcome of the online setting was diversifying the types of participants who could participate. Highly interactive activities such as icebreakers, networking, bricolage, and prototyping were particularly challenging to shift from in-person to online using traditional web conferencing platforms like Zoom. Creative use of online tools, such as Gather.Town and Kahoot!, helped unlock more innovative thinking by employing novel techniques such as gamification. However, challenges such as adapting facilitation for an online environment and exclusion of groups that do not have consistent access to internet and/or computers still need to be addressed. The reflections and lessons learned from this paper can help researchers adapt qualitative methods to virtual environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:04:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-753fa4c107bf41b984570fa16b2d5651 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1609-4069 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:04:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| spelling | doaj.art-753fa4c107bf41b984570fa16b2d56512023-01-04T14:03:35ZengSAGE PublishingInternational Journal of Qualitative Methods1609-40692023-01-012210.1177/16094069221149871Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation LabBelinda LiTammara SomaNadia SpringleTamara ShulmanQualitative research methods had to quickly adapt to using online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic to limit in-person interactions. Online platforms have been used extensively for interviews and focus groups, but workshops with larger groups requiring more complex interactions have not been widely implemented. This paper presents a case study of a fully virtual social innovation lab on bioplastics packaging, which was adapted from a series of in-person workshops. A positive outcome of the online setting was diversifying the types of participants who could participate. Highly interactive activities such as icebreakers, networking, bricolage, and prototyping were particularly challenging to shift from in-person to online using traditional web conferencing platforms like Zoom. Creative use of online tools, such as Gather.Town and Kahoot!, helped unlock more innovative thinking by employing novel techniques such as gamification. However, challenges such as adapting facilitation for an online environment and exclusion of groups that do not have consistent access to internet and/or computers still need to be addressed. The reflections and lessons learned from this paper can help researchers adapt qualitative methods to virtual environments.https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221149871 |
| spellingShingle | Belinda Li Tammara Soma Nadia Springle Tamara Shulman Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| title | Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab |
| title_full | Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab |
| title_fullStr | Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab |
| title_short | Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab |
| title_sort | reflections from implementing a virtual social innovation lab |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221149871 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT belindali reflectionsfromimplementingavirtualsocialinnovationlab AT tammarasoma reflectionsfromimplementingavirtualsocialinnovationlab AT nadiaspringle reflectionsfromimplementingavirtualsocialinnovationlab AT tamarashulman reflectionsfromimplementingavirtualsocialinnovationlab |