Abstract
The COVID- 19 pandemic marked 2020 with a range of challenges for researchers and any projects they had going. For example, material culture research is inherently location- based with many objects accessible via museums and collecting institutions like libraries and galleries or among the creators in communities and studios. With cultural institutions having to close in order to protect staff and the public and community borders shut to protect vulnerable populations, it would be reasonable to think that it would be no longer possible to conduct material culture and collections research. However, by shifting the examination of objects away from museums and towards a more practice- based exploration, material culture research can continue in new and innovative ways. This chapter explores the method of practice-based research in material culture studies during a time of crisis and all the benefits as well as ethical considerations that need to go into its execution. Practice- based research can be an effective method of exploring and learning as long as one understands the necessary cultural and ethical considerations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Qualitative and Digital Research in Times of Crisis |
| Subtitle of host publication | Methods, Reflexivity, and Ethics |
| Editors | Helen Kara, Su-ming Khoo |
| Place of Publication | Bristol |
| Publisher | Bristol University Press |
| Chapter | 5 |
| Pages | 78-92 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781447363828 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781447363798 |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Nov 2021 |