Implementation of remote data collection methods for qualitative research in a global pandemic: reflections from fieldwork in Algeria

A wealth of empirical and theoretical literature has shown that different school subjects and disciplines have different importance (Kususanto and Fui, 2012; Resh and Benavot, 2009; Fransis, 2002; Ayalon and Yogev, 1997; Bleazby, 2015). In the Algerian education system, students, at the age of 15, have to choose either a science pathway or a literary pathway to study at secondary schools. I employed a qualitative study to explore how the relative value students have around secondary school pathways shapes who they think they are and how they feel about themselves, and how these self-perceptions and feelings are influenced by broader socialising forces inside and outside the school. This study was conducted by carrying out a students’ focus group and interviews with students, teachers, pedagogic counsellors3 and parents. The COVID 19 outbreak has major impacts worldwide, including on the research community. My research was influenced by this pandemic at many levels. In this reflective paper, I address how the emergence of COVID-19 impacted my qualitative research design in terms of two domains: first, site and participant selection; second, data collection methods. I will highlight my experience of remote fieldwork during the COVID-19 pandemic with all its ups and downs, to encourage reflexivity and flexibility in conducting remote qualitative research.