Multi-Course and Faculty-Student Collaboration: Reflections on Implementing a Qualitative Research Project with Undergraduate Students

Abstract

In this paper, we reflect on the development, integration, and implementation of a course-based, primary data collection fieldwork project for undergraduate anthropology students at the University of Guelph. Integrated across three courses taught between January-April 2022, we developed this project to provide students with the opportunity to build research skills and to broaden their understandings of how anthropological methods can be mobilized in timely, immediate ways, while at the same time engaging with diverse lived realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. We point to key factors that allowed for the success of this pedagogical experiment, which include established high levels of trust among involved faculty members; careful attention to timelines and organization; the distribution of project work among the faculty team; and choosing a topic that was timely, relevant, and engaging for students.