PARADIGM SHIFT IN MUSIC EDUCATION RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DURING THE PANDEMIC ERA

Abstract

Fundamentally, research in music education and ethnomusicology involves the inquiry/interrogation of the ideas, phenomena, problems, claims, inter alia, around us with the aim of resolving issues and problems and/or affirming claims. These investigations sometimes lead to definite conclusive answers, but, at other times, the answers are inconclusive creating a lacuna thus opening avenues for further research. Scholars, including Osuala and Ihekwaba have defined research as “a scientific process of finding out solution to a problem†(2016). Research is, therefore, the systematic probe to established facts, the search and quest for knowledge. Educational research, according to Osuala and Ihekwaba, (Ibid) “is a systematic investigation into the problems of education with a view to improving teaching and /or learning.†For this systematic probe to take place, be it in an educational or ethnomusicological research, there is need for data collection, which in fact must follow an organized order. To carry out this systematic investigation in research, certain factors ought to be taken into consideration. These factors include availability of material, the "researchability" of the topic, significance of the problem, cost involvement, competency and interest of the researcher. With these factors in place, researchers collect data, through embarking on fieldwork, that often requires a face-to-face interaction. With the onslaught of the Covid-19 Pandemic, that brought the world almost to a standstill, changing all aspects of life including research, scholars had to begin to find new ways of research interaction in the field.