Research notes

Browse some of the latest studies on the social impacts of (and responses to) COVID-19

The International Public Policy Observatory holds weekly ‘newsroom’ meetings at which all of our UK and global partner organisations can highlight notable new research relating to the social impacts of, and policy responses to, COVID-19. A selection of these ‘research notes’ can be browsed below.

And if you are an academic working on COVID-related social sciences research that spans any of our broad topic areas (education, mental health, Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, vulnerable communities, housing, care and online life), we’re equally keen to hear about your work. Simply fill in this form and we will be in touch soon.

  1. Distance learning: A research briefing by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)

    Distance learning: A research briefing by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)

    Abbi Hobbs and Faye Bolan (20.04.21) Distance learning is a way of studying without the learner being physically present in a classroom. It can be fully remote or ‘blended’ with in-person learning and is now usually underpinned by the use of digital technologies and resources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid switch to distance learning. This POSTnote provides an overview of current trends in distance learning, evidence on key challenges and opportunities and potential future developments. Over the past decade, advances in education technology (EdTech) have enabled an increase…

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  2. Disabled people in Britain and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

    Disabled people in Britain and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

    Tom Shakespeare et al (26.01.21) This paper reports on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 69 disabled people in England and Scotland, and with 28 key informants from infrastructure organisations in the voluntary and statutory sectors, about the impact of COVID-19, and measures taken to control it. Participants were recruited through voluntary organisations. As with everyone, the pandemic has had a huge impact: we discuss the dislocations it has caused in everyday life; the failures of social care; the use of new technologies; and participants’ view on leadership and communication. We conclude with…

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  3. A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)

    A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)

    Thomas Hale et al, Blavatnik School of Government (08.03.21) COVID-19 has prompted unprecedented government action around the world. We introduce the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), a dataset that addresses the need for continuously updated, readily usable and comparable information on policy measures. From 1 January 2020, the data capture government policies related to closure and containment, health and economic policy for more than 180 countries, plus several countries’ subnational jurisdictions. Policy responses are recorded on ordinal or continuous scales for 19 policy areas, capturing variation in degree of response. We…

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