Press release statement: For immediate release
Submitted by Miss Mbali Mkhize, senior director: Marketing & Communications
MUT’s newly appointed DVC: Research, Innovation & Engagements supervises a ground-breaking study
Professor Nokuthula Maureen Sibiya, Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT)’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagements has supervised a cutting-edge post-doctoral study which was undertaken by Dr. Dumile Gumede as the Principal Investigator. Gumede is an NRF-funded postdoctoral fellow at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) who has worked under the mentorship of Prof Sibiya, who until September 2022 was Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching & Learning at DUT.
The study, titled, “Ethical and methodological reflections: Digital storytelling of self-care with students during the COVID-19 pandemic at a South African University”, has been accepted for publication in an accredited international journal, PLOS Global Public Health. An elated Sibiya said that the study is unique because digital storytelling is an arts-based methodology that facilitates the creation of 3-to-5-minute short films called digital stories using voiceovers, images, text, video, and music for individuals to tell the story of their experiences. “Our study is unique because it shows how qualitative researchers can leverage technology to collect data remotely. Yet relatively few scholarly articles highlight the ethical and methodological challenges of using digital storytelling in qualitative health research, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the PI Gumede, “The study presents our critical reflections on conducting an entirely remote qualitative study using the digital storytelling method to explore the self-care practices of first-year university students during the COVID-19 pandemic at a University of Technology in South Africa. We critically reflect on the ethical and methodological challenges arising in this study when using the digital storytelling method with this population. We also share some of the solutions that we implemented to address the challenges of using the digital storytelling method.
Such research can inform how more diverse university students can be engaged in digital storytelling, The study findings can help other researchers who are carrying out remote data collection in a similar context.
Submitted by: Ms Mbali Mkhize