The pandemic has significantly altered, not only the social and academic processes, but in research as well. The imposition of health protocols amidst the COVID-19 pandemic renders social research difficult, particularly those requiring fieldwork activities in communities. The challenge centers on methodological rigor and scholarship as requisites of community-based participatory research against the backdrop of physical distancing rules. To this end, this paper collates researchers’ field notes pertaining to the creative measures and on-the-spot adjustments carried out in gathering data for baseline studies in the following areas: Hermoza, Bayambang (Region 1/Pangasinan ), San Antonio de Padua II, Dasmarinas City (Region 4A/Cavite), Tandang Kutyo, Tanay (Region 4A/ Rizal ), Balabag and Pal-agon, Pavia (Region 6/Iloilo). The results suggest notable innovative strategies in the areas of: 1) establishing rapport before, during, and after fieldwork mainly through social media, 2) deploying locals as enumerators, specifically barangay workers, 3) maximizing key informant interviews, 4) adopting flexibility, and 5) recognizing opportunities, even those that are not planned, as chances to gather data. The prompt completion and the approval of the final report by the stakeholders, including the funding agency imply that social research is possible with ingenuity and creativity amidst health protocol limitations.
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