Fieldwork in social research in times of pandemic

Field research work in general corresponds to a determining phase of the process of direct knowledge of social actors and their collective dynamics that are usually permeated by harmonious coexistence, problems, conflicts, contradictions and, in some cases, by cultural, psychological, gender, and symbolic aggression and violence. In any situation, the researcher who enters the field to carry out ethnography or to do fieldwork with the use of various techniques and instruments of observation and data collection, faces very complex realities such as those of the global pandemic of Covid-19 that has modified personal, family, social, community and public life, as well as the direct relationship with social actors and research spaces. In this sense, the article contributes to the construction of knowledge about fieldwork based on the question: How can we investigate social reality in times of pandemic? The methodology consisted of the systematization of fieldwork experiences in postgraduate courses in Mexico from 2020 to 2021. It is concluded that it is necessary to rethink orthodox research projects, methodologies, techniques and instruments, prioritizing the emerging online social inquiry