Changes in researchers' practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

If something defines Mexican scientists, it is their ability to adapt to adverse conditions, one of the most recurrent being those related to the development of research projects. At the beginning of 2020, a global pandemic broke out, causing the shutdown of various educational institutions, at the three levels (elementary, high school, and higher education). This paper aims to analyze the changes in the scientific practices of researchers of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who carried out fulltime training and scientific activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, from July 2020 through July 2021. Based on a review of life stories and data saturation, changes, ruptures and decisions that had an impact on their scientific practice were perceived. These academics' scientific research work was interrupted by a phenomenon about which little information existed. This study allowed us to know how this phenomenon was faced in their daily in-person work.