The unintended consequences of the pandemic on non-pandemic research activities

Abstract

Research about the Covid-19 pandemic has taken center stage in shaping the work of many scholars, inter alia highlighting the importance of research in addressing the grand challenges humanity faces. However, the pandemic has also ushered in increased administrative, teaching and out of work commitments for many researchers, leading to concerns that academics will become less willing to invest time in obtaining resources to undertake non-Covid-related projects. Using a large-scale survey of business, economics and management researchers, coupled with their publication histories and additional institutional data, we examine how far individuals experienced the focus on the pandemic as ‘crowding out’ interest in, and undermining their confidence in applying for grants for work not focused on the pandemic. We found 40% of the sample agree that the pandemic has impaired their confidence in applying for non-pandemic-related grants and ‘crowded out’ other projects. Researchers with current and prior grants, particularly those with the most experience of holding grants, scholars whose work ‘impacted’ beyond academia, and early career researchers, disproportionately considered themselves to be most affected. We also found that researchers’ perceptions differed based on institutional characteristics. We discuss the implications of these findings for grant providers and national research agencies as well as for individual academic researchers and the institutions in which they work.

The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on STEM faculty: Productivity and work-life balance

“…general public concern and our hypothesis that COVID-19 would have a negative effect on reported "research productivity" (as measured by published manuscripts, grant applications, conference participation and patents received). Results from the survey were consistent with several published studies regarding disruption due to COVID [16][17][18]. There was insufficient data to compare to those who did not report gender.…”

Product availability and stockpiling in times of pandemic: causes of supply chain disruptions and preventive measures in retailing

“…At the same time, just like in other areas of social science, exaggerated results of rushed research should not lead to misleading claims during the pandemic (Fowler, 2020 ). While the current focus is on the pandemic, other socio-economic areas of research risk being neglected (Walker et al, 2022 ). Generally, more interdisciplinary research and empirical support are required to tackle the unprecedented challenges to ensure product availability during the pandemic.…”

Research to inform health systems’ responses to rapid population ageing: a collection of studies funded by the WHO Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan

“…Many of the studies presented in this supplement faced the challenge of the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on research activities in general [ 26 ] and, more specifically, on research involving older persons. The original objective of the study in Singapore was to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel care model that incorporates health coaching with integrated health and social care for low-income older populations to reduce hospital readmissions and other unnecessary health visits and to increase competency in self-care.…”