The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices
<h4>Introduction</h4> As part of the Harbnger-2 project, this study aimed to discover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior researchers’ work-life, career prospects, research and publishing practices and networking. <h4>Methods</h4> An online international survey of 8...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931124/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1797903434538549248 |
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| author | Hamid R. Jamali David Nicholas David Sims Anthony Watkinson Eti Herman Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo Marzena Świgoń Abdullah Abrizah Jie Xu Carol Tenopir Suzie Allard |
| author_facet | Hamid R. Jamali David Nicholas David Sims Anthony Watkinson Eti Herman Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo Marzena Świgoń Abdullah Abrizah Jie Xu Carol Tenopir Suzie Allard |
| author_sort | Hamid R. Jamali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Introduction</h4> As part of the Harbnger-2 project, this study aimed to discover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior researchers’ work-life, career prospects, research and publishing practices and networking. <h4>Methods</h4> An online international survey of 800 early career researchers (ECRs) was conducted in 2022. A questionnaire was developed based on three rounds of interviews and distributed using multiple channels including publishers, social media, and direct email to ECRs. <h4>Results</h4> The impact of the pandemic on career prospects, morale, job security, productivity, ability to network and collaborate, and quality and speed of peer review has on the whole been more negative than positive. A quarter of ECRs shifted their research focus to pandemic-related topics and half of those who did, benefited largely due to increased productivity and impact. The majority worked remotely/from home and more than two-thirds of those who did so benefitted from it. While virtual or hybrid conferences have been embraced by the majority of ECRs, around a third still preferred face-to-face only conferences. The use of library online platforms, Sci-Hub, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and smartphone to search and access full-text papers increased. ECRs prioritised journals with fast submission procedures for the publishing of their papers and spent more time on increasing the visibility of their research. Fees were a problem for publishing open access. <h4>Conclusion</h4> Although, generally, the pandemic negatively impacted many aspects of ECRs’ work-life, certain research areas and individuals benefited from being more appreciated and valued, and, in some cases, resulted in increased resources, better productivity and greater impact. Changes, such as the use of digital technologies and remote working created new opportunities for some ECRs. While continuing work flexibility and hybrid conferences might benefit some ECRs, institutions should also take measures to help those ECRs whose career and productivity have been adversely impacted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:34:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37b4e8a6fb76448c8faded7d9db78174 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:34:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-37b4e8a6fb76448c8faded7d9db781742023-02-18T05:31:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01182The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practicesHamid R. JamaliDavid NicholasDavid SimsAnthony WatkinsonEti HermanCherifa Boukacem-ZeghmouriBlanca Rodríguez-BravoMarzena ŚwigońAbdullah AbrizahJie XuCarol TenopirSuzie Allard<h4>Introduction</h4> As part of the Harbnger-2 project, this study aimed to discover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior researchers’ work-life, career prospects, research and publishing practices and networking. <h4>Methods</h4> An online international survey of 800 early career researchers (ECRs) was conducted in 2022. A questionnaire was developed based on three rounds of interviews and distributed using multiple channels including publishers, social media, and direct email to ECRs. <h4>Results</h4> The impact of the pandemic on career prospects, morale, job security, productivity, ability to network and collaborate, and quality and speed of peer review has on the whole been more negative than positive. A quarter of ECRs shifted their research focus to pandemic-related topics and half of those who did, benefited largely due to increased productivity and impact. The majority worked remotely/from home and more than two-thirds of those who did so benefitted from it. While virtual or hybrid conferences have been embraced by the majority of ECRs, around a third still preferred face-to-face only conferences. The use of library online platforms, Sci-Hub, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and smartphone to search and access full-text papers increased. ECRs prioritised journals with fast submission procedures for the publishing of their papers and spent more time on increasing the visibility of their research. Fees were a problem for publishing open access. <h4>Conclusion</h4> Although, generally, the pandemic negatively impacted many aspects of ECRs’ work-life, certain research areas and individuals benefited from being more appreciated and valued, and, in some cases, resulted in increased resources, better productivity and greater impact. Changes, such as the use of digital technologies and remote working created new opportunities for some ECRs. While continuing work flexibility and hybrid conferences might benefit some ECRs, institutions should also take measures to help those ECRs whose career and productivity have been adversely impacted.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931124/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Hamid R. Jamali David Nicholas David Sims Anthony Watkinson Eti Herman Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo Marzena Świgoń Abdullah Abrizah Jie Xu Carol Tenopir Suzie Allard The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices PLoS ONE |
| title | The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices |
| title_full | The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices |
| title_fullStr | The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices |
| title_short | The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices |
| title_sort | pandemic and changes in early career researchers career prospects research and publishing practices |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931124/?tool=EBI |
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