ExLibris Report: “Exploring the Challenges of Researchers and Research Offices”

• COVID-19 has affected research funding significantly, with STEM fields seeing an increase in funding, while in the humanities, social sciences, and arts, funding is declining.
• Funding remains a key challenge for researchers.
• The showcasing of research and expertise is increasing in importance 
• Research office members and researchers differ in the way in which they measure research impact.
• The administrative burden on researchers continues to be a major challenge. Seven out of 10 researchers spend at least 30% of their time on administrative tasks. The core expertise of libraries and research offices is still underutilized.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration is high on researchers’ agenda, with 37% of researchers saying that most or all of their work involves interdisciplinary collaboration. This figure aligns somewhat with research office priorities; 25% of research office leaders stated that promoting interdisciplinary collaboration is a priority.
• Researchers expect more from their library than in 2020. Although 61% of researchers expressed satisfaction with the support they receive from their institution’s library, they expect more assistance than in 2020, especially with data-related services and services such as publication depositing.
• Collaboration between research offices and libraries has risen in 2021.

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More on academic research in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Academic+research