Confidence in Research: Researchers in the spotlight

Confidence in research: researchers in the spotlight is an Economist Impact report, supported by Elsevier. In the report, Economist Impact explores the attitudes of scientists, scholars and researchers – from now on referred to primarily as researchers – on how the pandemic has affected the practice of undertaking and communicating research in the face of increased public scrutiny. The pandemic underscored the vital importance of public trust in research. The starting point for our research is that public trust in science and research depends, in part, on whether the research community itself is confident in its ability to produce high quality and relevant research. This requires not only analysis of how the support and incentive structures for the research community are viewed as a whole, but also the skills that researchers need to navigate a new, more public-facing landscape for science and research. The research presented in this report was undertaken between December 2021 and August 2022. This research forms part of a broader global collaboration on understanding the drivers of confidence in research that Elsevier has launched this year. Based on findings drawn from a literature review, a global survey of researchers, an advisory board, and qualitative interviews, as well as discussions from six regional roundtables organised by Elsevier and its convening partners, and Elsevier’s ‘Global Expert Panel’, our research seeks to identify actionable insights and interventions for the research community to take forward to bolster research practice and confidence in research.