Impact of COVID on scholarly communication: major research study publishes recommendations for publishers, societies and providers of related services

"Must-have" report and data provide critical insights around publishing and purchasing, and identify mitigating actions and opportunities 

Kudos has announced the publication of its “Brave New World” study, which provides publishers, societies and providers of related services with data and insights about the effects of COVID-19 on scholarly communication, including emerging opportunities, and recommendations for strategic and tactical responses.

Critical insights include the extent of budget cuts within institutions and libraries, such as which content types are most likely to be affected, how cancellation decisions will be made, what actions on the part of publishers are most likely to protect subscriptions, and how Open Access strategies and budgets will be affected. The study shows how research funding has been affected, implications for publishers, and expectations around which budgets are likely to recover, and in what timeframe.

Findings show the effect of the pandemic on researchers’ careers, workloads, collaborations, and their current concerns and expectations. There are useful data around submissions, turnaround times, and preprints. More broadly, there are results and recommendations around researchers’ attendance at events, including expectations of virtual event platforms, and recommendations for new ways to meet researchers’, publishers’, societies and service providers’ needs from networking to marketing.

Project lead Charlie Rapple, Chief Customer Officer at Kudos, comments: “This major study has been accelerated to to ensure that findings are as current and applicable as possible. Some clear opportunities have emerged, both short and long term, for publishers and others in our sector to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, whether through new support and services, through greater communication and transparency, or through using the hiatus of the pandemic as a chance to change how we connect with and deliver value for customers.”

The study combined surveys of 10,000+ researchers and more than 600 librarians with a review of over 100 announcements, reports, articles, and other materials issued by funders, universities, libraries and researchers. It was led by Kudos, and sponsored by Cactus Communications, Royal Society of Chemistry, STM, Wiley, the American Chemical Society, American Society for Microbiology, BMJ and Karger Publishers. The surveys were carried out in partnership with TBI Communications and the secondary research was undertaken with the support of academic lead Dr Christopher Daley, Royal Holloway, University of London.

More information, including options for licensing the report and data, is available at https://info.growkudos.com/brave-new-world-report 

ENDS

Contact:
Charlie Rapple
charlie.a.rapple@growkudos.com
+44 1865 872527

About Kudos
Over 375,000 researchers have signed up to use Kudos’ services for accelerating and broadening research impact. The company’s toolkits help to showcase research to broader audiences, and provides researchers, research organizations and publishers with guidance and insight around the channels and activities that are most effective for reaching and engaging target audiences. To find out more about Kudos, visit www.growkudos.com