Infographic: How COVID-19 has affected researchers in Japan and Korea: Findings from an Editage survey

We have now spent half of 2020 dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and are still trying to assess its full impact and long-term implications. In scholarly circles, as elsewhere, an atmosphere of uncertainty seems to prevail. It has been difficult to keep a finger on the pulse when it comes to the effect of the pandemic on researchers and their work.

So, Editage undertook an initiative to find out how the pandemic has affected researchers in two important research-producing countries: Japan and Korea. We disseminated survey questionnaires on the impact of COVID-19 to researchers from both these countries who had used our services in the months preceding the survey.

The infographics below show the findings from each country. The results represent 241 responses from Japan and 299 responses from Korea received over 4 to 5 days from the date when the survey was disseminated.

Finally, to understand how we can support researchers in a crisis situation like this, we asked respondents to share views on what they expect from us. This is what some authors said: (1) continue to offer the same support and same service quality and (2) provide discounted author services

Here is what we have done in response to this:

1. Continued support: As an organization, we ensured that pandemic-induced chaos and lockdowns did not affect our ability to serve researchers at a time when they would appreciate our support most. Even with nearly our entire workforce being compelled to work from home, our robust systems have helped us continue business as usual so far.
2. Pro-bono editing for COVID-related research: Early this year, we began to offer author services free of cost for researchers working on manuscripts related to COVID-19. Read more about this here.
3. A large research repository on COVID-related research: Finally, a few researchers told us that they would like a place where all information and latest developments relevant to the pandemic are made available. We have good news on this front too. We launched a one-stop platform for all researchers who need access to literature and other resources relevant to COVID-19. Check it out!

There were other suggestions on multiple other topics that we plan to consider carefully in the near future.

We understand that our surveys may not capture all possible situations researchers worldwide are facing at this time. Nevertheless, we would like the global research community to know that however COVID-19 has affected them, we will be around to understand their challenges, listen to their needs, and offer all the support we can.