Elsevier’s 2025 Future Researcher Report shows that scientists feel increasing pressure to publish papers, while the time and resources available for conducting necessary research are decreasing.
The report surveyed 3,200 researchers in 113 countries between August and September to assess how they perceive the changing research landscape. The results showed that approximately 68% of respondents reported greater pressure to publish their research than two or three years ago, while only 45% said they had sufficient time for research.
The report also highlighted another worrying issue—funding uncertainty. Only 33% of respondents expected funding for their research field to increase over the next two to three years. In North America, this figure dropped to 11%. This reflects the unprecedented cuts to research funding in the United States this year.
“As a researcher working in Brazil, I am deeply affected by the findings of this survey, especially given the increasing pressure to publish research findings under conditions of limited time and resources,” said Claudia Suemoto of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. “The demand for research output has indeed increased in recent years, but access to funding remains limited in Brazil and other low- and middle-income countries.”
Suemoto stated that this imbalance between high demand and limited resources often forces researchers to do more with less, potentially impacting research quality and innovation. The researchers indicated in their report that insufficient research time can be attributed to various factors, including increasing administrative and teaching demands, as well as the effort required to find and secure funding.
The report also shows that nearly 30% of respondents are considering moving to other countries within the next two years for career development. In the United States, about 40% of researchers may consider leaving, an increase of 16 percentage points compared to a similar survey conducted by Elsevier in 2022. The survey indicates that the biggest motivations for researchers considering changing jobs are a better work-life balance, access to more funding, and greater freedom to conduct research of interest.
In addition, the report also surveyed the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in research. Approximately 58% of respondents said they had used AI tools, up from 37% in 2024. However, only 32% of respondents believed their organizations had good AI oversight capabilities, and only 27% said they had received sufficient training to use AI.
This echoes the findings of a survey released in February this year by Wiley, a global scientific publishing organization, involving nearly 5,000 researchers in more than 70 countries. The survey found that many researchers believe AI is becoming central to scientific research and publishing, but lack sufficient support for its effective use.
Elsevier's survey shows that about 58% of researchers believe AI tools can save them time. "While AI tools can significantly speed up data analysis, writing, and idea generation, in my opinion, the sources and quality of information they provide remain unreliable," Suemoto said. "AI is transformative, but its potential can only be realized when experienced researchers use it in a critical and responsible manner."
(Original title: A survey from 113 countries shows that scientists are under increasing pressure to publish papers)
