The Impact of COVID-19 on Research Productivity of Postgraduate Students in Japan: Based on the Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Globally the students' life and study have been affected by the Coronavirus disease 2019 . This study aims to explore the current report and seeks to explore how the Pandemic impacted doctoral students' research productivity in Japan by examining the following research questions: How have Covid-19 and the related measures impacted the postgraduate students' research productivity, and research engagement time, delay graduation in Japan? And how has Covid-19 impacted their research activities specifically, including conference participation, research meeting, attending lectures, entering laboratories, using the library, conducting outdoor surveys, international exchanges, and delayed graduation? A sample of 5091 Japanese doctoral students completed an online survey including measures for the perceived impact on research productivity, completion of graduation degree, the changes in research engagement time, and research output during the COVID-19 pandemic. 50% of doctoral students on average said that COVID-19 and its response affected the research productivity as a whole temporarily, and the impact on research productivity was acceptable. One-fifth of them reported that their research time has decreased to 80%. More than 60% of doctoral students reported that they expected it would take a longer time to complete their degrees. More than two-thirds of the students reported that visiting certain countries and regions (69%) and invitations from certain countries and regions (60%) are still an unacceptable impact on research productivity. Based on these results, several policy implications are discussed to help graduate students adapt to recent university changes.