Earlier today, we launched the 2025 US Researcher Survey. Adapted from the US Faculty Survey, this new survey is designed to provide actionable insights about how academic libraries, research offices, academic publishers, and other stakeholders can best support researchers and ensure the health and vitality of the research enterprise.

We have invited over 200,000 people—administrators, faculty, staff, post-docs, and graduate students—who are engaged in academic research, scholarship, or creative activity at colleges and universities across the US to take the survey. Through it, we aim to better understand researchers’ perspectives and practices on a number of topics, including:

  • funding sources and challenges
  • academic freedom
  • use of AI
  • integrity of the scholarly record

The survey also delves into the support services that institutions provide and the additional services researchers are looking for, as well as their data and storage needs, and decision-making around disseminating their work. We hope the survey’s findings, which we will release in 2026, will provide a multi-faceted perspective on researchers’ needs in a time of profound disruption to the research enterprise.

We’re very thankful to the advisors who generously offered their expertise and guidance as we developed the US Researcher Survey instrument:

  • Nicole Branch, Dean of the University Library, Santa Clara University
  • Dan Cohen, Vice Provost for Information Collaboration, Dean of the Libraries, and Professor of History, Northeastern University
  • Colleen Fitzgerald, Vice President for Research and Creative Activity, North Dakota State University
  • Carlos Rodriguez, Dean of the University Library, California State University, Los Angeles
  • Xuemao Wang, Dean of Libraries, Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian, Northwestern University

We are also thankful to Clarivate and Taylor & Francis for their sponsorship of the survey. If your organization is interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to Dylan Ruediger (dylan.rudeiger@ithaka.org).