In its Researcher of the Future report, based on a survey of more than 3,200 academic and corporate researchers across 113 countries, Elsevier said that 68% of respondents felt greater pressure to publish research than two to three years ago.

AI was a major subject in the report, with 58% of respondents using the technology in their work, up from 37% last year.

However, just 32% felt that there was good AI governance at their institution, and only 27% felt they had adequate training in the technology.

In China, 64% thought that AI empowered their work, compared with 25% in the US and 24% in the UK, while Chinese researchers were also significantly more optimistic about AI’s ability to save research time, improve work quality and accelerate discovery.

AI was particularly being used to find and summarise research ( 61%), perform literature reviews ( 51%), analyse research data ( 38%), draft grant proposals ( 41%) and draft research papers or reports ( 38%). 

The report said that 74% felt that peer-reviewed research is trustworthy and that peer-review is important to research integrity.

Judy Verses, president, academic and government markets at Elsevier, said: “This study offers a clear picture of researchers’ eagerness to innovate and commitment to upholding trust and ethical standards despite the increasing pressures they face.

“Researchers see AI as a powerful tool to transform how they work and boost impact, but they need solutions they can trust that prioritise research integrity, accuracy and accountability.”