A large-scale study has uncovered that almost 50% of scientists leave research within ten years of publishing their first paper. The study, published in Higher Education, analyzed data from nearly 400,000 researchers across 38 countries, tracking their academic publishing activity over two decades. This research offers significant insights into the career paths of scientists and reveals concerning trends about retention, particularly for women in the field.
The analysis, which used data from the Scopus citation database, found that one-third of scientists stopped publishing within five years, and almost half had exited research by the ten-year mark. The study highlights a gender disparity, with women being around 12% more likely to leave research than men, though the gap has narrowed in recent years.
Researchers examined two groups: those who began publishing in 2000 and another group that started in 2010. The first group showed that within 15 years, two-thirds had stopped publishing altogether. However, the second group, which started publishing in 2010, showed more promise, with a smaller gap between men and women in publication activity. Nine years after their first paper, 41% of women and 42% of men were still publishing, signaling some progress.
The study also revealed differences across scientific disciplines. In life sciences, for example, women were much more likely to leave, with 58% of female biologists leaving the field after ten years, compared to 49% of men. In contrast, fields like physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science showed fewer gender differences.
While the study sheds light on how many researchers leave academia, it needs to address the reasons behind this exodus. Previous research suggests that factors such as toxic workplace environments, family responsibilities, and salary concerns contribute to decisions to leave research, especially for women. Researchers plan to explore these causes further in future studies, using large-scale surveys and innovative methods like artificial-intelligence chatbots.
This study emphasizes the need for institutions to address the challenges faced by researchers, particularly women, to retain talent in the scientific community.
