Purpose:Methods to tackle Covid-19 have been developed by a wave of biomedical research but the pandemic has also influenced many aspects of society,generating a need for research into its consequences,and potentially changing the way existing topics are investigated.This article investigates the nature of this influence on the wider academic research mission.Design/methodology/approach:This article reports an inductive content analysis of 500 randomly selected journal articles mentioning Covid-19,as recorded by the Dimensions scholarly database on 19 March 2021.Covid-19 mentions were coded for the influence of the disease on the research.Findings:Whilst two thirds of these articles were about biomedicine(e.g.treatments,vaccines,virology),or health services in response to Covid-19,others covered the pandemic economy,society,safety,or education.In addition,some articles were not about the pandemic but stated that Covid-19 had increased or decreased the value of the reported research or changed the context in which it was conducted.Research limitations:The findings relate only to Covid-19 influences declared in published journal articles.Practical implications:Research managers and funders should consider whether their current procedures are effective in supporting researchers to address the evolving demands of pandemic societies,particularly in terms of timeliness.Originality/value:The results show that although health research dominates the academic response to Covid-19,it is more widely disrupting academic research with new demands and challenges.
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