Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment

What next-generation scholars need to know in order to thrive, and how they can actively participate in shaping the academic research enterprise.

The academic research enterprise is highly complex, involving multiple sectors of society and a vast array of approaches. In Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise, Kelvin K. Droegemeier shows next-generation scholars across all disciplines how to become more productive earlier in their career, as well as how to help shape the academic research enterprise. The topics covered include public perceptions of scholarly work and its use in policy; understanding the big picture of funding and national priorities as well as identifying funding sources; research methods; collecting data and materials; writing grant proposals; publishing results; ethical conduct; bias and peer review; intellectual property and compliance regulations; partnerships and collaboration; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the future of research.  

Droegemeier’s two principal goals are to enhance and accelerate scholars’ understanding of the academic research process and to democratize that understanding, particularly at institutions that traditionally are underrepresented or lack robust resources. While intended for undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and early career faculty, Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise is also relevant to mid-career and senior faculty, research administrators, funding organizations, congressional staff, policymakers, and the general public. Droegemeier places scholars in a broader national and international context—not as passive recipients of the existing system but as key actors who actively participate in helping to set priorities, determine policies, drive systemic change, and advance knowledge.