Pandemic Productivity in Academia: Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to explore the impact of COVID-19 on research productivity

The unequal effects of COVID-19 and resulting lockdowns on mothers around the world was identified as a concern in the early months of the pandemic. Quickly, women decreased work hours and women researchers reported reductions in research time. Meanwhile, research publications by women dropped precipitously. In order to examine day-to-day activities of academics during June and July 2020 in early parts of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we utilized Ecological Momentary Assessment to ask 130 academics around the world about their current activities at six random times per day over the course of one week. This novel approach to sampling allows researchers to collect self-report activity data in real time, without the bias of retrospective report. Results showed that parents, especially mothers, were less likely to have uninterrupted work time and were 3 times more likely than fathers to multitask, nearly 5 times more likely than fathers to multitask while caring for children, and 4.25 times more likely than fathers to be caring for children when contacted. Academic mothers were the hardest hit by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and unless ameliorated, the impact on their research may have lasting effects on their careers.