Needs and Solutions at the Basis of the Successful Academic Research Process - A Qualitative Analysis

Academic research is an essential factor that leads to performance within educational services, it is the driver of scientific progress. People involved – the researchers – are the main pawns as they may contribute to a successful research activity, if they are well trained, motivated and satisfied. The question that derives from the previous paragraph is related to what stands below their motivation and satisfaction. The answer is related to their needs that should be pinpointed in order to find out the proper tools to motivate and satisfy the researchers. Therefore, the article focuses on the academic researchers’ needs in the economic higher-education presenting a qualitative approach. The paper is based on the results of a complex qualitative research within The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, including the results of three focus-groups. The conversion guide is divided into two parts: the researchers’ needs related to their workplace and their needs related to the research process and its evaluation. The main conclusions indicate that the teamwork is really important to the researchers as it imposes a specific rhythm to their activity and the professional relationships with the colleagues can lead to successful results. The physical space and the auxiliary facilities do not have the same importance to all the respondents, taking into account the fact that researchers can conduct their project in their private space instead of the institutional one. In the end, the focus-groups emphasize the necessity of keeping constant for a certain interval of time the evaluation criteria for the research activities.