Higher education institutions (HEIs, what we call universities in our present context), play an important role in developing a society. The role of higher education (HE) can be very well compared to the role of the functioning of the human brain. Higher education plays a vital role in developing a society both intellectually and economically. HEIs are vital in developing higher thinking abilities among society members. The oldest higher education institute in Europe was established in Italy (1088); on the other hand, one of the oldest HEIs was destroyed in India by the invading Islamic force during 1197. It is understood that around nine million books burned at the site for three months. The University of Bologna (Italy) is still the oldest university in function. Universities in the present context began to function around the end of the nineteenth century, with notable examples being Calcutta (1857), Cape Town (1874), Tianjin (1895), and Makerere (1949). The author advocates for a uniform and synchronised HE for the benefit of human society. We also understand that research activities in higher education institutions (HEIs) contribute to enhancing and sustaining the quality of education at these institutions. This study engaged in understanding the research interest amongst academics belonging to HEIs in India and hence the creative environment. Future comparisons with other developing nations could shed light on the growth and impact of higher education. We intended this study to cover academicians working in higher educational institutes around India, regardless of their official position in the respective institution. Professional data samplers worked together to develop a Google survey format. According to a government of India information page, ‘Know India’ (https://knowindia.india.gov.in on October 29th, 2024), there are 28 states and 8 union territories. The states covered under this study were from the northern, southern, eastern, and a portion of the north-eastern part of India. The author, with available resources, selected 10 states for the purpose of collecting the data. The author sent an invitation to participate in the survey to over 200 academic staff members through multiple contact points. Due to the vastness of the area, the author was unable to monitor all senders, which resulted in some participants not reporting. This study utilized a qualitative research approach. We generated a survey tool using Google Form, which contained two different types of questions: open-ended and ordinal scale questions. We generated 21 questions, 10 open-ended and 11 scaled. Ordinal-scaled questions had 1–5 ratings. We interpreted 1 as the least significant factor and 5 as the most significant. We then analysed each of the received responses to the open-ended and scaled questions, separating the themes for quantitative analysis on MS Office's Excel platform. It is observed that the three factors—the amount of time spent on a study, the motivation for performing it, and the perception of the research—affect the outcomes of academic research. A deficiency in any of these factors could negatively impact research activities.

Keywords: Academic Research, Higher education institutions, Perception about Research.