Academic Research
Academic Research is a South African private firm, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Johannesburg, that provides 14 fee-for-service academic assistance offerings — dissertation writing, editing, statistical analysis, literature review, and peer review — to PhD and Master's candidates across South Africa through human expert delivery.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Academic Research does
Academic Research is a privately-held South African professional services firm founded in 2008 and headquartered at 205 Rivonia Road, Morningside, Sandton, Johannesburg. The company provides fee-for-service academic assistance to PhD and Master's candidates across South Africa, delivering 14 distinct services spanning the full research lifecycle: dissertation writing and editing, research paper writing, literature review and systematic literature review writing, peer review, research topic identification, research proposal writing, academic counselling, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, DBA admission support, consultation guidance, and patent filing support.
The firm is a human-expert services business with no proprietary technology platform. Service delivery is performed by 51-100 academicians graduated from leading South African universities — Stellenbosch University, University of South Africa, University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town — covering management, engineering, social sciences, law, and pharmaceutics domains. Statistical analysis services leverage standard analytical tools (SPSS, Stata, R, Minitab, EViews, Python) rather than proprietary AI/ML systems.
Revenue is generated through project-based, quote-driven engagements priced individually per scope, with no public pricing tiers. Customer acquisition is exclusively inbound and direct-to-consumer via the company's website (Get A Quote form), email, phone, and a Calendly consultation booking tool, supplemented by an active content marketing blog (published 2017-2025). The company serves a long-tail of individual PhD and Master's candidates nationally with no enterprise contracts, resellers, or channel partners, and is founder-operated with no external funding or institutional investors disclosed.
Academic Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Academic Research
- Legal name
- Academic Research
- Website
- https://academicresearch.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Academic Research is a South African private firm, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Johannesburg, that provides 14 fee-for-service academic assistance offerings — dissertation writing, editing, statistical analysis, literature review, and peer review — to PhD and Master's candidates across South Africa through human expert delivery.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Academic Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Academic Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- PhD and Master's Research Assistance Services: Academic Research generates revenue by providing fee-for-service academic assistance to PhD and Master's candidates across South Africa. Services include dissertation writing, editing, research proposal writing, statistics help, literature review writing, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, peer review, academic counselling, and patent filing support. Revenue is derived from project-based fees quoted per engagement.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based project pricing — no public tier structure |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Academic Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Academic Research is a South African academic assistance organization providing a comprehensive suite of human-delivered services to support Masters and PhD candidates. The core offering centers on dissertation writing and editing services, complemented by research paper writing, literature review writing (including systematic reviews), peer review services, academic counselling, research proposal writing, and statistical data analysis using tools such as SPSS, Stata, R, Minitab, EViews, and Python.
Product overview
Academic Research is a South African academic assistance organization providing a comprehensive suite of 14 human-delivered services to support Masters and PhD candidates. The core offering centers on dissertation writing and editing services, complemented by research paper writing, literature review writing (including systematic reviews), and peer review services. Supporting analytical services include quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis, utilizing tools such as SPSS, Stata, R, Minitab, EViews, and Python. Foundational research services encompass research topic identification, research proposal writing, and academic counselling service for personalized guidance. Additional specialized services include DBA admission support and patent filing support. All services are delivered by experienced academicians graduated from South African universities including Stellenbosch University, University of South Africa, University of Pretoria, and University of Cape Town, with expertise spanning management, engineering, social sciences, law, and pharmaceutics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Academic Counselling Service Provides personalized guidance to PhD candidates on research planning, topic selection, methodology, publication support, and academic direction from experienced mentors.
- Dissertation Editing Service Professional editing and proofreading service that corrects grammar, punctuation, sentence rules, and ensures error-free dissertations or theses.
- Quantitative Data Analysis Statistical analysis assistance using tools such as SPSS, Stata, R, Minitab, EViews and Python to help researchers apply appropriate statistical tests and analyze data with accuracy.
- Dissertation Writing Service Professional writing assistance for dissertations and theses, helping candidates reflect their research work and provide clear understanding to readers.
- Research Paper Writing Assistance with writing research papers for academic publications, conference presentations, and professional contexts, involving research question identification, literature review, and data synthesis.
- Literature Review Writing Assistance with writing comprehensive literature reviews to gather background information and identify research gaps for academic studies.
- Systematic Literature Review Writing Structured and rigorous systematic literature review writing service following established methodological frameworks.
- Peer Review Service Expert peer review assistance to evaluate and improve research manuscripts before journal submission.
- Qualitative Data Analysis Qualitative data analysis assistance to help researchers understand and apply appropriate methodologies for non-numerical data analysis.
- Research Topic Identification Guidance service to help researchers identify and refine their research topics and research questions.
- Research Proposal Writing Assistance with writing formal research proposals including introduction, literature review, methodology, and supporting materials.
- DBA Admission Support Support service to assist candidates with their Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) admission process.
- Patent Filing Support Assistance service to help researchers with the patent filing process.
- Consultation Guidance Expert consultation service providing end-to-end guidance on research planning, topic selection, methodology, publication support, and academic direction.
Companies that use Academic Research
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Academic Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Academic Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Academic Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GradeMiners: Online academic writing service offering essay, research paper, and dissertation writing assistance to students globally. Direct competitor on the writing and editing side of Academic Research's offering, though serving a broader undergraduate-to-postgraduate mix.
- Academized: Online academic writing and editing service offering dissertation, research paper, and coursework assistance. Directly comparable service model targeting postgraduate students, though operating internationally via a writer-marketplace model.
- Scribbr: Netherlands-based dissertation editing and academic support service for postgraduate students globally. Closely comparable business model — human-delivered editing, proofreading, and citation assistance for thesis and dissertation writers — though operating at much larger scale and serving international markets.
- EssayPro: Marketplace for academic writing assistance including research papers, dissertations, and editing. Direct peer in the dissertation-writing assistance category with a freelancer-mediated model that competes for the same postgraduate customer wallet.
- PaperHelp: Academic writing and editing service targeting university students, including postgraduate research paper and dissertation assistance. Directly comparable service mix and customer persona to Academic Research, with international rather than South African reach.
Emerging players
- Ulatus: Translation, editing, and research support service for academic authors (a Cactus Communications brand). Overlaps with Academic Research on editing and statistical-analysis services but focuses more on translation and Japanese/Asian markets.
Broad incumbents
- Elsevier Author Services: Elsevier's author services division provides editing, translation, and publication support for researchers globally. Comparable offering at the high-end of academic support, but bundled inside a much larger incumbent publisher rather than a standalone service.
- ProQuest: Major academic content platform hosting dissertations and theses globally, with adjacent author and research services. Comparable in serving the postgraduate research ecosystem, but as an incumbent content and database provider rather than a writing/editing service.
- Editage (Cactus Communications): Large India-headquartered provider of editing, publication support, and research communication services for academic authors. Comparable service overlap (editing, peer review, statistical support) but operates at significantly greater scale with a broader B2B and institutional footprint.
- Enago: Global editing, translation, and publication-support provider serving researchers and PhD candidates. Directly comparable service offerings (editing, peer review, research support) and comparable customer persona, but with broader geographic reach and an institutional B2B channel.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Academic Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Academic Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Academic Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Academic Research M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Academic Research
What does Academic Research do?
Academic Research is a South African academic assistance organization providing a comprehensive suite of human-delivered services to support Masters and PhD candidates. The core offering centers on dissertation writing and editing services, complemented by research paper writing, literature review writing (including systematic reviews), peer review services, academic counselling, research proposal writing, and statistical data analysis using tools such as SPSS, Stata, R, Minitab, EViews, and Python.
Is Academic Research a public or private company?
Academic Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Academic Research founded?
Academic Research was founded in 2008. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Academic Research based?
Academic Research is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Academic Research make money?
One revenue line is on record: phD and Master's Research Assistance Services.
Who are Academic Research's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GradeMiners, Academized, Scribbr, EssayPro and PaperHelp. Ulatus is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Elsevier Author Services, ProQuest, Editage (Cactus Communications) and Enago.
Does Academic Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for Academic Research.