why are research skills important

What are research skills?

Last updated

26 April 2023

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Broadly, it includes a range of talents required to:

Find useful information

Perform critical analysis

Form hypotheses

Solve problems

It also includes processes such as time management, communication, and reporting skills to achieve those ends.

Research requires a blend of conceptual and detail-oriented modes of thinking. It tests one's ability to transition between subjective motivations and objective assessments to ensure only correct data fits into a meaningfully useful framework.

As countless fields increasingly rely on data management and analysis, polishing your research skills is an important, near-universal way to improve your potential of getting hired and advancing in your career.

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What are basic research skills?

Almost any research involves some proportion of the following fundamental skills:

Organization

Decision-making

Investigation and analysis

Creative thinking

What are primary research skills?

The following are some of the most universally important research skills that will help you in a wide range of positions:

Time management — From planning and organization to task prioritization and deadline management, time-management skills are highly in-demand workplace skills.

Problem-solving — Identifying issues, their causes, and key solutions are another essential suite of research skills.

Critical thinking — The ability to make connections between data points with clear reasoning is essential to navigate data and extract what's useful towards the original objective.

Communication — In any collaborative environment, team-building and active listening will help researchers convey findings more effectively through data summarizations and report writing.

What are the most important skills in research?

Detail-oriented procedures are essential to research, which allow researchers and their audience to probe deeper into a subject and make connections they otherwise may have missed with generic overviews.

Maintaining priorities is also essential so that details fit within an overarching strategy. Lastly, decision-making is crucial because that's the only way research is translated into meaningful action.

Why are research skills important?

Good research skills are crucial to learning more about a subject, then using that knowledge to improve an organization's capabilities. Synthesizing that research and conveying it clearly is also important, as employees seek to share useful insights and inspire effective actions.

Effective research skills are essential for those seeking to:

Analyze their target market

Investigate industry trends

Identify customer needs

Detect obstacles

Find solutions to those obstacles

Develop new products or services

Develop new, adaptive ways to meet demands

Discover more efficient ways of acquiring or using resources

Why do we need research skills?

Businesses and individuals alike need research skills to clarify their role in the marketplace, which of course, requires clarity on the market in which they function in. High-quality research helps people stay better prepared for challenges by identifying key factors involved in their day-to-day operations, along with those that might play a significant role in future goals.

Benefits of having research skills

Research skills increase the effectiveness of any role that's dependent on information. Both individually and organization-wide, good research simplifies what can otherwise be unwieldy amounts of data. It can help maintain order by organizing information and improving efficiency, both of which set the stage for improved revenue growth.

Those with highly effective research skills can help reveal both:

Opportunities for improvement

Brand-new or previously unseen opportunities

Research skills can then help identify how to best take advantage of available opportunities. With today's increasingly data-driven economy, it will also increase your potential of getting hired and help position organizations as thought leaders in their marketplace.

Research skills examples

Being necessarily broad, research skills encompass many sub-categories of skillsets required to extrapolate meaning and direction from dense informational resources. Identifying, interpreting, and applying research are several such subcategories—but to be specific, workplaces of almost any type have some need of:

Searching for information

Attention to detail

Taking notes

Problem-solving

Communicating results

Time management

How to improve your research skills

Whether your research goals are to learn more about a subject or enhance workflows, you can improve research skills with this failsafe, four-step strategy:

Make an outline, and set your intention(s)

Know your sources

Learn to use advanced search techniques

Practice, practice, practice (and don't be afraid to adjust your approach)

These steps could manifest themselves in many ways, but what's most important is that it results in measurable progress toward the original goals that compelled you to research a subject.

Using research skills at work

Different research skills will be emphasized over others, depending on the nature of your trade. To use research most effectively, concentrate on improving research skills most relevant to your position—or, if working solo, the skills most likely have the strongest impact on your goals.

You might divide the necessary research skills into categories for short, medium, and long-term goals or according to each activity your position requires. That way, when a challenge arises in your workflow, it's clearer which specific research skill requires dedicated attention.

How can I learn research skills?

Learning research skills can be done with a simple three-point framework:

Clarify the objective — Before delving into potentially overwhelming amounts of data, take a moment to define the purpose of your research. If at any point you lose sight of the original objective, take another moment to ask how you could adjust your approach to better fit the original objective.

Scrutinize sources — Cross-reference data with other sources, paying close attention to each author's credentials and motivations.

Organize research — Establish and continually refine a data-organization system that works for you. This could be an index of resources or compiling data under different categories designed for easy access.

Which careers require research skills?

Especially in today's world, most careers require some, if not extensive, research. Developers, marketers, and others dealing in primarily digital properties especially require extensive research skills—but it's just as important in building and manufacturing industries, where research is crucial to construct products correctly and safely.

Engineering, legal, medical, and literally any other specialized field will require excellent research skills. Truly, almost any career path will involve some level of research skills; and even those requiring only minimal research skills will at least require research to find and compare open positions in the first place.

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Research Skills: What they are and Benefits

Research skills play a vital role in the success of any research project, enabling individuals to navigate the vast sea of information, analyze data critically, and draw meaningful conclusions. Whether conducting academic research, professional investigations, or personal inquiries, strong research skills are essential for obtaining accurate and reliable results.

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

By understanding and developing these skills, individuals can embark on their research endeavors with confidence, integrity, and the capability to make meaningful contributions in their chosen fields. This article will explore the importance of research skills and discuss critical competencies necessary for conducting a research project effectively.

Content Index

What are Research Skills?

Important research skills for research project, benefits of research skills.

Improving your Research Skills

Talk to Experts to Improve Skills

Research skills are the capability a person carries to create new concepts and understand the use of data collection. These skills include techniques, documentation, and interpretation of the collected data. Research is conducted to evaluate hypotheses and share the findings most appropriately. Research skills improve as we gain experience.

To conduct efficient research, specific research skills are essential. These skills are necessary for companies to develop new products and services or enhance existing products. To develop good research skills is important for both the individual as well as the company.

When undertaking a research project, one must possess specific important skills to ensure the project’s success and accuracy. Here are some essential research skills that are crucial for conducting a project effectively:

Time Management Skills:

Time management is an essential research skill; it helps you break down your project into parts and enables you to manage it easier. One can create a dead-line oriented plan for the research project and assign time for each task. Time management skills include setting goals for the project, planning and organizing functions as per their priority, and efficiently delegating these tasks.

Communication Skills:

These skills help you understand and receive important information and also allow you to share your findings with others in an effective manner. Active listening and speaking are critical skills for solid communication. A researcher must have good communication skills.

Problem-Solving:

The ability to handle complex situations and business challenges and come up with solutions for them is termed problem-solving. To problem-solve, you should be able to fully understand the extent of the problem and then break it down into smaller parts. Once segregated into smaller chunks, you can start thinking about each element and analyze it to find a solution.

Information gathering and attention to detail:

Relevant information is the key to good research design . Searching for credible resources and collecting information from there will help you strengthen your research proposal and drive you to solutions faster. Once you have access to information, paying close attention to all the details and drawing conclusions based on the findings is essential.

Research Design and Methodology :

Understanding research design and methodology is essential for planning and conducting a project. Depending on the research question and objectives, researchers must select appropriate research methods, such as surveys, experiments, interviews, or case studies. Proficiency in designing research protocols, data collection instruments, and sampling strategies is crucial for obtaining reliable and valid results.

Data Collection and Analysis :

Researchers should be skilled in collecting and analyzing data accurately. It involves designing data collection instruments, collecting data through various methods, such as surveys or observations, and organizing and analyzing the collected data using appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis techniques. Proficiency in using software tools like SPSS, Excel, or qualitative analysis software can be beneficial.

By developing and strengthening these research skills, researchers can enhance the quality and impact of their research process, contributing to good research skills in their respective fields.

Research skills are invaluable assets that can benefit individuals in various aspects of their lives. Here are some key benefits of developing and honing research skills:

Boosts Curiosity :

Curiosity is a strong desire to know things and a powerful learning driver. Curious researchers will naturally ask questions that demand answers and will stop in the search for answers. Interested people are better listeners and are open to listening to other people’s ideas and perspectives, not just their own.

Cultivates Self-awareness :

As well as being aware of other people’s subjective opinions, one must develop the importance of research skills and be mindful of the benefits of awareness research; we are exposed to many things while researching. Once we start doing research, the benefit from it reflects on the beliefs and attitudes and encourages them to open their minds to other perspectives and ways of looking at things.

Effective Communication:

Research skills contribute to practical communication skills by enhancing one’s ability to articulate ideas, opinions, and findings clearly and coherently. Through research, individuals learn to organize their thoughts, present evidence-based arguments, and effectively convey complex information to different audiences. These skills are crucial in academic research settings, professional environments, and personal interactions.

Personal and Professional Growth :

Developing research skills fosters personal and professional growth by instilling a sense of curiosity, intellectual independence, and a lifelong learning mindset. Research encourages individuals to seek knowledge, challenge assumptions, and embrace intellectual growth. These skills also enhance adaptability as individuals become adept at navigating and assimilating new information, staying updated with the latest developments, and adjusting their perspectives and strategies accordingly.

Academic Success:

Research skills are essential for academic research success. They enable students to conduct thorough literature reviews, gather evidence to support their arguments, and critically evaluate existing research. By honing their research skills, students can produce well-structured, evidence-based essays, projects, and dissertations demonstrating high academic research rigor and analytical thinking.

Professional Advancement:

Research skills are highly valued in the professional world. They are crucial for conducting market research, analyzing trends, identifying opportunities, and making data-driven decisions. Employers appreciate individuals who can effectively gather and analyze information, solve complex problems, and provide evidence-based recommendations. Research skills also enable professionals to stay updated with advancements in their field, positioning themselves as knowledgeable and competent experts.

Developing and nurturing research skills can significantly benefit individuals in numerous aspects of their lives, enabling them to thrive in an increasingly information-driven world.

Improving Your Research Skills

There are many things you can do to improve your research skills and utilize them in your research or day job. Here are some examples:

Develop Information Literacy: Strengthening your information literacy skills is crucial for conducting thorough research. It involves identifying reliable sources, evaluating the credibility of information, and navigating different research databases.
Enhance Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is an essential skill for effective research. It involves analyzing information, questioning assumptions, and evaluating arguments. Practice critical analysis by analyzing thoughtfully, identifying biases, and considering alternative perspectives.
Master Research Methodologies: Familiarize yourself with different research methodologies relevant to your field. Whether it’s qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, realizing the strengths and limitations of each approach is crucial.
Practice Effective Time Management: Research requires dedicated time and effort. Develop good time management skills to ensure that you allocate sufficient time for each stage of the research process, including planning, data collection, analysis, and writing.
Embrace Collaboration: Collaborating with peers and colleagues can provide a fresh perspective and enrich your research experience. Engage in discussions, share ideas, and seek feedback from others. Collaborative projects allow for exchanging knowledge and skills.
Continuously Update Your Knowledge: Stay informed about your field’s latest developments and advancements. Regularly read scholarly articles, attend conferences, and follow reputable sources of information to stay up to date with current research trends.

There is plenty of information available on the internet about every topic; hence, learning skills to know which information is relevant and credible is very important. Today most search engines have the feature of advanced search, and you can customize the search as per your preference. Once you learn this skill, it will help you find information.

Experts possess a wealth of knowledge, experience, and insights that can significantly enhance your understanding and abilities in conducting research. Experts have often encountered numerous challenges and hurdles throughout their research journey and have developed effective problem-solving techniques. Engaging with experts is a highly effective approach to improving research skills.

Moreover, experts can provide valuable feedback and constructive criticism on your research work. They can offer fresh perspectives, identify areas for improvement, and help you refine your research questions, methodology, and analysis.

At QuestionPro, we can help you with the necessary tools to carry out your projects, and we have created the following free resources to help you in your professional growth:

Survey Templates

Research skills are invaluable assets that empower individuals to navigate the ever-expanding realm of information, make informed decisions, and contribute to advancing knowledge. With advanced research tools and technologies like QuestionPro Survey Software, researchers have potent resources to conduct comprehensive surveys, gather data, and analyze results efficiently.

Where data-driven decision-making is crucial, research skills supported by advanced tools like QuestionPro are essential for researchers to stay ahead and make impactful contributions to their fields. By embracing these research skills and leveraging the capabilities of powerful survey software, researchers can unlock new possibilities, gain deeper insights, and pave the way for meaningful discoveries.

Authors : Gargi Ghamandi & Sandeep Kokane

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The Most Important Research Skills (With Examples)

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Research skills are the ability to find out accurate information on a topic. They include being able to determine the data you need, find and interpret those findings, and then explain that to others. Being able to do effective research is a beneficial skill in any profession, as data and research inform how businesses operate.

Whether you’re unsure of your research skills or are looking for ways to further improve them, then this article will cover important research skills and how to become even better at research.

Key Takeaways

Having strong research skills can help you understand your competitors, develop new processes, and build your professional skills in addition to aiding you in finding new customers and saving your company money.

Some of the most valuable research skills you can have include goal setting, data collection, and analyzing information from multiple sources.

You can and should put your research skills on your resume and highlight them in your job interviews.

What are research skills?

Why are research skills important, 12 of the most important research skills, how to improve your research skills, highlighting your research skills in a job interview, how to include research skills on your resume, resume examples showcasing research skills, research skills faqs.

Research skills are the necessary tools to be able to find, compile, and interpret information in order to answer a question. Of course, there are several aspects to this. Researchers typically have to decide how to go about researching a problem — which for most people is internet research.

In addition, you need to be able to interpret the reliability of a source, put the information you find together in an organized and logical way, and be able to present your findings to others. That means that they’re comprised of both hard skills — knowing your subject and what’s true and what isn’t — and soft skills. You need to be able to interpret sources and communicate clearly.

Research skills are useful in any industry, and have applications in innovation, product development, competitor research, and many other areas. In addition, the skills used in researching aren’t only useful for research. Being able to interpret information is a necessary skill, as is being able to clearly explain your reasoning.

Research skills are used to:

Do competitor research. Knowing what your biggest competitors are up to is an essential part of any business. Researching what works for your competitors, what they’re doing better than you, and where you can improve your standing with the lowest resource expenditure are all essential if a company wants to remain functional.

Develop new processes and products. You don’t have to be involved in research and development to make improvements in how your team gets things done. Researching new processes that make your job (and those of your team) more efficient will be valued by any sensible employer.

Foster self-improvement. Folks who have a knack and passion for research are never content with doing things the same way they’ve always been done. Organizations need independent thinkers who will seek out their own answers and improve their skills as a matter of course. These employees will also pick up new technologies more easily.

Manage customer relationships. Being able to conduct research on your customer base is positively vital in virtually every industry. It’s hard to move products or sell services if you don’t know what people are interested in. Researching your customer base’s interests, needs, and pain points is a valuable responsibility.

Save money. Whether your company is launching a new product or just looking for ways to scale back its current spending, research is crucial for finding wasted resources and redirecting them to more deserving ends. Anyone who proactively researches ways that the company can save money will be highly appreciated by their employer.

Solve problems. Problem solving is a major part of a lot of careers, and research skills are instrumental in making sure your solution is effective. Finding out the cause of the problem and determining an effective solution both require accurate information, and research is the best way to obtain that — be it via the internet or by observation.

Determine reliable information. Being able to tell whether or not the information you receive seems accurate is a very valuable skill. While research skills won’t always guarantee that you’ll be able to tell the reliability of the information at first glance, it’ll prevent you from being too trusting. And it’ll give the tools to double-check .

Experienced researchers know that worthwhile investigation involves a variety of skills. Consider which research skills come naturally to you, and which you could work on more.

Data collection . When thinking about the research process, data collection is often the first thing that comes to mind. It is the nuts and bolts of research. How data is collected can be flexible.

For some purposes, simply gathering facts and information on the internet can fulfill your need. Others may require more direct and crowd-sourced research. Having experience in various methods of data collection can make your resume more impressive to recruiters.

Data collection methods include: Observation Interviews Questionnaires Experimentation Conducting focus groups

Analysis of information from different sources. Putting all your eggs in one source basket usually results in error and disappointment. One of the skills that good researchers always incorporate into their process is an abundance of sources. It’s also best practice to consider the reliability of these sources.

Are you reading about U.S. history on a conspiracy theorist’s blog post? Taking facts for a presentation from an anonymous Twitter account?

If you can’t determine the validity of the sources you’re using, it can compromise all of your research. That doesn’t mean just disregard anything on the internet but double-check your findings. In fact, quadruple-check. You can make your research even stronger by turning to references outside of the internet.

Examples of reliable information sources include: Published books Encyclopedias Magazines Databases Scholarly journals Newspapers Library catalogs

Finding information on the internet. While it can be beneficial to consulate alternative sources, strong internet research skills drive modern-day research.

One of the great things about the internet is how much information it contains, however, this comes with digging through a lot of garbage to get to the facts you need. The ability to efficiently use the vast database of knowledge that is on the internet without getting lost in the junk is very valuable to employers.

Internet research skills include: Source checking Searching relevant questions Exploring deeper than the first options Avoiding distraction Giving credit Organizing findings

Interviewing. Some research endeavors may require a more hands-on approach than just consulting internet sources. Being prepared with strong interviewing skills can be very helpful in the research process.

Interviews can be a useful research tactic to gain first-hand information and being able to manage a successful interview can greatly improve your research skills.

Interviewing skills involves: A plan of action Specific, pointed questions Respectfulness Considering the interview setting Actively Listening Taking notes Gratitude for participation

Report writing. Possessing skills in report writing can assist you in job and scholarly research. The overall purpose of a report in any context is to convey particular information to its audience.

Effective report writing is largely dependent on communication. Your boss, professor , or general reader should walk away completely understanding your findings and conclusions.

Report writing skills involve: Proper format Including a summary Focusing on your initial goal Creating an outline Proofreading Directness

Critical thinking. Critical thinking skills can aid you greatly throughout the research process, and as an employee in general. Critical thinking refers to your data analysis skills. When you’re in the throes of research, you need to be able to analyze your results and make logical decisions about your findings.

Critical thinking skills involve: Observation Analysis Assessing issues Problem-solving Creativity Communication

Planning and scheduling. Research is a work project like any other, and that means it requires a little forethought before starting. Creating a detailed outline map for the points you want to touch on in your research produces more organized results.

It also makes it much easier to manage your time. Planning and scheduling skills are important to employers because they indicate a prepared employee.

Planning and scheduling skills include: Setting objectives Identifying tasks Prioritizing Delegating if needed Vision Communication Clarity Time-management

Note-taking. Research involves sifting through and taking in lots of information. Taking exhaustive notes ensures that you will not neglect any findings later and allows you to communicate these results to your co-workers. Being able to take good notes helps summarize research.

Examples of note-taking skills include: Focus Organization Using short-hand Keeping your objective in mind Neatness Highlighting important points Reviewing notes afterward

Communication skills. Effective research requires being able to understand and process the information you receive, either written or spoken. That means that you need strong reading comprehension and writing skills — two major aspects of communication — as well as excellent listening skills.

Most research also involves showcasing your findings. This can be via a presentation. , report, chart, or Q&A. Whatever the case, you need to be able to communicate your findings in a way that educates your audience.

Communication skills include: Reading comprehension Writing Listening skills Presenting to an audience Creating graphs or charts Explaining in layman’s terms

Time management. We’re, unfortunately, only given 24 measly hours in a day. The ability to effectively manage this time is extremely powerful in a professional context. Hiring managers seek candidates who can accomplish goals in a given timeframe.

Strong time management skills mean that you can organize a plan for how to break down larger tasks in a project and complete them by a deadline. Developing your time management skills can greatly improve the productivity of your research.

Time management skills include: Scheduling Creating task outlines Strategic thinking Stress-management Delegation Communication Utilizing resources Setting realistic expectations Meeting deadlines

Using your network. While this doesn’t seem immediately relevant to research skills, remember that there are a lot of experts out there. Knowing what people’s areas of expertise and asking for help can be tremendously beneficial — especially if it’s a subject you’re unfamiliar with.

Your coworkers are going to have different areas of expertise than you do, and your network of people will as well. You may even know someone who knows someone who’s knowledgeable in the area you’re researching. Most people are happy to share their expertise, as it’s usually also an area of interest to them.

Networking involves: Remembering people’s areas of expertise Being willing to ask for help Communication Returning favors Making use of advice Asking for specific assistance

Attention to detail. Research is inherently precise. That means that you need to be attentive to the details, both in terms of the information you’re gathering, but also in where you got it from. Making errors in statistics can have a major impact on the interpretation of the data, not to mention that it’ll reflect poorly on you.

There are proper procedures for citing sources that you should follow. That means that your sources will be properly credited, preventing accusations of plagiarism. In addition, it means that others can make use of your research by returning to the original sources.

Attention to detail includes: Double checking statistics Taking notes Keeping track of your sources Staying organized Making sure graphs are accurate and representative Properly citing sources

As with many professional skills, research skills serve us in our day to day life. Any time you search for information on the internet, you’re doing research. That means that you’re practicing it outside of work as well. If you want to continue improving your research skills, both for professional and personal use, here are some tips to try.

Differentiate between source quality. A researcher is only as good as their worst source. Start paying attention to the quality of the sources you use, and be suspicious of everything your read until you check out the attributions and works cited.

Be critical and ask yourself about the author’s bias, where the author’s research aligns with the larger body of verified research in the field, and what publication sponsored or published the research.

Use multiple resources. When you can verify information from a multitude of sources, it becomes more and more credible. To bolster your faith in one source, see if you can find another source that agrees with it.

Don’t fall victim to confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when a researcher expects a certain outcome and then goes to find data that supports this hypothesis. It can even go so far as disregarding anything that challenges the researcher’s initial hunch. Be prepared for surprising answers and keep an open mind.

Be open to the idea that you might not find a definitive answer. It’s best to be honest and say that you found no definitive answer instead of just confirming what you think your boss or coworkers expect or want to hear. Experts and good researchers are willing to say that they don’t know.

Stay organized. Being able to cite sources accurately and present all your findings is just as important as conducting the research itself. Start practicing good organizational skills , both on your devices and for any physical products you’re using.

Get specific as you go. There’s nothing wrong with starting your research in a general way. After all, it’s important to become familiar with the terminology and basic gist of the researcher’s findings before you dig down into all the minutia.

A job interview is itself a test of your research skills. You can expect questions on what you know about the company, the role, and your field or industry more generally. In order to give expert answers on all these topics, research is crucial.

Start by researching the company . Look into how they communicate with the public through social media, what their mission statement is, and how they describe their culture.

Pay close attention to the tone of their website. Is it hyper professional or more casual and fun-loving? All of these elements will help decide how best to sell yourself at the interview.

Next, research the role. Go beyond the job description and reach out to current employees working at your desired company and in your potential department. If you can find out what specific problems your future team is or will be facing, you’re sure to impress hiring managers and recruiters with your ability to research all the facts.

Finally, take time to research the job responsibilities you’re not as comfortable with. If you’re applying for a job that represents increased difficulty or entirely new tasks, it helps to come into the interview with at least a basic knowledge of what you’ll need to learn.

Research projects require dedication. Being committed is a valuable skill for hiring managers. Whether you’ve had research experience throughout education or a former job, including it properly can boost the success of your resume .

Consider how extensive your research background is. If you’ve worked on multiple, in-depth research projects, it might be best to include it as its own section. If you have less research experience, include it in the skills section .

Focus on your specific role in the research, as opposed to just the research itself. Try to quantify accomplishments to the best of your abilities. If you were put in charge of competitor research, for example, list that as one of the tasks you had in your career.

If it was a particular project, such as tracking the sale of women’s clothing at a tee-shirt company, you can say that you “directed analysis into women’s clothing sales statistics for a market research project.”

Ascertain how directly research skills relate to the job you’re applying for. How strongly you highlight your research skills should depend on the nature of the job the resume is for. If research looks to be a strong component of it, then showcase all of your experience.

If research looks to be tangential, then be sure to mention it — it’s a valuable skill — but don’t put it front and center.

Example #1: Academic Research

Simon Marks 767 Brighton Blvd. | Brooklyn, NY, 27368 | (683)-262-8883 | [email protected] Diligent and hardworking recent graduate seeking a position to develop professional experience and utilize research skills. B.A. in Biological Sciences from New York University. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Lixus Publishing , Brooklyn, NY Office Assistant- September 2018-present Scheduling and updating meetings Managing emails and phone calls Reading entries Worked on a science fiction campaign by researching target demographic Organizing calendars Promoted to office assistant after one year internship Mitch’s Burgers and Fries , Brooklyn, NY Restaurant Manager , June 2014-June 2018 Managed a team of five employees Responsible for coordinating the weekly schedule Hired and trained two employees Kept track of inventory Dealt with vendors Provided customer service Promoted to restaurant manager after two years as a waiter Awarded a $2.00/hr wage increase SKILLS Writing Scientific Research Data analysis Critical thinking Planning Communication RESEARCH Worked on an ecosystem biology project with responsibilities for algae collection and research (2019) Lead a group of freshmen in a research project looking into cell biology (2018) EDUCATION New York University Bachelors in Biological Sciences, September 2016-May 2020

Example #2: Professional Research

Angela Nichols 1111 Keller Dr. | San Francisco, CA | (663)-124-8827 |[email protected] Experienced and enthusiastic marketer with 7 years of professional experience. Seeking a position to apply my marketing and research knowledge. Skills in working on a team and flexibility. EXPERIENCE Apples amp; Oranges Marketing, San Francisco, CA Associate Marketer – April 2017-May 2020 Discuss marketing goals with clients Provide customer service Lead campaigns associated with women’s health Coordinating with a marketing team Quickly solving issues in service and managing conflict Awarded with two raises totaling $10,000 over three years Prestigious Marketing Company, San Francisco, CA Marketer – May 2014-April 2017 Working directly with clients Conducting market research into television streaming preferences Developing marketing campaigns related to television streaming services Report writing Analyzing campaign success statistics Promoted to Marketer from Junior Marketer after the first year Timberlake Public Relations, San Francisco, CA Public Relations Intern – September 2013–May 2014 Working cohesively with a large group of co-workers and supervisors Note-taking during meetings Running errands Managing email accounts Assisting in brainstorming Meeting work deadlines EDUCATION Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA Bachelor of Arts in Marketing with a minor in Communications – September 2009 – May 2013 SKILLS Marketing Market research Record-keeping Teamwork Presentation. Flexibility

What research skills are important?

Goal-setting and data collection are important research skills. Additional important research skills include:

Using different sources to analyze information.

Finding information on the internet.

Interviewing sources.

Writing reports.

Critical thinking.

Planning and scheduling.

Note-taking.

Managing time.

How do you develop good research skills?

You develop good research skills by learning how to find information from multiple high-quality sources, by being wary of confirmation bias, and by starting broad and getting more specific as you go.

When you learn how to tell a reliable source from an unreliable one and get in the habit of finding multiple sources that back up a claim, you’ll have better quality research.

In addition, when you learn how to keep an open mind about what you’ll find, you’ll avoid falling into the trap of confirmation bias, and by staying organized and narrowing your focus as you go (rather than before you start), you’ll be able to gather quality information more efficiently.

What is the importance of research?

The importance of research is that it informs most decisions and strategies in a business. Whether it’s deciding which products to offer or creating a marketing strategy, research should be used in every part of a company.

Because of this, employers want employees who have strong research skills. They know that you’ll be able to put them to work bettering yourself and the organization as a whole.

Should you put research skills on your resume?

Yes, you should include research skills on your resume as they are an important professional skill. Where you include your research skills on your resume will depend on whether you have a lot of experience in research from a previous job or as part of getting your degree, or if you’ve just cultivated them on your own.

If your research skills are based on experience, you could put them down under the tasks you were expected to perform at the job in question. If not, then you should likely list it in your skills section.

University of the People – The Best Research Skills for Success

Association of Internet Research Specialists — What are Research Skills and Why Are They Important?

MasterClass — How to Improve Your Research Skills: 6 Research Tips

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Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Final thoughts, research skills.

Updated March 23, 2023

Research skills are highly valued by employers in all industries, because employees with strong research skills can be invaluable to a company’s performance and growth.

While you may already possess research skills, you must be able to identify what these skills actually are, so that you can highlight them in your applications and interviews .

This article will explore what research skills are and why they are important, identify some core research skills and explain how you can develop them, and answer some frequently asked questions.

What Are Research Skills?

Research skills enable you to effectively find and gather appropriate information , then analyze and apply it to find solutions to solve problems .

Research skills are crucial for every industry and can be extremely useful in any role. They consist of a range of other soft skills that come together to be more than the sum of their parts.

Possessing research skills makes you very useful to an employer, as you can successfully research competitors, get information to form marketing or sales plans and spot potential problems in the business that require attention.

Some of these soft skills include attention to detail, communication and problem-solving , among others.

In Which Industries Are Research Skills Required?

No matter what your job is, or what industry you’re in, research skills will be extremely beneficial to you and the business .

For example, even if you work in a restaurant, it will be useful to research local competitors or exciting new ingredients to try on your menu.

Another example, within the retail sector, is that you may need to research to find out your customer satisfaction rate and therefore identify any issues with your team’s performance.

Further, research skills are essential to corporate or commercial roles, as these roles may require you to identify issues causing a drop in your team's performance and work out the tasks that must be completed to reach your goal.

Additionally, you may also be required to analyze large amounts of data and identify key issues and work out how to solve them.

What Are Considered Research Skills?

Collating and analyzing information from different sources.

The best research is conducted by analyzing data from online resources, books, surveys or other sources.

It’s important that you only use credible resources when you are collecting your data. Make sure that you’re not relying on largely opinion-based information or information from someone who lacks the right qualifications to be considered an authority.

You may also come across a lot of irrelevant data when you are conducting research. One important research skill is knowing how to discern the most relevant data and discard the rest.

Data Collection

Another important skill for research is data collection.

This is different from collating information from other sources, as data collection requires you to conduct your own research . For example, you would run your own surveys on your customers or derive data from their social media, instead of relying on others to do so.

Many employers value this skill within their employees.

The ability to collect hard-to-find data is not one that everyone possesses and is often considered a more advanced skill.

It takes a great deal of know-how to be able to run efficient, effective and ethical research and to only collect relevant information to answer your questions.

Note-Taking

Note-taking is more than it sounds – it is an essential skill for research.

It would be almost impossible to conduct a large amount of research and be able to recite the information from memory, or even be able to recall where to look for certain information.

Therefore, knowing how to take effective notes is a necessary skill. If you take your notes digitally , you can more easily search them later and share findings with others.

Why Are Research Skills Important?

Research skills are a factor that recruiters will look at because they are important; here are some reasons why.

Learn About Your Consumers and Better Meet Their Needs

Whatever your industry, you are likely selling something to consumers or providing a service, at least sometimes.

Further, no matter what your business model is, you have to keep on top of your customer satisfaction. Their word-of-mouth affects your future bottom line .

Using research skills to identify problems with your consumer satisfaction rate is, therefore, essential.

Such research will let you know where improvements need to be made and will provide you with the starting blocks of a plan to solve the issue.

Get Better Information About Your Competitors

By collecting information about your competitors, such as on their plan for the next quarter, you can alter your company or team's actions to counteract them and come out on top.

You can look into their sales tactics for a glimpse into their future plans, or look at online reviews their customers have left to find weak spots.

This information about your competitors can be implemented to identify key issues that your team or business needs to work on .

They Make You More Employable

Recruiters often look for strong research skills in candidates. Having them makes you more of a desirable employee.

These skills show them that you can take initiative and learn about new things .

This is considered a good quality in a candidate, because it means you can be left to your own devices more often without constant supervision and trusted to not only complete your work but also find ways to do it better .

They Enable You to Work More Efficiently and Productively

Having advanced research skills also enables you to improve your personal productivity and the general productivity of the company .

Research skills can be applied to improving a company’s processes to make them more efficient.

Additionally, you can research skills to find ways the company can improve its employees' satisfaction .

Core Research Skills

Here are some of the core skills required for conducting high-quality research.

Recording Information During Key Events or From Important Sources

Recording information, such as in the form of notes or, is an essential skill required for research.

Whenever you come across an important piece of information that is relevant to your research question, you must record it in some way. This will make it much easier when you come to analyze and report on what you have found.

Simply reading information will not be enough for it to sink into your brain sufficiently to actually be a useful and analyzable resource.

Note-taking is one way of doing this, particularly for pre-existing information that you are collating, such as when you are performing a business literature review for a white paper.

Making recordings of meetings is another way, as you can refer back to them in the future and may be able to distill new information from them.

Stick to Relevant Information

Another key skill here is knowing what information is important .

Make sure that you fully understand why you’re collecting your data and what question you are trying to answer.

This will ensure you only collect the necessary information in your research and don’t infringe on your participants’ right to privacy.

Additionally, when you are collating information from other sources, knowing what’s important means you don’t waste time following dead ends.

Collecting Data From External Sources

Another key skill is knowing how to find reputable, external sources and collect data.

A common mistake people make when researching is taking too much from one source : if you don’t stretch your feelers far enough, your data collection may be too narrow, biased and potentially inaccurate.

Using a wide range of resources is the real secret to strong research. Some sources you can use to extend your research are:

Published books
Reputable websites
Academic journals
Library catalogues

You must learn to judge whether each source is reliable to keep your research accurate. Note the authors and publishers of the books, websites and newspapers you use, and see what else they’ve published to find what biases they have.

Analyzing Data for Patterns and Trends

Data analysis is another advanced skill highly valued by recruiters.

The ability to spot patterns and trends in large amounts of data is an extremely useful skill to spot areas of weakness and strength within a team or a company.

It is a key component to work out areas that require development and where resources should be spent.

Research Skills: What They Are and Why They're Important (With Examples)

Online Research

Online research is a skill that many people believe they are already acquainted with.

But that is like equating someone who types ' What are REITs? ' into a search engine and reads a couple of articles with someone who digs deep into that initial information and derives key terms and search queries to find specific information about both the foundational and cutting-edge ideas of their topic.

Additionally, a skilled online researcher optimizes their time and energy to not be sucked into unreputable websites or to not waste a lot of time tracking down one specific piece of information.

Make sure that you familiarize yourself with which sources are credible and those which are not, so you don’t waste your time researching inaccurate information.

Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking means solving problems using solutions that are usually creative, new and unexpected . Rarely are these immediately obvious and may not be thought of through traditional logic.

You may be required to be creative and use lateral thinking to discover how to find the answer to the problem you are facing.

This is because it is very rare that the answers are clear and right in front of us .

More often than not, you’ll have to be innovative and take on a new approach for your research, even to find what question you should be asking before you can begin.

How to Develop Research Skills

Establish context.

Before diving into something new, you should make an effort to understand the broader subject area surrounding your query.

You will become easily confused if you begin conducting your research without having a full understanding of the question you are trying to answer.

Be Selective About Your Sources

You must learn how to identify credible sources from untrustworthy ones .

Especially when you are conducting internet research, it’s easy to come across information from people who are not qualified to give it or from sources that have a hidden agenda.

Further, all sources have biases, and these must be accounted for when interpreting information from them.

Conducting your research on unqualified sources will likely lead to you analyzing incorrect data and coming to the wrong conclusion.

Be Open to Changing Your Mind

You may begin your research with an opinion already formed in your mind.

Be open to the fact that this might change as you do your research.

Sticking with one opinion often leads you to use sources biased only in one direction and therefore come to a biased conclusion.

Using sources that show different opinions will give you richer research and you’re more likely to end up with a well-rounded answer to your question.

Stay Organized; Record Your Sources of Information

Without keeping your information organized, you’ll wind up wasting a lot of time looking for information you’ve already come across.

A good way to keep track is to have a list of the sources you use and record the important information from that source.

This way you’ll easily be able to look up the information you’re looking for.

You can also note what else those sources may be useful for, as well as a section of the list for sources not necessary this time but may be in the future.

Keep Learning

Don’t just limit yourself to doing research for work or academic purposes.

Keep researching topics you find interesting or may come in useful later down the down.

You can try taking free online courses if you prefer a more guided approach.

This proactivity will not only develop your research skills but will also generally improve your knowledge base, making you more employable.

Learn to Summarize in a Report

A key skill of research is communicating your findings , often in the form of summarizing what you have found in a report.

You may have come across invaluable data, but that will be rendered useless if you are unable to effectively communicate what it means.

Reporting skills are a whole other skill on their own and are valued by employers.

Take time to develop good report writing skills and be open to feedback about the reports you have made at work and school.

Maintain Focus On Your Research Question

Conducting a lot of research can cause people to sway away from their research questions as new information comes to light or you uncover new areas that require deep research.

However, if this happens, keep notes of these areas so that you can return to them in the future and then move back to the question at hand.

Remember your main task and return your attention to your research question .

How Can I Demonstrate Research Skills?

When you’re applying for a role, always mention your research skills.

The key to doing this well is being specific . Give real examples of a time you used your research skills to provide some value to your team or the company.

For example: “I used research skills to identify key problems within our customer satisfaction. I looked through our customer feedback and listened to customer calls to work out the areas we had to improve upon. My research identified weaknesses in our customer support team’s knowledge, so we implemented training and our customer satisfaction increased by 25% as a result”.

Where possible, include a metric showing objectively how much of a positive impact your research had.

How Can I Include Research Skills on My Resume?

Research skills should definitely be on your resume since they are valued by employers in every industry.

There are a few different ways that you can incorporate these into your resume.

If your skills are advanced and have been a primary duty in previous roles, you could dedicate a full section to research skills. Give detailed examples of the skills you possess and how they have served you within these roles.

If you possess some research skills but don’t have extensive examples of using them, then don’t spend as much space on them – include them in your skills section on your resume instead .

As long as they are listed on your resume somewhere, the recruiter will be aware of them.

What Should I Include in a Summary of My Research?

When summarizing your research, you should only include the most relevant information .

Remember to always refer to the original problem or question at hand and make the information easy to read and follow.

Your report should also include some next steps based on your findings.

Which Research Skill Is the Most Important?

The most important element to research is report writing .

Your research will be void if you are unable to compile the information clearly and communicate your findings.

Reporting is a skill that you will need to develop through practice .

Speak to your colleagues and ask for advice on how to improve your reporting techniques.

These skills can be invaluable and increase your employability.

How Can I Tell Good Sources From Bad Ones?

The ability to tell good sources from bad is one not everyone possesses.

However, it’s crucial to conduct high-quality research.

In general, you want to know who is telling you this information and why – what is their goal in telling you?

Further, you should aim to ascertain if they have any expertise in the area, either from certification , years of learning and practicing or lived experience.

You’re most at risk of accessing untrustworthy sources on the internet.

Anyone can post whatever information they like on the internet, and it can be very easy to come across.

Look out for the writer’s credentials at the bottom of the article to confirm its validity.

Also take a look at the publication's ‘About’ section to find out more about them and work out if you should use the information as authoritative.

Research skills are useful and transferable .

They make it possible to work smarter in the long term.

Adding them to your toolkit has a wealth of advantages, but they do require diligence and perseverance.

It’s crucial that you are aware of what good research skills are, so that you can put time and effort into improving them.

Additionally, take note of instances when you have used research skills to reach certain goals, whether it’s in school, at work or in your personal life.

As well as giving you examples to put on an application, this will also show you research skills are always beneficial .

You might also be interested in these other Wikijob articles:

25 Transferable Skills Employers Look For in 2024

Or explore the Interview Advice / Competencies sections.

Empowering students to develop research skills

February 8, 2021

This post is republished from Into Practice , a biweekly communication of Harvard’s Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning

Terence Capellini standing next to a human skeleton

Terence D. Capellini, Richard B Wolf Associate Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, empowers students to grow as researchers in his Building the Human Body course through a comprehensive, course-long collaborative project that works to understand the changes in the genome that make the human skeleton unique. For instance, of the many types of projects, some focus on the genetic basis of why human beings walk on two legs. This integrative “Evo-Devo” project demands high levels of understanding of biology and genetics that students gain in the first half of class, which is then applied hands-on in the second half of class. Students work in teams of 2-3 to collect their own morphology data by measuring skeletons at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and leverage statistics to understand patterns in their data. They then collect and analyze DNA sequences from humans and other animals to identify the DNA changes that may encode morphology. Throughout this course, students go from sometimes having “limited experience in genetics and/or morphology” to conducting their own independent research. This project culminates in a team presentation and a final research paper.

The benefits: Students develop the methodological skills required to collect and analyze morphological data. Using the UCSC Genome browser and other tools, students sharpen their analytical skills to visualize genomics data and pinpoint meaningful genetic changes. Conducting this work in teams means students develop collaborative skills that model academic biology labs outside class, and some student projects have contributed to published papers in the field. “Every year, I have one student, if not two, join my lab to work on projects developed from class to try to get them published.”

“The beauty of this class is that the students are asking a question that’s never been asked before and they’re actually collecting data to get at an answer.”

The challenges: Capellini observes that the most common challenge faced by students in the course is when “they have a really terrific question they want to explore, but the necessary background information is simply lacking. It is simply amazing how little we do know about human development, despite its hundreds of years of study.” Sometimes, for instance, students want to learn about the evolution, development, and genetics of a certain body part, but it is still somewhat a mystery to the field. In these cases, the teaching team (including co-instructor Dr. Neil Roach) tries to find datasets that are maximally relevant to the questions the students want to explore. Capellini also notes that the work in his class is demanding and hard, just by the nature of the work, but students “always step up and perform” and the teaching team does their best to “make it fun” and ensure they nurture students’ curiosities and questions.

Takeaways and best practices

Incorporate previous students’ work into the course. Capellini intentionally discusses findings from previous student groups in lectures. “They’re developing real findings and we share that when we explain the project for the next groups.” Capellini also invites students to share their own progress and findings as part of class discussion, which helps them participate as independent researchers and receive feedback from their peers.
Assign groups intentionally. Maintaining flexibility allows the teaching team to be more responsive to students’ various needs and interests. Capellini will often place graduate students by themselves to enhance their workload and give them training directly relevant to their future thesis work. Undergraduates are able to self-select into groups or can be assigned based on shared interests. “If two people are enthusiastic about examining the knee, for instance, we’ll match them together.”
Consider using multiple types of assessments. Capellini notes that exams and quizzes are administered in the first half of the course and scaffolded so that students can practice the skills they need to successfully apply course material in the final project. “Lots of the initial examples are hypothetical,” he explains, even grounded in fiction and pop culture references, “but [students] have to eventually apply the skills they learned in addressing the hypothetical example to their own real example and the data they generate” for the Evo-Devo project. This is coupled with a paper and a presentation treated like a conference talk.

Bottom line: Capellini’s top advice for professors looking to help their own students grow as researchers is to ensure research projects are designed with intentionality and fully integrated into the syllabus. “You can’t simply tack it on at the end,” he underscores. “If you want this research project to be a substantive learning opportunity, it has to happen from Day 1.” That includes carving out time in class for students to work on it and make the connections they need to conduct research. “Listen to your students and learn about them personally” so you can tap into what they’re excited about. Have some fun in the course, and they’ll be motivated to do the work.

What Are Research Skills, and How You Can Improve Them

Posted on March 9, 2022

Original research is an arduous task, no matter how you slice it. Conducting extensive research and collecting relevant information for an original idea is complicated. It involves much more than just reading several recently published papers.

Good research will help you develop a data collection that provides accurate and relevant information to your topic. So, is research a skill that you can develop and improve? What are research skills?

Research skills are the abilities and techniques needed to conduct research. This includes finding and assessing information and properly citing all research. Research skills are fundamental to academic success, and the more you practice, the better you will become.

Research Skills vs. Research Methods

Some people use the terms research skills and research methods interchangeably. Although they relate closely, they are different.

Research skills are a part of the process, but they also take a lot of time to master. Research methods are what you use during the research stages.

For example, one research method may be a literature review. Research skills would involve learning how to conduct the best possible literature review.

You can practice research skills and improve your speed, accuracy, and reliability. Critical thinking, project management, effective note-taking, and time management are great examples of research skills.

How To Improve Your Research Skills

Conducting high-quality research requires mastering several skills. Some of the best skills for good academic research come with practice and experience. You can improve your research skills by using outlines, sources and practicing.

Use Outlines to Your Advantage

An outline is a great way to keep yourself organized and on topic. By paying close attention to the outline you craft, you set yourself up to conduct good research that lends itself to a well-written paper. After all, an outline makes it easier to write your first draft, and a structured approach will improve your writing.

Before you even begin your research, outline what you need to do to complete your paper on time. Start with an introduction, add your first point and then supporting evidence, a second point with its supporting evidence, and then a third, fourth, or fifth, depending on how in-depth your paper will be. The last step will be your conclusion or a summary of your content.

Often outlining will give you ideas for research methods that you may not have considered before. Data collection can be challenging, but devising an outline can make the process much easier.

Because an outline allows you to think about all the topics you need to cover in your paper, you’ll be better prepared when you begin researching.

Dig Into Your Sources

It’s daunting to determine relevant information, especially if it’s a topic that you’re not knowledgeable about. It’s important to know when your sources are reliable for academic research . It’s also imperative to use different sources when finding relevant information, or you may display a bias. This also helps you avoid plagiarism by relying on multiple points of reference.

For example, you should know that an article published in a peer-reviewed journal will be more reliable than an article found on Wikipedia. Wikipedia, though often sourced, is open to be edited by anyone. The sources supplied themselves are not always credible, as the organization largely relies on unpaid editors to donate time to review articles.

A peer-reviewed journal will be fact-checked multiple times, demonstrate a history of credibility, and use reputable sources to support any arguments or claims.

Your sources should also answer the question that you are trying to ask. You should perform a light critical analysis of your source materials to determine their value. This requires investigative thinking and research itself. You need to discover:

Who wrote the source?
What was their agenda?
Who sponsored the publication, if anyone?
What was the agenda of the publisher?
Does the publisher have a notable bias?
Does the author have a notable bias?
What year was the material published, and has it become outdated?

Try Advanced Search Techniques

Google and other search engines aren’t the only way to find information for your research paper. Library resources offer a wealth of services and tools, such as full-text journals and databases. Your local university library is another excellent place to start.

Often, librarians will be able to assist you with your research and can help you utilize advanced research methods you may not have thought of. They can direct you to the correct database and demonstrate how to best use it to find information about your subject. They may know of specific journals or other literature that could be a good starting point to get your footing.

During your research process, seek a different point of view and new ways to find reliable sources for your paper. When you rely on a single viewpoint or only one credible source, you not only develop a bias by showing just one side of your topic, but you run the risk of plagiarism. Where will your source’s argument end and yours begin? It may appear that you’re simply copying someone else’s hard work.

Practice Makes Perfect

Research isn’t a skill that people learn overnight. But you’d be surprised how fast these skills develop every time you conduct research. Once you get used to collecting data from reliable sources, you can become a master at it by learning from your own research paper mistakes.

One of the most overlooked aspects of research is a person’s time management skills. Those who wait until the last minute to start research run the risk of not finding adequate sources and producing a sub-par product. By giving yourself extra time, especially as you develop your research skills, you allow yourself to thoroughly investigate your sources, find appropriate support for your arguments, and develop a conclusion based on research, rather than trying to scramble to find research to support a specific conclusion.

6 Steps for Conducting Research

Conducting research isn’t easy, and many people find it frustrating. It can be like solving a puzzle to uncover the best information about the topic you’re researching. Here are 5 steps to help with your research strategy.

Clearly define your research question. Precisely formulate your question so you know exactly which information sources are relevant to your research. This will save you lots of time.
Draft a solid outline. Put your research question at the top of the document, then write out each of your supporting points or arguments. Include a few thoughts that go with each of those points.
Determine the research methods you’ll use. Depending on the type of research paper you’re writing, you may need primary or secondary research. Your research will likely be either qualitative, quantitative, descriptive, or experimental.
Find data from reliable sources. Make sure your resources are reliable by looking for things like the date of publication, author credentials, and publisher.
Focus on your note-taking. Take detailed notes in whatever format you’re most comfortable with, whether that’s on your computer, tablet, or by hand in your notebook or on index cards.
Draft your research paper. Combine your notes with a solid outline, and put it all together. Don’t forget to cite all of your sources . Give your paper a final review, then you’re done!

Final Thoughts

Conducting research can be a frustrating assignment. Here is the good news: the above steps and tools will make research report writing more effective.

By clearly defining your research question, determining the type of research methods you’ll use, and finding data from reliable sources, you’ll be on your way to conducting successful research.

Your last steps should be using a plagiarism detector and a citation generator, to double-check your work. Quetext is an online plagiarism checker with a built citation generator, so you can easily cite everything that you read.

Sign Up for Quetext Today!

Click below to find a pricing plan that fits your needs.

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Introduction to research skills: Home

Learning from lectures
Managing your time
Effective reading
Evaluating Information
Critical thinking
Presentation skills
Studying online
Writing home
Maths and Statistics Support
Problem solving
Maths skills by discipline
Introduction to research skills
Primary research
Research methods
Managing data
Research ethics
Citing and referencing
Searching the literature
What is academic integrity?
Referencing software
Integrity Officer/Panel
Intellectual property and copyright
Digital skills home

Research skills allow you to find information and use it effectively. It includes creating a strategy to gather facts and reach conclusions so that you can answer a question.

Starting your research

think about your topic – don’t be too vague or too specific (try mind mapping or keyword searching).

read broadly around your subject (don’t just use Google and Wikipedia). Think about a research question that is clearly structured and builds on literature already produced.

find information using the subject databases. View the Database Orientation Program to learn about databases and using search strategies to refine your search and limit results. View our library tutorial on planning your literature search and look at our library subject guides for resources on your specific topic.

Another good starting point for finding information is our library catalogue Library Search which allows you to search across the library's electronic resources as well as major subject databases and indexes.

carry out a literature review . You may want to include journals, books, websites, grey literature or data and statistics for example. See the list of sources below for more information. Keep a record and organise your references and sources. If you are intending to carry out a systematic review then take a look at the systematic review page on our Research Support library guide.

evaluate your resources – use the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose - watch the video, top right).

reach considered conclusions and make recommendations where necessary.

Your research journey.

Why do I need research skills?

they enable you to locate appropriate information and evaluate it for quality and relevance

they allow you to make good use of information to resolve a problem

they give you the ability to synthesize and communicate your ideas in written and spoken formats

they foster critical thinking

they are highly transferable and can be adapted to many settings including the workplace

You can access more in depth information on areas such as primary research, literature reviews, research methods, and managing data, from the drop down headings under Research Skills on the Academic Skills home page. The related resources in the right-hand column of this page also contain useful supporting information.

Conference proceedings
Data & statistics
Grey literature
Official publications

Books are good for exploring new subject areas. They help define a topic and provide an in-depth account of a subject.

Scholarly books contain authoritative information including comprehensive accounts of research or scholarship and experts' views on themes and topics. Their bibliographies can lead readers to related books, articles and other sources.

Details on the electronic books held by the University of Southampton can be found using the library catalogue .

Journals are quicker to publish than books and are often a good source of current information. They are useful when you require information to support an argument or original research written by subject experts. The bibliographies at the end of journal articles should point you to other relevant research.

Academic journals go through a "peer-review" process. A peer-reviewed journal is one whose articles are checked by experts, so you can be more confident that the information they contain is reliable.

The Library's discovery service Library Search is a good place to start when searching for journal articles and enables access to anything that is available electronically.

Newspapers enable you to follow current and historical events from multiple perspectives. They are an excellent record of political, social, cultural, and economic events and history.

Newspapers are popular rather than scholarly publications and their content needs to be treated with caution. For example, an account of a particular topic can be biased in favour of that newspaper’s political affiliation or point of view. Always double-check the data/statistics or any other piece of information that a newspaper has used to support an argument before you quote it in your own work.

The library subscribes to various resources which provide full-text access to both current and historical newspapers. Find out more about these on the Library's Newspaper Resources page.

Websites provide information about every topic imaginable, and many will be relevant to your studies.

Use websites with caution as anyone can publish on the Internet and therefore the quality of the information provided is variable. When you’re researching and come across a website you think might be useful, consider whether or not it provides information that is reliable and authoritative enough to use in your work.

Proceedings are collections of papers presented by researchers at academic conferences or symposia. They may be printed volumes or in electronic format.

You can use the information in conference proceedings with a high degree of confidence as the quality is ensured by having external experts read & review the papers before they are accepted in the proceedings.

Find the data and statistics you need, from economics to health, environment to oceanography - and everywhere between - http://library.soton.ac.uk/data .

Grey literature is the term given to non-traditional publications (material not published by mainstream publishers). For example - leaflets, reports, conference proceedings, government documents, preprints, theses, clinical trials, blogs, tweets, etc..

The majority of Grey literature is generally not peer-reviewed so it is very important to critically appraise any grey literature before using it.

Most aspects of life are touched by national governments, or by inter-governmental bodies such as the European Union or the United Nations. Official publications are the documentary evidence of that interest.

Our main printed collections and online services are for British and EU official publications, but we can give advice on accessing official publications from other places and organisations. Find out more from our web pages http://library.soton.ac.uk/officialpublications .

Patents protect inventions - the owner can stop other people making, using or selling the item without their permission. This applies for a limited period and a separate application is needed for each country.

Patents can be useful since they contain full technical details on how an invention works. If you use an active patent outside of research - permission or a license is probably needed.

Related resources:

Checking for CRAAP - UMW New Media Archive

How to Develop a STRONG Research Question - Scribbr

Guide to dissertation and project writing - by University of Southampton (Enabling Services)

Guide to writing your dissertation - by the Royal Literary Fund

Guidance on the Conduct of Narrative Synthesis in Systematic Reviews - by ESRC Methods Programme

Guidelines for preparing a Research Proposal - by University of Southampton

Choosing good keywords - by the Open University

Developing a Research or Guided Question - a self-guided tutorial produced by Arizona State University

Evaluating information - a 7 minute tutorial from the University of Southampton which covers thinking critically, and understanding how to find quality and reliable information.

Hints on conducting a literature review - by the University of Toronto

Planning your literature search - a short tutorial by the University of Southampton

Using Overleaf for scientific writing and publishing - a popular LaTeX/Rich Text based online collaborative tool for students and researchers alike. It is designed to make the process of writing, editing, and producing scientific papers quicker and easier for authors.

Systematic reviews - by the University of Southampton.

Create your own research proposal - by the University of Southampton

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2024 3:14 PM
URL: https://library.soton.ac.uk/sash/introduction-to-research-skills

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

The Best Research Skills For Success

Updated: December 8, 2023

Published: January 5, 2020

Every student is required to conduct research in their academic careers at one point or another. A good research paper not only requires a great deal of time, but it also requires complex skills. Research skills include the ability to organize, evaluate, locate, and extract relevant information.

Let’s learn how to develop great research skills for academic success.

What is Research?

We’ve all surely heard the term “research” endlessly. But do you really know what it means?

Research is a type of study that focuses on a specific problem and aims to solve it using scientific methods. Research is a highly systematic process that involves both describing, explaining, and predicting something.

A college student exploring research topics for his science class.

Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels

What are research skills.

Research skills are what helps us answer our most burning questions, and they are what assist us in our solving process from A to Z, including searching, finding, collecting, breaking down, and evaluating the relevant information to the phenomenon at hand.

Research is the basis of everything we know — and without it, we’re not sure where we would be today! For starters, without the internet and without cars, that’s for sure.

Why are Research Skills Important?

Research skills come in handy in pretty much everything we do, and especially so when it comes to the workforce. Employers will want to hire you and compensate you better if you demonstrate a knowledge of research skills that can benefit their company.

From knowing how to write reports, how to notice competition, develop new products, identify customer needs, constantly learn new technologies, and improve the company’s productivity, there’s no doubt that research skills are of utter importance. Research also can save a company a great deal of money by first assessing whether making an investment is really worthwhile for them.

How to Get Research Skills

Now that you’re fully convinced about the importance of research skills, you’re surely going to want to know how to get them. And you’ll be delighted to hear that it’s really not so complicated! There are plenty of simple methods out there to gain research skills such as the internet as the most obvious tool.

Gaining new research skills however is not limited to just the internet. There are tons of books, such as Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, journals, articles, studies, interviews and much, much more out there that can teach you how to best conduct your research.

Utilizing Research Skills

Now that you’ve got all the tools you need to get started, let’s utilize these research skills to the fullest. These skills can be used in more ways than you know. Your research skills can be shown off either in interviews that you’re conducting or even in front of the company you’re hoping to get hired at .

It’s also useful to add your list of research skills to your resume, especially if it’s a research-based job that requires skills such as collecting data or writing research-based reports. Many jobs require critical thinking as well as planning ahead.

Career Paths that Require Research Skills

If you’re wondering which jobs actually require these research skills, they are actually needed in a variety of industries. Some examples of the types of work that require a great deal of research skills include any position related to marketing, science , history, report writing, and even the food industry.

A high school student at her local library looking for reliable sources through books.

Photo by Abby Chung from Pexels

How students can improve research skills.

Perhaps you know what you have to do, but sometimes, knowing how to do it can be more of a challenge. So how can you as a student improve your research skills ?

1. Define your research according to the assignment

By defining your research and understanding how it relates to the specific field of study, it can give more context to the situation.

2. Break down the assignment

The most difficult part of the research process is actually just getting started. By breaking down your research into realistic and achievable parts, it can help you achieve your goals and stay systematic.

3. Evaluate your sources

While there are endless sources out there, it’s important to always evaluate your sources and make sure that they are reliable, based on a variety of factors such as their accuracy and if they are biased, especially if used for research purposes.

4. Avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is a major issue when it comes to research, and is often misunderstood by students. IAs a student, it’s important that you understand what plagiarism really means, and if you are unclear, be sure to ask your teachers.

5. Consult and collaborate with a librarian

A librarian is always a good person to have around, especially when it comes to research. Most students don’t seek help from their school librarian, however, this person tends to be someone with a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to research skills and where to look for reliable sources.

6. Use library databases

There are tons of online library resources that don’t require approaching anyone. These databases are generally loaded with useful information that has something for every student’s specific needs.

7. Practice effective reading

It’s highly beneficial to practice effective reading, and there are no shortage of ways to do it. One effective way to improve your research skills it to ask yourself questions using a variety of perspectives, putting yourself in the mind of someone else and trying to see things from their point of view.

There are many critical reading strategies that can be useful, such as making summaries from annotations, and highlighting important passages.

Thesis definition

A thesis is a specific theory or statement that is to be either proved or maintained. Generally, the intentions of a thesis are stated, and then throughout, the conclusions are proven to the reader through research. A thesis is crucial for research because it is the basis of what we are trying to prove, and what guides us through our writing.

What Skills Do You Need To Be A Researcher?

One of the most important skills needed for research is independence, meaning that you are capable of managing your own work and time without someone looking over you.

Critical thinking, problem solving, taking initiative, and overall knowing how to work professionally in front of your peers are all crucial for effectively conducting research .

1. Fact check your sources

Knowing how to evaluate information in your sources and determine whether or not it’s accurate, valid or appropriate for the specific purpose is a first on the list of research skills.

2. Ask the right questions

Having the ability to ask the right questions will get you better search results and more specific answers to narrow down your research and make it more concise.

3. Dig deeper: Analyzing

Don’t just go for the first source you find that seems reliable. Always dig further to broaden your knowledge and make sure your research is as thorough as possible.

4. Give credit

Respect the rights of others and avoid plagiarizing by always properly citing your research sources.

5. Utilize tools

There are endless tools out there, such as useful websites, books, online videos, and even on-campus professionals such as librarians that can help. Use all the many social media networks out there to both gain and share more information for your research.

6. Summarizing

Summarizing plays a huge role in research, and once the data is collected, relevant information needs to be arranged accordingly. Otherwise it can be incredibly overwhelming.

7. Categorizing

Not only does information need to be summarized, but also arranged into categories that can help us organize our thoughts and break down our materials and sources of information.

This person is using a magnifying glass to look at objects in order to collect data for her research.

Photo by Noelle Otto from Pexels

What are different types of research, 1. qualitative.

This type of research is exploratory research and its aim is to obtain a better understanding of reasons for things. Qualitative research helps form an idea without any specific fixed pattern. Some examples include face-to-face interviews or group discussions.

2. Quantitative

Quantitative research is based on numbers and statistics. This type of research uses data to prove facts, and is generally taken from a large group of people.

3. Analytical

Analytical research has to always be done from a neutral point of view, and the researcher is intended to break down all perspectives. This type of research involves collecting information from a wide variety of sources.

4. Persuasive

Persuasive research describes an issue from two different perspectives, going through both the pros and cons of both, and then aims to prove their preference towards one side by exploring a variety of logical facts.

5. Cause & Effect

In this type of research, the cause and effects are first presented, and then a conclusion is made. Cause and effect research is for those who are new in the field of research and is mostly conducted by high school or college students.

6. Experimental Research

Experimental research involves very specific steps that must be followed, starting by conducting an experiment. It is then followed by sharing an experience and providing data about it. This research is concluded with data in a highly detailed manner.

7. Survey Research

Survey research includes conducting a survey by asking participants specific questions, and then analyzing those findings. From that, researchers can then draw a conclusion.

8. Problem-Solution Research

Both students and scholars alike carry out this type of research, and it involves solving problems by analyzing the situation and finding the perfect solution to it.

What it Takes to Become a Researcher

Critical thinking

Research is most valuable when something new is put on the table. Critical thinking is needed to bring something unique to our knowledge and conduct research successfully.

Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is one of the most important research skills and requires a great deal of practice. Such a skill can assist researchers in taking apart and understanding a large amount of important information in a short amount of time.

Explanation skills

When it comes to research skills, it’s not just about finding information, but also about how you explain it. It’s more than just writing it out, but rather, knowing how to clearly and concisely explain your new ideas.

Patience is key

Just like with anything in life, patience will always take you far. It might be difficult to come by, but by not rushing things and investing the time needed to conduct research properly, your work is bound for success.

Time management

Time is the most important asset that we have, and it can never be returned back to us. By learning time management skills , we can utilize our time in the best way possible and make sure to always be productive in our research.

What You Need to Sharpen Your Research Skills

Research is one of the most important tasks that students are given in college, and in many cases, it’s almost half of the academic grade that one is given.

As we’ve seen, there are plenty of things that you’ll need to sharpen your research skills — which mainly include knowing how to choose reliable and relevant sources, and knowing how to take them and make it your own. It’s important to always ask the right questions and dig deeper to make sure that you understood the full picture.

Marketing91

What are Research Skills? And Why are they Important?

June 12, 2023 | By Hitesh Bhasin | Filed Under: Marketing

Research skills are essential to many employers since they help the organisation to develop new products and services, identify the wants and needs of the customer and improve in what they do to keep up with the competition in the industry and the market . Having research skills is an important trait which you can highlight to your employers and also help you in your career path .

Definition: it is the ability to find a solution and answer to a question. It includes the ability to collect relevant information regarding the topic, review on that information and interpret after analysing the information.

Research skills are essential which every candidate should possess while applying for jobs. Research skills are useful even in non-research areas, and such candidates are valued in almost every company or every sector. Having these skills will make your research process smoother, and you will be able to complete your research earlier than time.

Before you work on your research skills, you must have good knowledge about the research and the field in which you are doing the research. Technical expertise, along with research skills, will make it a success since one without another is incomplete.

Table of Contents

Importance of Research Skills

Research skills are loved by employers all around. This is because research is a vital part of the business and it helps the companies in many functions such as report writing , developing new products, keeping track of competitors, identifying the needs of the customer, keeping up with ever-changing technologies and improvements in the market, etc

Research skills also show companies that you will be able to suggest new ideas and assist the research and development team of the business in adapting to their changing world and dynamic market. Research helps to save money.

Launching a new product can be very expensive for a company and not to mention very risky also. The research will help the companies to predict if any customer will buy the product. It helps to predict the viability of the product in the market.

Research helps to minimise the risk, which companies take while launching the product. Also, research helps to analyse the competitor activities and determine the right course of action to get a competitive edge in the market and in turn, better business by increasing the number of customers.

Top research skills

Research skills often vary like research. For example, research which involves collecting primary information by the method of surveys then you have the expertise to form questionnaire , or if the research suggests data mining , then those are the skills that you should have.

However, following are few research skills which are common to every stream or industry or any research topic:

1. Searching information

Every researcher has to search for information from many sources. They may be primary sources or secondary sources. The researcher has to analyse the available information and the gathered information and then use it in his research.

This information is also analysed to solve the research. The researcher has to have the skill of searching for information and digging out the necessary part of that search for his research. Internet research skills are especially valued everywhere.

The Internet consists of a lot of data and information. Some information is accurate while some of it is false. The researcher needs to have the skills to distinguish correct details from the falsified information.

The reliable information will have links and sources from which the information is received, while the information which is not credible will be without bibliography or references.

2. Attention

The researcher should have the skill to pay close attention to details. It is a crucial skill not only for research but also for all the tasks at work. You may have chalked responsibilities like specifying procedures and policies and implementing them which are given by the company.

This means that you have to understand the details yourself first, and then you can ensure that others implement it.

Identifying the needs of the customer, knowing exactly what will be the limitations of your research, what are the alternative ways that you can find information which has not been tried, are few of the things which require extreme care and attention to specifics.

You will encounter a lot of information while conducting your research. For example, if you’re collecting primary data , then there may be a lot of information which is coming to you which you may not have asked for, but you think you might require it at some point in the research. You must have the skills and ability to make notes of all such information.

This information may or may not be used for your research, but you must collect it and store it safely.

The information should also be accessible to you, and the note should be clear and legible so that even if you look at it after many weeks, months or years, not only you but anyone who reads it should understand. Note-taking is a valuable skill to have in research as well as in non-research jobs.

4. Time Management

Time management is the skills in which you break down the entire project into small manageable parts. You have to approach the project with the deadline so that you complete the project before the stipulated time. Similarly, shorter deadlines should be applied to small sections which you have broken down and complete them accordingly. Time management also involves setting objectives, planning for it, organising and completing the task. The better you are at the time management, the better your research will be.

Apart from research skills time management is a valued skill for every employer

5. Problem-solving skills

The ability to manage stressful situations and overcome complex challenges in business is called problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills are essential in research because the research itself is a big problem which you are going to provide a solution.

You have to analyse the available information critically, understand what are the resources with you and solve the problem. You may encounter numerous problems in your research process. For some problems, you can approach your peers, research guide and industry experts. But if you continuously approach someone for your problems, then it may not go well.

Not only with your research be devalued, but even though you will be able to complete the research, you may never have the complete knowledge of it. This is why problem-solving skills is an essential skill to have.

6. Communicating results

When you understand a result correctly then only you can communicate it properly. You have to present the information in a way that others can understand and comprehend your solution.

Communication involves verbal as well as non- verbal communication . Non-verbal communication is more important, but in the case of a research presentation, both verbal and non-verbal skills are necessary equally.

You have to develop active listening , excellent observation skills and fluent and natural speaking skills , which are a part of communication skills .

Excellent communication skills are something that employers are always looking out for, And it will help to boost your career since they are equally valued in non-research areas of the job as well.

Improving research skills

Following are the tips which you can use to improve your research skills.

1. Define the research properly

Defining the research properly as it relates to the area or assignment gives the research students the context which this act and the context that they require. More than 50% of students say that class discussions about conducting research are helpful for them.

You must define your research correctly and in sync with your division or speciality.

Well defined research is half work done if you are not aware of the research or its steps or you are partly knowledgeable about it so that you must ask your faculty or your research guide about the details of your research process.

2. Break down the research into smaller parts

Handling the entire research process at once, is a cumbersome thing. Especially for someone who is doing their first research. It is efficient to break down the research into manageable parts.

You can first work on the proposal of the topic then you can start on secondary research . Once you have a comparative framework of your research, then you can proceed with primary research , analysis of primary research and preparation of the report.

Instead of preparing the final report directly, work on making a draft which can be edited easily. Get the draft checked and evaluated from various research guides and use their inputs to improve your research.

3. Avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is something that should be avoided. Best research reports have no plagiarism. This not only deteriorates the quality of the research but also reduces your value as a researcher. Plagiarised research is worse than having no research.

A small percentage of plagiarism is acceptable such as 2 – 5% but beyond that deteriorates the research. Find authentic first-hand information which will reduce your plagiarism and try to search on new perspective rather than copying second-hand information.

There are many software available these days which check for plagiarism in seconds and can direct you to the source from which the information is taken.

4. Research evaluation

Be accurate about how the research will be evaluated. If you have access to, then study the sample research and see how they were evaluated, what went wrong, what was right.

It is difficult for research students to define the expectations of their professors and evaluators. This is why they must work on the evaluation procedures before submitting the work and avoid the mistakes that can be avoided.

5. Consultant a librarian

Very few researchers think of consulting a librarian when doing their research. A lot of students said that they do not seek help with the librarian with the research related to the course. This is why many of the researchers end up getting frustrated or not finding the required resources for their study.

Finding through library database is a humongous task in itself. They need the help of a librarian who is expert in navigating through the library and in planning your research strategy .

They can locate any available book in the library within seconds or minutes, and on the contrary, a student who is not aware of navigating through the library will take hours on end to get the book. There are many online services available for the library in which the students can use to improve their research.

Liked this post? Check out the complete series on Market research

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What is the Importance of Marketing Mix and why are the 4 P’s important?
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What is Brand Activation & Why is it Important?
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Importance of Retailing – Why Retail is Important?
Brand Strategy – Steps, Components and Why it is Important for Business
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11 Reasons Why Importance of Research Advice for Business

About Hitesh Bhasin

Hitesh Bhasin is the CEO of Marketing91 and has over a decade of experience in the marketing field. He is an accomplished author of thousands of insightful articles, including in-depth analyses of brands and companies. Holding an MBA in Marketing, Hitesh manages several offline ventures, where he applies all the concepts of Marketing that he writes about.

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11.1 The Purpose of Research Writing

Learning objectives.

Identify reasons to research writing projects.
Outline the steps of the research writing process.

Why was the Great Wall of China built? What have scientists learned about the possibility of life on Mars? What roles did women play in the American Revolution? How does the human brain create, store, and retrieve memories? Who invented the game of football, and how has it changed over the years?

You may know the answers to these questions off the top of your head. If you are like most people, however, you find answers to tough questions like these by searching the Internet, visiting the library, or asking others for information. To put it simply, you perform research.

Whether you are a scientist, an artist, a paralegal, or a parent, you probably perform research in your everyday life. When your boss, your instructor, or a family member asks you a question that you do not know the answer to, you locate relevant information, analyze your findings, and share your results. Locating, analyzing, and sharing information are key steps in the research process, and in this chapter, you will learn more about each step. By developing your research writing skills, you will prepare yourself to answer any question no matter how challenging.

Reasons for Research

When you perform research, you are essentially trying to solve a mystery—you want to know how something works or why something happened. In other words, you want to answer a question that you (and other people) have about the world. This is one of the most basic reasons for performing research.

But the research process does not end when you have solved your mystery. Imagine what would happen if a detective collected enough evidence to solve a criminal case, but she never shared her solution with the authorities. Presenting what you have learned from research can be just as important as performing the research. Research results can be presented in a variety of ways, but one of the most popular—and effective—presentation forms is the research paper . A research paper presents an original thesis, or purpose statement, about a topic and develops that thesis with information gathered from a variety of sources.

If you are curious about the possibility of life on Mars, for example, you might choose to research the topic. What will you do, though, when your research is complete? You will need a way to put your thoughts together in a logical, coherent manner. You may want to use the facts you have learned to create a narrative or to support an argument. And you may want to show the results of your research to your friends, your teachers, or even the editors of magazines and journals. Writing a research paper is an ideal way to organize thoughts, craft narratives or make arguments based on research, and share your newfound knowledge with the world.

Write a paragraph about a time when you used research in your everyday life. Did you look for the cheapest way to travel from Houston to Denver? Did you search for a way to remove gum from the bottom of your shoe? In your paragraph, explain what you wanted to research, how you performed the research, and what you learned as a result.

Research Writing and the Academic Paper

No matter what field of study you are interested in, you will most likely be asked to write a research paper during your academic career. For example, a student in an art history course might write a research paper about an artist’s work. Similarly, a student in a psychology course might write a research paper about current findings in childhood development.

Having to write a research paper may feel intimidating at first. After all, researching and writing a long paper requires a lot of time, effort, and organization. However, writing a research paper can also be a great opportunity to explore a topic that is particularly interesting to you. The research process allows you to gain expertise on a topic of your choice, and the writing process helps you remember what you have learned and understand it on a deeper level.

Research Writing at Work

Knowing how to write a good research paper is a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your career. Whether you are developing a new product, studying the best way to perform a procedure, or learning about challenges and opportunities in your field of employment, you will use research techniques to guide your exploration. You may even need to create a written report of your findings. And because effective communication is essential to any company, employers seek to hire people who can write clearly and professionally.

Writing at Work

Take a few minutes to think about each of the following careers. How might each of these professionals use researching and research writing skills on the job?

Medical laboratory technician
Small business owner
Information technology professional
Freelance magazine writer

A medical laboratory technician or information technology professional might do research to learn about the latest technological developments in either of these fields. A small business owner might conduct research to learn about the latest trends in his or her industry. A freelance magazine writer may need to research a given topic to write an informed, up-to-date article.

Think about the job of your dreams. How might you use research writing skills to perform that job? Create a list of ways in which strong researching, organizing, writing, and critical thinking skills could help you succeed at your dream job. How might these skills help you obtain that job?

Steps of the Research Writing Process

How does a research paper grow from a folder of brainstormed notes to a polished final draft? No two projects are identical, but most projects follow a series of six basic steps.

These are the steps in the research writing process:

Choose a topic.
Plan and schedule time to research and write.
Conduct research.
Organize research and ideas.
Draft your paper.
Revise and edit your paper.

Each of these steps will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter. For now, though, we will take a brief look at what each step involves.

Step 1: Choosing a Topic

As you may recall from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , to narrow the focus of your topic, you may try freewriting exercises, such as brainstorming. You may also need to ask a specific research question —a broad, open-ended question that will guide your research—as well as propose a possible answer, or a working thesis . You may use your research question and your working thesis to create a research proposal . In a research proposal, you present your main research question, any related subquestions you plan to explore, and your working thesis.

Step 2: Planning and Scheduling

Before you start researching your topic, take time to plan your researching and writing schedule. Research projects can take days, weeks, or even months to complete. Creating a schedule is a good way to ensure that you do not end up being overwhelmed by all the work you have to do as the deadline approaches.

During this step of the process, it is also a good idea to plan the resources and organizational tools you will use to keep yourself on track throughout the project. Flowcharts, calendars, and checklists can all help you stick to your schedule. See Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , Section 11.2 “Steps in Developing a Research Proposal” for an example of a research schedule.

Step 3: Conducting Research

When going about your research, you will likely use a variety of sources—anything from books and periodicals to video presentations and in-person interviews.

Your sources will include both primary sources and secondary sources . Primary sources provide firsthand information or raw data. For example, surveys, in-person interviews, and historical documents are primary sources. Secondary sources, such as biographies, literary reviews, or magazine articles, include some analysis or interpretation of the information presented. As you conduct research, you will take detailed, careful notes about your discoveries. You will also evaluate the reliability of each source you find.

Step 4: Organizing Research and the Writer’s Ideas

When your research is complete, you will organize your findings and decide which sources to cite in your paper. You will also have an opportunity to evaluate the evidence you have collected and determine whether it supports your thesis, or the focus of your paper. You may decide to adjust your thesis or conduct additional research to ensure that your thesis is well supported.

Remember, your working thesis is not set in stone. You can and should change your working thesis throughout the research writing process if the evidence you find does not support your original thesis. Never try to force evidence to fit your argument. For example, your working thesis is “Mars cannot support life-forms.” Yet, a week into researching your topic, you find an article in the New York Times detailing new findings of bacteria under the Martian surface. Instead of trying to argue that bacteria are not life forms, you might instead alter your thesis to “Mars cannot support complex life-forms.”

Step 5: Drafting Your Paper

Now you are ready to combine your research findings with your critical analysis of the results in a rough draft. You will incorporate source materials into your paper and discuss each source thoughtfully in relation to your thesis or purpose statement.

When you cite your reference sources, it is important to pay close attention to standard conventions for citing sources in order to avoid plagiarism , or the practice of using someone else’s words without acknowledging the source. Later in this chapter, you will learn how to incorporate sources in your paper and avoid some of the most common pitfalls of attributing information.

Step 6: Revising and Editing Your Paper

In the final step of the research writing process, you will revise and polish your paper. You might reorganize your paper’s structure or revise for unity and cohesion, ensuring that each element in your paper flows into the next logically and naturally. You will also make sure that your paper uses an appropriate and consistent tone.

Once you feel confident in the strength of your writing, you will edit your paper for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and formatting. When you complete this final step, you will have transformed a simple idea or question into a thoroughly researched and well-written paper you can be proud of!

Review the steps of the research writing process. Then answer the questions on your own sheet of paper.

In which steps of the research writing process are you allowed to change your thesis?
In step 2, which types of information should you include in your project schedule?
What might happen if you eliminated step 4 from the research writing process?

Key Takeaways

People undertake research projects throughout their academic and professional careers in order to answer specific questions, share their findings with others, increase their understanding of challenging topics, and strengthen their researching, writing, and analytical skills.
The research writing process generally comprises six steps: choosing a topic, scheduling and planning time for research and writing, conducting research, organizing research and ideas, drafting a paper, and revising and editing the paper.

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The Importance of Research—A Student Perspective

Rachel arena.

grid.252546.20000000122978753Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Magnolia Street and Duncan Drive and West Thatch Ave, Auburn, AL 36849 USA

Sheridan Chambers

Angelyn rhames, katherine donahoe.

As students, we will focus on the importance of an objective ranking system, research, and mentorship to an applicant. We will address points raised in the (Behavior Analysis In Practice 8(1):7–15, 2015) article as well as debate the usefulness of proposed standards of objective ranking.

A Student’s Perspective on Research

A little more than a year ago each of us was madly scrambling to negotiate the process of graduate program admissions. Like many people who go to graduate school, each of us had some history of viewing academic efforts through the lens of “too much is never enough,” and we applied our obsessive habits to the challenge of gathering information about graduate programs. We pored over Web sites and printed brochures. We stalked program faculty at conferences, via email and phone, and during campus visits. We talked to trusted mentors about the programs they respected. When in professional settings, we tried to find out where people who impressed us had attended graduate school, and we sometimes eavesdropped on strangers’ conversations for potentially valuable tidbits about the graduate programs they were considering.

Based on this chaotic and exhausting experience, we agree with Dixon et al. ( 2015 ) that consumers in our field need standardized information about the relative merits of graduate programs in applied behavior analysis (ABA). When we began the process of screening graduate programs, we knew that we were uninformed but we were less sure about what we needed to learn to become better consumers. We suspect that, like us, most college seniors find it difficult to know what aspects of a graduate program are crucial to the training of highly qualified ABA practitioners. To us, the most important contribution of Dixon et al. ( 2015 ) was to emphasize that our field should not abandon students to an uncertain process of self-education.

We agree with Dixon et al. ( 2015 ) that our field is better equipped than outside bodies (e.g., U.S. News & World Report ) to determine what constitutes top-quality graduate training. We were aware that the Behavior Analysis Certification Board publishes the rates at which graduates of various programs pass its certification exam, and we considered this information during our respective searches. Even as undergraduates, however, we knew that there is more to being a capable practitioner than simply passing the certification exam, and we would have appreciated much more guidance from our field than we received.

In the absence of standardized, objective information about graduate programs, prospective graduate students have to rely heavily on hearsay. As we gathered information on program reputations from mentors and colleagues, it occurred to us that this information sometimes says as much about the person providing it as about graduate programs themselves. We learned that some people are impressed by graduate programs that have a reputation for highly selective admissions, but we were not sure how or whether this predicted the quality of training that we could hope to receive. We learned that certain mentors thought highly of certain programs, but different people thought highly of different programs, and it was not always obvious how these opinions related to specific features of the training offered by the programs. We weren’t always sure whether the opinions were generic or had been offered with our individual needs and interests in mind.

Among the features of graduate programs that interested us was the type and degree of emphasis on research. Here, a few words of explanation will provide context for our perspective. As undergraduates, we learned to value evidence-based practices, data-based case management, and the science-based critical thinking that should guide clinical case management. But each of us decided to seek graduate training not just to apply current best practices; we also wanted to contribute to clinical innovation (e.g., Critchfield 2015 ). For various reasons, none of us wished to conduct research for a living, and we chose our program at Auburn University in part because its accelerated, 12-month, non-thesis curriculum would get us swiftly into the workplace where we knew, from past field experiences, our main reinforcers are to be found. Still, program research emphasis was important to us.

Unfortunately, far too much time and effort was required for us to understand that different programs have different types of research emphases. “Research training” comprises not a single repertoire but many. One involves conducting research. Another involves locating and consuming available research on a topic of interest. Yet, another involves translating from research findings in order to develop innovative interventions (Critchfield 2015 ; Critchfield & Reed, 2005 ). It is here that we would quibble with the position of Dixon et al. ( 2015 ), which suggests a one-size-fits-all approach to assessing the research climate at ABA graduate programs.

In order to gain insight about the research environment in graduate programs, undergraduates often compare their own research interests to those of faculty as described on program web sites and as illustrated in published articles. This comparison is most relevant to students who seek to become independent researchers. Our own goal is to become life-long consumers of research. It may not be the full-time job of Masters-level practitioners to conduct research, but in a field that is growing quickly it is pivotal that people like us not be limited to the state of our field’s knowledge at the time we take a certification exam. We need skills for tracking scholarly developments across the full breath of our careers.

We agree with Dixon et al. ( 2015 ) that it is helpful for ABA program faculty to maintain active research programs, but our concern is with what program graduates are able to do with the fruits of research, not how many articles a faculty member can publish. It has been suggested that the process of developing effective and transportable interventions from research findings requires a skill set that is independent of either conducting research or implementing existing interventions (e.g., Critchfield 2015 ; Critchfield and Reed, 2005 ). No skill set seems more relevant to our lifelong professional development.

Yes, we want to learn how to read and critically evaluate research, but we want to learn to do this from faculty who know how to translate and who care about helping us to become translators. Our ideal ABA program faculty member will have the time and inclination to focus on this. We want mentors who can conduct research, but more importantly who will discuss research with us on a regular basis and explore with us how research findings relate to the behavioral processes operating in practice settings. We want mentors whose skills and schedules allow them to provide on-site clinical supervision through which the connections between research and practice can be drawn explicitly.

While we applaud the efforts of Dixon et al. ( 2015 ) to rank ABA graduate programs in terms of program research climate, we stress that this climate has multiple facets. We represent a category of consumer who cares very much about our field’s research foundations, but we wish to harness rather than add to those foundations. Faculty publication counts may not be the best measure of a program’s ability to help us to this. Unfortunately, the program attributes that we particularly value are hard to quantify and thus will be difficult to incorporate into an objective system for ranking programs. Yet, if the purpose of rankings is to assist consumers (Dixon et al., 2015 ), then the needs of consumers like us should not be ignored.

Contributor Information

Rachel Arena, Email: ude.nrubua@0200azr .

Sheridan Chambers, Email: ude.nrubua@5400cms .

Angelyn Rhames, Email: ude.nrubua@7400rza .

Katherine Donahoe, Email: ude.nrubua@4200drk .

Critchfield TS. What counts as high-quality practitioner training in applied behavior analysis? Behavior Analysis In Practice. 2015; 8 (1):3–6. doi: 10.1007/s40617-015-0049-0. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Critchfield TS, Reed DD. Conduits of translation in behavior-science bridge research. In: Burgos JE, Ribes E, editors. Theory, basic and applied research, and technological applications in behavior science: Conceptual and methodological issues. Guadalajara, Mexico: University of Guadalajara Press; 2005. pp. 45–84. [ Google Scholar ]
Dixon MR, Reed DD, Smith T, Belisle J, Jackson RE. Research rankings of behavior analytic graduate training programs and their faculty. Behavior Analysis In Practice. 2015; 8 (1):7–15. doi: 10.1007/s40617-015-0057-0. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

2.1 Why Is Research Important?

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain how scientific research addresses questions about behavior
Discuss how scientific research guides public policy
Appreciate how scientific research can be important in making personal decisions

Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people’s authority, and blind luck. While many of us feel confident in our abilities to decipher and interact with the world around us, history is filled with examples of how very wrong we can be when we fail to recognize the need for evidence in supporting claims. At various times in history, we would have been certain that the sun revolved around a flat earth, that the earth’s continents did not move, and that mental illness was caused by possession ( Figure 2.2 ). It is through systematic scientific research that we divest ourselves of our preconceived notions and superstitions and gain an objective understanding of ourselves and our world.

The goal of all scientists is to better understand the world around them. Psychologists focus their attention on understanding behavior, as well as the cognitive (mental) and physiological (body) processes that underlie behavior. In contrast to other methods that people use to understand the behavior of others, such as intuition and personal experience, the hallmark of scientific research is that there is evidence to support a claim. Scientific knowledge is empirical : It is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

While behavior is observable, the mind is not. If someone is crying, we can see behavior. However, the reason for the behavior is more difficult to determine. Is the person crying due to being sad, in pain, or happy? Sometimes we can learn the reason for someone’s behavior by simply asking a question, like “Why are you crying?” However, there are situations in which an individual is either uncomfortable or unwilling to answer the question honestly, or is incapable of answering. For example, infants would not be able to explain why they are crying. In such circumstances, the psychologist must be creative in finding ways to better understand behavior. This chapter explores how scientific knowledge is generated, and how important that knowledge is in forming decisions in our personal lives and in the public domain.

Use of Research Information

Trying to determine which theories are and are not accepted by the scientific community can be difficult, especially in an area of research as broad as psychology. More than ever before, we have an incredible amount of information at our fingertips, and a simple internet search on any given research topic might result in a number of contradictory studies. In these cases, we are witnessing the scientific community going through the process of reaching a consensus, and it could be quite some time before a consensus emerges. For example, the explosion in our use of technology has led researchers to question whether this ultimately helps or hinders us. The use and implementation of technology in educational settings has become widespread over the last few decades. Researchers are coming to different conclusions regarding the use of technology. To illustrate this point, a study investigating a smartphone app targeting surgery residents (graduate students in surgery training) found that the use of this app can increase student engagement and raise test scores (Shaw & Tan, 2015). Conversely, another study found that the use of technology in undergraduate student populations had negative impacts on sleep, communication, and time management skills (Massimini & Peterson, 2009). Until sufficient amounts of research have been conducted, there will be no clear consensus on the effects that technology has on a student's acquisition of knowledge, study skills, and mental health.

In the meantime, we should strive to think critically about the information we encounter by exercising a degree of healthy skepticism. When someone makes a claim, we should examine the claim from a number of different perspectives: what is the expertise of the person making the claim, what might they gain if the claim is valid, does the claim seem justified given the evidence, and what do other researchers think of the claim? This is especially important when we consider how much information in advertising campaigns and on the internet claims to be based on “scientific evidence” when in actuality it is a belief or perspective of just a few individuals trying to sell a product or draw attention to their perspectives.

We should be informed consumers of the information made available to us because decisions based on this information have significant consequences. One such consequence can be seen in politics and public policy. Imagine that you have been elected as the governor of your state. One of your responsibilities is to manage the state budget and determine how to best spend your constituents’ tax dollars. As the new governor, you need to decide whether to continue funding early intervention programs. These programs are designed to help children who come from low-income backgrounds, have special needs, or face other disadvantages. These programs may involve providing a wide variety of services to maximize the children's development and position them for optimal levels of success in school and later in life (Blann, 2005). While such programs sound appealing, you would want to be sure that they also proved effective before investing additional money in these programs. Fortunately, psychologists and other scientists have conducted vast amounts of research on such programs and, in general, the programs are found to be effective (Neil & Christensen, 2009; Peters-Scheffer, Didden, Korzilius, & Sturmey, 2011). While not all programs are equally effective, and the short-term effects of many such programs are more pronounced, there is reason to believe that many of these programs produce long-term benefits for participants (Barnett, 2011). If you are committed to being a good steward of taxpayer money, you would want to look at research. Which programs are most effective? What characteristics of these programs make them effective? Which programs promote the best outcomes? After examining the research, you would be best equipped to make decisions about which programs to fund.

Link to Learning

Watch this video about early childhood program effectiveness to learn how scientists evaluate effectiveness and how best to invest money into programs that are most effective.

Ultimately, it is not just politicians who can benefit from using research in guiding their decisions. We all might look to research from time to time when making decisions in our lives. Imagine that your sister, Maria, expresses concern about her two-year-old child, Umberto. Umberto does not speak as much or as clearly as the other children in his daycare or others in the family. Umberto's pediatrician undertakes some screening and recommends an evaluation by a speech pathologist, but does not refer Maria to any other specialists. Maria is concerned that Umberto's speech delays are signs of a developmental disorder, but Umberto's pediatrician does not; she sees indications of differences in Umberto's jaw and facial muscles. Hearing this, you do some internet searches, but you are overwhelmed by the breadth of information and the wide array of sources. You see blog posts, top-ten lists, advertisements from healthcare providers, and recommendations from several advocacy organizations. Why are there so many sites? Which are based in research, and which are not?

In the end, research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions. Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate. In the scientific community, facts can be established only using evidence collected through empirical research.

NOTABLE RESEARCHERS

Psychological research has a long history involving important figures from diverse backgrounds. While the introductory chapter discussed several researchers who made significant contributions to the discipline, there are many more individuals who deserve attention in considering how psychology has advanced as a science through their work ( Figure 2.3 ). For instance, Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939) was the first woman to earn a PhD in psychology. Her research focused on animal behavior and cognition (Margaret Floy Washburn, PhD, n.d.). Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) was a preeminent first-generation American psychologist who opposed the behaviorist movement, conducted significant research into memory, and established one of the earliest experimental psychology labs in the United States (Mary Whiton Calkins, n.d.).

Francis Sumner (1895–1954) was the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920. His dissertation focused on issues related to psychoanalysis. Sumner also had research interests in racial bias and educational justice. Sumner was one of the founders of Howard University’s department of psychology, and because of his accomplishments, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Black Psychology.” Thirteen years later, Inez Beverly Prosser (1895–1934) became the first African American woman to receive a PhD in psychology. Prosser’s research highlighted issues related to education in segregated versus integrated schools, and ultimately, her work was very influential in the hallmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional (Ethnicity and Health in America Series: Featured Psychologists, n.d.).

Although the establishment of psychology’s scientific roots occurred first in Europe and the United States, it did not take much time until researchers from around the world began to establish their own laboratories and research programs. For example, some of the first experimental psychology laboratories in South America were founded by Horatio Piñero (1869–1919) at two institutions in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Godoy & Brussino, 2010). In India, Gunamudian David Boaz (1908–1965) and Narendra Nath Sen Gupta (1889–1944) established the first independent departments of psychology at the University of Madras and the University of Calcutta, respectively. These developments provided an opportunity for Indian researchers to make important contributions to the field (Gunamudian David Boaz, n.d.; Narendra Nath Sen Gupta, n.d.).

When the American Psychological Association (APA) was first founded in 1892, all of the members were White males (Women and Minorities in Psychology, n.d.). However, by 1905, Mary Whiton Calkins was elected as the first female president of the APA, and by 1946, nearly one-quarter of American psychologists were female. Psychology became a popular degree option for students enrolled in the nation’s historically Black higher education institutions, increasing the number of Black Americans who went on to become psychologists. Given demographic shifts occurring in the United States and increased access to higher educational opportunities among historically underrepresented populations, there is reason to hope that the diversity of the field will increasingly match the larger population, and that the research contributions made by the psychologists of the future will better serve people of all backgrounds (Women and Minorities in Psychology, n.d.).

The Process of Scientific Research

Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as the scientific method . Basically, ideas (in the form of theories and hypotheses) are tested against the real world (in the form of empirical observations), and those empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on. In this sense, the scientific process is circular. The types of reasoning within the circle are called deductive and inductive. In deductive reasoning , ideas are tested in the real world; in inductive reasoning , real-world observations lead to new ideas ( Figure 2.4 ). These processes are inseparable, like inhaling and exhaling, but different research approaches place different emphasis on the deductive and inductive aspects.

In the scientific context, deductive reasoning begins with a generalization—one hypothesis—that is then used to reach logical conclusions about the real world. If the hypothesis is correct, then the logical conclusions reached through deductive reasoning should also be correct. A deductive reasoning argument might go something like this: All living things require energy to survive (this would be your hypothesis). Ducks are living things. Therefore, ducks require energy to survive (logical conclusion). In this example, the hypothesis is correct; therefore, the conclusion is correct as well. Sometimes, however, an incorrect hypothesis may lead to a logical but incorrect conclusion. Consider this argument: all ducks are born with the ability to see. Quackers is a duck. Therefore, Quackers was born with the ability to see. Scientists use deductive reasoning to empirically test their hypotheses. Returning to the example of the ducks, researchers might design a study to test the hypothesis that if all living things require energy to survive, then ducks will be found to require energy to survive.

Deductive reasoning starts with a generalization that is tested against real-world observations; however, inductive reasoning moves in the opposite direction. Inductive reasoning uses empirical observations to construct broad generalizations. Unlike deductive reasoning, conclusions drawn from inductive reasoning may or may not be correct, regardless of the observations on which they are based. For instance, you may notice that your favorite fruits—apples, bananas, and oranges—all grow on trees; therefore, you assume that all fruit must grow on trees. This would be an example of inductive reasoning, and, clearly, the existence of strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi demonstrate that this generalization is not correct despite it being based on a number of direct observations. Scientists use inductive reasoning to formulate theories, which in turn generate hypotheses that are tested with deductive reasoning. In the end, science involves both deductive and inductive processes.

For example, case studies, which you will read about in the next section, are heavily weighted on the side of empirical observations. Thus, case studies are closely associated with inductive processes as researchers gather massive amounts of observations and seek interesting patterns (new ideas) in the data. Experimental research, on the other hand, puts great emphasis on deductive reasoning.

We’ve stated that theories and hypotheses are ideas, but what sort of ideas are they, exactly? A theory is a well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena. Theories are repeatedly checked against the world, but they tend to be too complex to be tested all at once; instead, researchers create hypotheses to test specific aspects of a theory.

A hypothesis is a testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct, and it is often worded as an if-then statement (e.g., if I study all night, I will get a passing grade on the test). The hypothesis is extremely important because it bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world. As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the result of these tests Figure 2.5 .

To see how this process works, let’s consider a specific theory and a hypothesis that might be generated from that theory. As you’ll learn in a later chapter, the James-Lange theory of emotion asserts that emotional experience relies on the physiological arousal associated with the emotional state. If you walked out of your home and discovered a very aggressive snake waiting on your doorstep, your heart would begin to race and your stomach churn. According to the James-Lange theory, these physiological changes would result in your feeling of fear. A hypothesis that could be derived from this theory might be that a person who is unaware of the physiological arousal that the sight of the snake elicits will not feel fear.

A scientific hypothesis is also falsifiable , or capable of being shown to be incorrect. Recall from the introductory chapter that Sigmund Freud had lots of interesting ideas to explain various human behaviors ( Figure 2.6 ). However, a major criticism of Freud’s theories is that many of his ideas are not falsifiable; for example, it is impossible to imagine empirical observations that would disprove the existence of the id, the ego, and the superego—the three elements of personality described in Freud’s theories. Despite this, Freud’s theories are widely taught in introductory psychology texts because of their historical significance for personality psychology and psychotherapy, and these remain the root of all modern forms of therapy.

In contrast, the James-Lange theory does generate falsifiable hypotheses, such as the one described above. Some individuals who suffer significant injuries to their spinal columns are unable to feel the bodily changes that often accompany emotional experiences. Therefore, we could test the hypothesis by determining how emotional experiences differ between individuals who have the ability to detect these changes in their physiological arousal and those who do not. In fact, this research has been conducted and while the emotional experiences of people deprived of an awareness of their physiological arousal may be less intense, they still experience emotion (Chwalisz, Diener, & Gallagher, 1988).

Scientific research’s dependence on falsifiability allows for great confidence in the information that it produces. Typically, by the time information is accepted by the scientific community, it has been tested repeatedly.

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Six Reasons Why Research is Important

Everyone conducts research in some form or another from a young age, whether news, books, or browsing the Internet. Internet users come across thoughts, ideas, or perspectives - the curiosity that drives the desire to explore. However, when research is essential to make practical decisions, the nature of the study alters - it all depends on its application and purpose. For instance, skilled research offered as a research paper service has a definite objective, and it is focused and organized. Professional research helps derive inferences and conclusions from solving problems. visit the HB tool services for the amazing research tools that will help to solve your problems regarding the research on any project.

What is the Importance of Research?

The primary goal of the research is to guide action, gather evidence for theories, and contribute to the growth of knowledge in data analysis. This article discusses the importance of research and the multiple reasons why it is beneficial to everyone, not just students and scientists.

On the other hand, research is important in business decision-making because it can assist in making better decisions when combined with their experience and intuition.

Reasons for the Importance of Research

Acquire Knowledge Effectively
Research helps in problem-solving
Provides the latest information
Builds credibility
Helps in business success
Discover and Seize opportunities

1- Acquire Knowledge Efficiently through Research

The most apparent reason to conduct research is to understand more. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about a subject, there is always more to learn. Research helps you expand on any prior knowledge you have of the subject. The research process creates new opportunities for learning and progress.

2- Research Helps in Problem-solving

Problem-solving can be divided into several components, which require knowledge and analysis, for example, identification of issues, cause identification, identifying potential solutions, decision to take action, monitoring and evaluation of activity and outcomes.

You may just require additional knowledge to formulate an informed strategy and make an informed decision. When you know you've gathered reliable data, you'll be a lot more confident in your answer.

3- Research Provides the Latest Information

Research enables you to seek out the most up-to-date facts. There is always new knowledge and discoveries in various sectors, particularly scientific ones. Staying updated keeps you from falling behind and providing inaccurate or incomplete information. You'll be better prepared to discuss a topic and build on ideas if you have the most up-to-date information. With the help of tools and certifications such as CIRS , you may learn internet research skills quickly and easily. Internet research can provide instant, global access to information.

4- Research Builds Credibility

Research provides a solid basis for formulating thoughts and views. You can speak confidently about something you know to be true. It's much more difficult for someone to find flaws in your arguments after you've finished your tasks. In your study, you should prioritize the most reputable sources. Your research should focus on the most reliable sources. You won't be credible if your "research" comprises non-experts' opinions. People are more inclined to pay attention if your research is excellent.

5- Research Helps in Business Success

R&D might also help you gain a competitive advantage. Finding ways to make things run more smoothly and differentiate a company's products from those of its competitors can help to increase a company's market worth.

6- Research Discover and Seize Opportunities

People can maximize their potential and achieve their goals through various opportunities provided by research. These include getting jobs, scholarships, educational subsidies, projects, commercial collaboration, and budgeted travel. Research is essential for anyone looking for work or a change of environment. Unemployed people will have a better chance of finding potential employers through job advertisements or agencies.

How to Improve Your Research Skills

Start with the big picture and work your way down.

It might be hard to figure out where to start when you start researching. There's nothing wrong with a simple internet search to get you started. Online resources like Google and Wikipedia are a great way to get a general idea of a subject, even though they aren't always correct. They usually give a basic overview with a short history and any important points.

Identify Reliable Source

Not every source is reliable, so it's critical that you can tell the difference between the good ones and the bad ones. To find a reliable source, use your analytical and critical thinking skills and ask yourself the following questions: Is this source consistent with other sources I've discovered? Is the author a subject matter expert? Is there a conflict of interest in the author's point of view on this topic?

Validate Information from Various Sources

Take in new information.

The purpose of research is to find answers to your questions, not back up what you already assume. Only looking for confirmation is a minimal way to research because it forces you to pick and choose what information you get and stops you from getting the most accurate picture of the subject. When you do research, keep an open mind to learn as much as possible.

Facilitates Learning Process

Learning new things and implementing them in daily life can be frustrating. Finding relevant and credible information requires specialized training and web search skills due to the sheer enormity of the Internet and the rapid growth of indexed web pages. On the other hand, short courses and Certifications like CIRS make the research process more accessible. CIRS Certification offers complete knowledge from beginner to expert level. You can become a Certified Professional Researcher and get a high-paying job, but you'll also be much more efficient and skilled at filtering out reliable data. You can learn more about becoming a Certified Professional Researcher.

Stay Organized

You'll see a lot of different material during the process of gathering data, from web pages to PDFs to videos. You must keep all of this information organized in some way so that you don't lose anything or forget to mention something properly. There are many ways to keep your research project organized, but here are a few of the most common: Learning Management Software , Bookmarks in your browser, index cards, and a bibliography that you can add to as you go are all excellent tools for writing.

Make Use of the library's Resources

If you still have questions about researching, don't worry—even if you're not a student performing academic or course-related research, there are many resources available to assist you. Many high school and university libraries, in reality, provide resources not only for staff and students but also for the general public. Look for research guidelines or access to specific databases on the library's website. Association of Internet Research Specialists enjoys sharing informational content such as research-related articles , research papers , specialized search engines list compiled from various sources, and contributions from our members and in-house experts.

of Conducting Research

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Importance of Play in Early Childhood

Explore the different definitions of play and why it is so important in this News You Can Use. This is useful information for home visitors, program staff, caregivers, and others serving infants and toddlers through Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. Play benefits every aspect of child development as infants and toddlers explore their world and their bodies, while also learning about and mastering relationships and social skills.

Introduction

Did you know that in every culture, all over the world, children play? The United Nations even considers play to be the right of every child. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a report about how important play is and lists some of the benefits of play:

Play supports healthy brain development
Play is one way infants and toddlers engage in and interact with their environment
Play allows children to safely explore their fears and practice adult roles
Play is a way that children build relationships with their peers and caregivers

Play is a pretty important part of life. We have a biological drive to play, very much like our biological need to sleep. Satisfying the need to play can be very fulfilling. Play can bring deep joy for both children and adults.

What is Play?

When you think of play, what comes to mind? For adults, it might be organized sports or a hobby. For older children, it can be a world of make believe. For toddlers and infants, it can be delighted rolling back and forth on the floor, banging objects together, pouring water, or just running around in circles.

Play is different for everyone. For example, to some, a room full of infants and toddlers is a really playful place, whereas for others, it can be pretty scary!

Play, put very simply, is an activity that is fun and engaging for the player. Play is freely chosen by the player, although play opportunities may be provided by others.

Play and Exploration

Exploration is where play begins. When infants and toddlers explore new objects they will often try to discover what each object is and what it does. For example, young infants might explore a rattle by mouthing, shaking, banging, pulling, and throwing it. Toddlers have more experience with exploring new objects. Toddlers, given an empty but closed container, might try to open, shake, turn over, look at the object, or even ask a caregiver for help.

Generally, exploration happens before play. Exploration is how we come to know an object. Once we have some understanding, then we can play with the object. Once the infant understands that shaking the rattle makes a noise, he can shake for the pure delight of shaking! The toddler who has discovered how to open and close the container can move on to playing with it by putting smaller toys inside the container and closing it up.

Often while children play, they discover something new about the object they are playing with. Maybe while shaking the rattle, the baby accidentally hits a mobile hanging over her head. Perhaps the toddler just discovered that while some toys fit into the container there are many that do not. When toddlers play, it brings them to a deeper understanding of the objects and to a place where there is more to learn.

Theories About Learning Through Play

Another very important aspect of play, especially for infants and toddlers, is that play is a way they learn about and make sense of their world. Through play children can:

Manipulate and understand the physical properties of objects
Use and hear new language
Build their relationships with caregivers and peers
Use their bodies in new ways

The idea of learning through play can make more sense by understanding some of the theories about how people learn. Theories are ideas about how things work, and there are many theories about learning. The following are theories put forth by two famous people in the world of child development. In fact, you’ve probably heard of them before. Don’t forget your own expertise, ideas, and experience. You probably have some of your own ideas about learning through play from spending time with infants and toddlers.

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) studied how people learn. He was very interested in how children use play to learn about their world. Piaget believed that children learn through actively engaging in their environment. He believed that through play, children are practicing new skills and ideas until they really understand them, or as he put it, “constructing knowledge.” Piaget believed that play is the most important way children learn.
Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) also believed that children learn through play. While Piaget focused mainly on how children manipulate objects, Vygotsky felt that the adults who supported play were just as important. Vygotsky thought that while young children could learn some things by themselves, they would learn much more if helped by an adult. The difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with help is called the “zone of proximal development.” When adults help children through this zone of what they can almost do, but not quite, it is called “scaffolding.” For example, think of a baby who can almost roll over, but gets stuck because his arm is in the way. An adult can scaffold, or help with their rolling over, by tucking in his arm.

Your Own Cultural Lens for Looking at Play

Play is a part of every young child’s life. How we play is different depending on our home life and culture. Some cultures provide lots of free time for play; whereas in other cultures, children spend less time playing. In some cultures, children’s play is more cooperative; in others it is more competitive. Some families believe that play objects should be educational or store bought; other families might prefer or only be able to afford homemade toys. Just as children learn to speak the language they hear around them, the people and objects in their lives will provide structure for their play. Play is one way children learn and practice the values that are important to their families, how to interact with one another, and how to use the objects and language of their communities.

Take a moment to think about some of the messages you heard about play from your family growing up. How was play valued in your family? Did your parents, grandparents, siblings, or other family members spend time playing with you? Did you have lots of “educational” toys or store-bought items? Did you have many hours of unsupervised play or were you mostly involved in activities?

Why is Play so Important?

Play benefits every aspect of child development. The act of play comes so naturally it seems to be little more than a simple, joyful experience. Many child development experts believe that play is how infants and toddlers learn about their world. Play provides children with opportunities to learn about and master relationships, language, math, science, problem solving, and their bodies. Let’s look more deeply at all the ways play contributes to development.

Building Relationships Through Play

One of the most important things that young children learn through play is how to form and maintain relationships with others.

Play Builds Caregiver Relationships

Three-month-old Cayden lies in the lap of his in-home family caregiver, Julisa. Cayden stares at her and then coos. Julisa watches Cayden and repeats the sound he makes. Cayden smiles and wiggles as Julisa smiles back. Both Cayden and Julisa clearly enjoy their play together.

Even very young babies enjoy play. They make eye contact and sounds to their parents and caregivers. When the adult responds back to them, they might wiggle or coo. These back and forth interactions are the first steps toward forming a relationship, and are the “play” of very young infants.

Play is an important part of the relationship between babies and caregivers. Babies who have nurturing relationships in their lives have better play skills. These close relationships support infant’s and toddler’s play.

Play Builds Peer Relationships

Twelve-month-old Isaiah is standing at the door clapping his hands. He shouts “Hi” down the hallway. His caregiver, Elisa, comes to see who he is talking to. She realizes that 15-month-old Heidi is arriving with her mom. While Elisa greets them both, Heidi and Isaiah smile at each other and say, “Hi.” Isaiah toddles off to get a ball and turns to see if Heidi is following him. She is! He gets the ball and says to her, “Ball,” and hands it to her. Heidi takes the ball, and they begin to play by passing it back and forth.

Isaiah and Heidi might seem pretty young to be playing together. When babies have many opportunities to play together they begin to form early friendships. Have you ever noticed how even very young infants are interested in other babies? Maybe you’ve seen babies roll toward each other until they are close enough to touch. You may have noticed that some babies even seem to form friendships with each other. They might seek each other out every day, or you might notice they are pleased to spend time together. Each play episode adds a little bit more to the friendship, building up over time until children play easily together.

Play Builds Social Skills

Thirteen-month-old Alliah takes her baby doll and brings it over to the chair where she and her friends eat. Alliah puts the baby in the chair and asks her caregiver for a spoon and bowl by pointing to the objects she wants. Alliah takes the spoon and scoops into the bowl and pretends to feed her baby. As she brings the spoon to the doll’s mouth she says, “Mmmm.”

Tasia and Jo Jo are 2-year-olds who love the toy vacuum cleaner in their child care provider’s home. If one of them has it, the other wants it. Jo Jo found it first today, and Tasia came over and tried to grab it from him. Their caregiver walked over to the struggling toddlers and said, “Tasia you really want the vacuum cleaner, but Jo Jo is playing with it right now. Can you ask him if you can have a turn when he is done?” Tasia and Jo Jo have been through this before. Tasia turns to Jo Jo and says, “Turn?” Jo Jo nods yes and continues to play for a moment, then brings the vacuum over to Tasia with a grin and says, “Here you go!”

Think about something you are really good at. Maybe it’s changing a diaper on a wiggling baby. This is a skill that probably took some practice before you were such an expert. Play is a way children “practice” doing what they see the adults around them do. Older toddlers are likely to be found in the dramatic play area imitating the roles and routines they see around them every day.

It is not unusual to see a child feeding a baby doll and practicing other types of caregiving. Even younger babies might be seen chatting on a toy phone or gently holding a doll. Caregivers and parents can support this sort of play by providing props like dolls, dishes, and phones.

While it is always preferable to have multiples of a popular toy, sometimes it doesn’t work out. Sometimes a toy that sat on the shelf for months without being noticed is suddenly a hot item! When two children both want the same toy, consider it one of the many opportunities presented through play for learning new social skills such as waiting and being patient. It is not developmentally appropriate to expect infants and toddlers to share a single toy. However, as they get older, they can understand the concept of taking turns. When toddlers are taking turns it can help for an adult to point out how patient they are while they wait for their toy. In the mean time, adults might offer the toddlers another play opportunity while waiting for their turn.

A sensitive adult can help children play successfully with each other. A child who has a difficult time playing with peers might play better with a little bit of help. The adult can also help toddlers’ continue to play together. Much like the Tasia and Jo Jo’s story earlier, it is not unusual for infants or toddlers to want a toy someone already has. When someone else is playing with a toy, it’s like a commercial that just makes that toy look like so much fun!

Sometimes kids can work these differences out without help. It can be very interesting to watch the negotiation! However, if it looks like children might start hurting each other, then an adult will need to step in and encourage children to find ways to solve the conflict. Very young children may need suggestions from an adult to come up with possible solutions to work out their negotiations. A caregiver may suggest children can trade toys, do something else until their friend is done with the toy, or ask the child for the toy when she is done.

Learning About the World Through Play

Play is an important way that infants and toddlers interact with the people and objects around them. Through these interactions they learn about their world.

Understanding Concepts Through Mastery Play

At drop-off, 9-month-old Hannah cries as her mother hands her over to her caregiver, Jenna. Hannah has spent the past six months with Jenna and knows her well. Jenna explains to Hannah’s mother that at nine months, Hannah is just starting to understand that her mother is still “out there somewhere,” even when she cannot see her. This makes Hannah sad that she can’t be with her mother all of the time. After Hannah is calm, Jenna plays peek-a-boo with her. Jenna chooses this game because it helps Hannah begin to understand that while a person may “disappear,” he or she will come back. Hannah delights in the disappearance and reappearance of her beloved teacher.

Mastery play is when play is used to practice (or master) skills and ideas. An example of that is in the previous vignette. At about 8 to 10 months, babies may begin to show signs of separation anxiety. A baby who may have been very happy going to child care might suddenly have a hard time saying good-bye to her family. This is because the baby has begun to master the concept of object permanence—a person or object continues to exist even when it can no longer be seen. Not surprisingly, babies at this age seem to enjoy the game of peek- a-boo, which gives them a chance to practice and test out this new idea. Playing also gives children a sense of control, which can be comforting. In the previous vignette, Hannah cannot stop her mother from leaving, but she can hide herself under a blanket and reappear whenever she likes.

Another important concept babies develop through play is cause and effect, or learning that an action can cause something to happen. Some of the first cause-and-effect experiences are when babies cry and someone comes to comfort them. Babies are learning that crying brings adults to care for their needs. Another way babies learn about cause and effect is by playing with objects; for example, if you push a ball it will roll away from you. If you shake a maraca, it makes a sound. Play is a way that infants and toddlers learn about complicated ideas through simple and repeated experiences.

Play and Problem Solving

Three-month-old Diego lies on his back and mouths a rattle. He loses his grip on the rattle and it falls on his chest. Now he must find the rattle in order to keep playing with it.

Thirteen-month-old Samora understands a lot about blocks. She’s spent a great deal of time knocking down towers built by her mom and home visitor, but now she is trying to build one of her own. She has two stacked and is placing a third block on the pile. Before she even lets the block go, the tower falls down!

Two-year-old Micah is running outside with his friends to play. Both he and Jayla run to the same bike. The two each try to climb onto the bike at the same time.

These children are all at the threshold of learning. What an exciting place for them to be! Will Diego find his rattle? Will Samora build her block tower? Who will get the bike, Jayla or Micah? These exciting episodes of discovery are happening every day in your group and during socializations. Children are using the skills they have in play, and their curiosity and interest push them to a point where they are going to have to learn something new in order to continue their play.

It might seem very difficult to watch Diego struggle with his rattle. He might seem frustrated and confused about what to do next. Observe him for a moment; let the frustration lead him toward a solution. The moment where his hand brushes the rattle on his chest is a thrilling moment of discovery for him! Of course, if a baby gets stuck or might get hurt, an adult should keep them safe. When you give babies a chance to solve the problems they create through play, it helps them learn new skills.

Play and Language

During a home visit 3-month-old Dejah is making gurgles and coos to her mother. Her mother, Donna, waits for a quiet moment and then copies the sounds Dejah makes. The two have a playful conversation back and forth while their home visitor smiles nearby.

Mayanna sits on the floor with the babies. Ten-month-old Nita crawls into her lap. Nita grabs Mayanna’s hands and begins to clap them. Mayanna says, “You want to play patty cake!” as they clap and sing together. Mayanna ends the chant with the phrase,“Put it in the oven for Nita and me!”

Twenty-eight-month-old Christian’s favorite part of coming to socializations is the dramatic play area. He goes over and puts on his favorite hat and grabs a briefcase. He walks back over to his mom and says, “I go.” His mother, Christina, says, “You are going somewhere. Where are you going?” Christian says, “Work.” Christina responds, “You are going to work. What will you do there?” Their conversation continues with Christian giving small answers to her questions and his mother listening and responding to him.

As children grow and learn, their ability to understand and use language in play is growing as well. Even at the earliest stages of language development babies enjoy playing with sounds and hearing others make playful sounds too. Infants and toddlers love to hear songs especially when their names are used.

Play activities that involve adults are opportunities to use language with infants and toddlers. When playing with young babies, try repeating the sounds they are making. Babies can then make a sound with their voice and hear the same sound in your voice. They are likely to enjoy this game for many turns, and why not? This is an early form of conversation.

When infants’ and toddlers’ lives are full of songs and playful language they are likely to learn more words and have a better understanding of how to use them. It is important that adults who join in pretend play with children ask meaningful questions the child can answer in lots of different ways. Notice how Christian’s mother turned his one-word answers into sentences and then asked him where he was going. She was asking open-ended questions. Open-ended questions don’t have a specific answer and the child can say whatever she likes and be “right.” Some examples of open-ended questions are as follows: “Where is your car going?” or “What do you think happens next?” Open-ended questions encourage children to think and give them the opportunity to express their own ideas.

Learning About Our Bodies Through Play

As babies grow toddlers they are gaining so many skills that help them move their bodies around. Play is a fun way to learn about what your body can do and to be motivated to try new things.

Play and Movement

During one of their first few home visits Kayla talks to her home visitor, Diane, about her 8-month-old son Nate. She is concerned because Nate does not sit up well or crawl at all. Diane has noticed this as well and has been hoping for an opportunity to talk to Kayla about it. Diane notices that Kayla keeps Nate in his carseat for socializations. When Diane has gone on home visits Nate is often in a swing or an exersaucer. Diane begins gently by suggesting to Kayla that she give Nate more play time on the floor, at least half an hour a day to start. She shares that he might need more practice with using the muscles he will need in order to sit up or crawl.

In the first three years of life, infants and toddlers go from having little control over their bodies to becoming running, jumping, climbing, pushing, pulling, digging, active little people. That is a huge accomplishment! Babies are very motivated to learn how to use their bodies, and do so through active, physical play.

The National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) recommends that infants and toddlers have at least 30 minutes a day of physically active play. NASPE points out that although infants and toddlers are ready to be active, they need the support of the adults in their lives. That means limiting the amount of time babies spend contained in carseats, swings, or bouncy chairs. Make sure that even very young infants have supervised tummy time and opportunities for free movement. Tummy time can be more appealing if it is playful and there is an adult on the floor nearby.

Rough and Tumble Play

Hattie’s dad José is the star of the socialization! He began by picking up Hattie and lifting her into the air saying, “You’re flying!” Soon other children were begging for a turn to “fly” too. Jose turned some of the older children upside down much to their giggling delight. Many of the children at the socialization really enjoyed and even seemed to crave this sort of exciting play.

Toddlers Kenny and Molly are outside playing a game of chase that ends in catch and wrestle. Their squeals of laughter can be heard throughout the playground! Their caregiver Lisa is keeping a close eye on what they are doing, but she is not stopping their play.

The type of play called rough and tumble play involves giggling, chasing, wrestling, running, and flying. Teachers or home visitors might have different reactions to this sort of play. Caregivers might wonder if they can keep all of the children safe when there is such active play or wrestling going on. Rough and tumble play does need to be supervised to make sure children are enjoying it. As long as everyone is still smiling and having fun, there is little need for an adult to step in.

Another benefit of rough and tumble play is that it can appeal to children who aren’t as good at joining groups in play. Energetic play can be easier to join than a group already involved in the dramatic play area or building in the block area. Adults can help children keep this play in safe areas such as on a mat or outside, and make sure that everyone who is playing is having fun.

Now that you know more about play, it is time to use what you have learned! As you observe infants and toddlers at play, think what they are learning about the people in their lives and the world around them. How might you build on and expand their learning and exploration? You can share with parents and colleagues all that you have learned about how play supports the healthy development of infants and toddlers. Most important, find some time to play yourself. Playing helps all of us feel better, learn new things, and stay curious about the world around us.

Words You Can Use

Cause and effect: Understanding an action can cause something to happen. When a baby pushes a ball and it rolls away, he is learning that his action caused the ball to roll.

Mastery play: Play that is an opportunity to practice skills and ideas. When toddlers pour water into containers they are practicing, or learning to master, their pouring skills.

Object permanence: Knowing that an object, or a person, exists even when he or she is out of sight. Understanding object permanence begins around 8–10 months and may be accompanied by separation anxiety.

Open-ended materials: Toys that can be used in many different ways, toys that encourage imagination such as blocks, pieces of fabric, water, and sand.

Rough and tumble play: Play that involves contact between children sometimes in the form of chasing and wrestling.

Scaffolding: When adults support a child in learning a new skill. When a baby is learning to walk, adults often help them (scaffolding) by holding her hand before she is able to walk by herself.

Separation anxiety: When a baby has a difficult time leaving, or separating from, his family or caregiver. These fears can begin around 8 months and intensify between 10 and 18 months.

Symbol: A symbol is a word or an object that stands for something that is real such as when a toddler uses a block as a phone.

Zone of proximal development: The difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with adult help. For example, a child who cannot walk yet will first be able to walk with the help of an adult.

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Resource Type: Article

National Centers: Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning

Age Group: Infants and Toddlers

Series: News You Can Use

Last Updated: April 1, 2024

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