Essential Research Skills (With Benefits And How To Improve)

Updated 8 September 2023

Research is critical for strategic planning, innovation, business development and productivity. Organisations in all industries desire candidates who can conduct research and provide unique insights. Strong research abilities can help make you progress in your career irrespective of your profession or area of expertise. In this article, we discuss important research skills, discover how they can benefit your career and review some tips to improve these skills.

What are research skills?

Research skills are qualities or talents that enable you to focus on a goal, gather relevant data, analyse it and communicate your results to others. Collecting information about your subject, studying it and processing and evaluating it in a manner that leads to a resolution are some activities of the research process. Employers value the ability to research, and employees can become strong candidates with these skills. These abilities can be critical for getting a job since they help you obtain valuable insights.

List of essential research skills

Here are some examples of skills you may use in research:

1. Goal-setting

Having a clear idea about what information you are searching for is necessary to conduct any form of productive research. Setting goals is an important skill and part of any research process. If you can envision the objective you are aiming to achieve, collecting data and identifying the best approach can become easier.

2. Time management

Researchers require time management skills to divide the project into small, easily achievable tasks, create a schedule and execute the research methodology by the timeframe set. Setting objectives, making preparations, organising, assigning and prioritising activities are examples of time management skills. Demonstrating time management skills can help you finish projects on time, increase your chances of success and aid career development.

3. Problem-solving

Problem-solving abilities help handle difficult situations and fix various challenges in the workplace. These abilities include identifying the source of a problem, thinking objectively about each aspect, analysing the data and applying the most effective solution. Effective problem-solving abilities can help you further your career and make you a valued employee of your organisation. Being an efficient problem solver can help you build your research abilities by enabling you to identify relevant concerns and come up with a strategy to solve them.

4. Critical thinking

Critical thinking skills can help perform research, analyse results and compare different research methods. This ability is vital in research because it allows you to collect, assess and interpret data accurately. When conducting research, critical thinking helps interpret your findings and make rational judgments or suggestions based on them.

5. Planning and management

Research is a serious scientific approach, and it requires sufficient planning and organisation. Planning and managing every step of the research process in advance helps make the methodology more effective. It also helps to make the management of time easier. Companies look for planning and scheduling abilities in their potential employees because they suggest that the candidate is self-motivated and disciplined.

6. Investigative skills

Effective research generally entails gathering reliable data that you may examine and interpret. Gathering a wide variety of accurate and sound data may require you to investigate different sources. For example, to consider the challenges faced by the company, you may have to interact with consumers, wholesalers, retailers, shareholders and other stakeholders. Gaining exposure to different data collection techniques can also help recruiters and hiring managers to notice your resume.

7. Analytical and fact-checking skills

Using and analysing data from a multitude of sources is one crucial research skill. Proving the credibility of the data sources you are using is essential. It means fact-checking your findings to determine their accuracy and understanding their biases. A competent researcher can differentiate between accurate details and misleading information.

8. Interviewing skills

Some research projects may require you to approach and interact with experts, customers or other respondents. This makes interviewing skills beneficial for researchers and research professionals. Interviews can be an efficient way to get accurate knowledge for your research. So, knowing how to conduct an effective interview can help you discover new aspects of the research topic.

9. Note-taking skills

Gathering the most relevant information and summarising it on paper to review it later is a necessary part of the research process. Note-taking skills can also benefit you in various ways throughout your career. For example, taking notes during workshops, meetings or conferences can be very helpful for a review later. You may also take notes during interviews or discussions, especially if you are the one conducting them.

10. Observation skills

The ability to pay attention to detail is a vital skill for researchers, especially in your place of work or while investigating a subject. Your work obligations may require you to observe the organisation's primary rules and regulations, so knowing and following the specifics of those systems and processes is essential. Research methodologies are often complex and detailed processes, which may also involve statistical analysis and calculation. With strong observation skills, researchers can verify the accuracy of the data in their research and the analysis performed.

11. Report writing and communication skills

Report writing skills can help you present your research findings effectively. Strong communication skills are critical to successful report writing. The ability to analyse and report data in a simple style and manner is also important. Active listening, observing and speaking are different aspects of communication. These skills can be necessary to present the findings of your research. This skill can also help write compelling white papers, articles, blogs and other forms of written content.

How does research benefit you?

Research is an important aspect of all business processes. It assists organisations with a variety of tasks such as marketing, launching new products and services, keeping track of competitors and understanding consumer trends. It also helps companies recognise client demands and stay up-to-date on rapidly changing technology and market developments. Research allows businesses to strategise, save resources, make informed decisions and optimise their business processes.

Tips to improve your skills in research

Follow these tips to improve your research abilities:

Start with an outline

When beginning any research project, create an outline and scope document to direct your investigation and ensure that it remains focused. Your outline can include a strategy for researching the topic and gathering the data required to reach a conclusion. It may also include an approach to divide your project into smaller parts and a realistic timeline for the completion of each task.

Learn advanced data collection techniques

When conducting research and collecting data, you can customise your online search results using advanced search settings. These search tactics can make it easier to access the information you require from reliable sources. Different search engines require different techniques, and learning these can help you while researching. If you prefer to use public libraries or other sources of primary information, learning about the various classification systems used in the library can allow you to find research materials more efficiently.

Verify and analyse your sources

While the internet can make accessing and obtaining information easier, it is essential to remember that not all sources are equally reliable. Before starting your data collection processes, learn how to identify legitimate sources and examine data to determine what is genuine and what is not. Try to cross-reference material from one source with information from another to confirm that you get credible and verifiable data. Identify the originating source of information to ensure its accuracy.

Organise your materials

You can generally find several types of information about a topic while conducting research, some of which might be outside the scope of your initial research objective. Using organising methods, such as bookmarking pages on your computer or using a data management tool to segregate information, can be helpful. You can also categorise different material sources as per the subject. This ensures that you do not miss key elements that are necessary to build valid conclusions.

Practise your research and communication skills

Practice is the only way to improve any new skill or ability. You can volunteer for research projects at your workplace and assist senior researchers to learn from them. Similarly, you can convert a personal project into a research project easily. For example, if you are planning to go on a holiday soon, you can prepare an objective research methodology to select the best destination.