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Research consultant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Stephen A. Matthews Ph.D.,

Dr. Brian Simmons

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical research consultant skills. We ranked the top skills for research consultants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.5% of research consultant resumes contained data collection as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a research consultant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 research consultant skills for your resume and career

1. Data Collection

Data collection means to analyze and collect all the necessary information. It helps in carrying out research and in storing important and necessary information. The most important goal of data collection is to gather the information that is rich and accurate for statistical analysis.

Here's how research consultants use data collection:

Conducted all aspects of qualitative data collection and analysis; including, facilitation and conducting all focus group and face-face interviews.
Created custom reporting dashboards to efficiently communicate hundreds of data points across multiple data collection methodologies for comprehensive side-by-side comparison.

2. Medicaid

Here's how research consultants use medicaid:

Attained and practiced medical insurance information rapidly and correctly; including main carriers and Medicaid.
Interviewed Medicaid state officials and created summary reports of interview findings.

3. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how research consultants use business development:

Contracted for qualitative research and business development projects: Strategy workshop facilitation, online focus group moderation and analysis of findings.
Worked with President/COO, Vice Presidents and Directors of Engineering, Business Development, Marketing and Educational Services within Educational non-profit.

4. Study Design

Study design entails a detailed framework of data, methods, pathways, procedures, and operations to solve a research problem's variability. These designs come in different forms for different issues, sectors, and fields and aim to find answers and solutions to issues and questions in specific areas.

Here's how research consultants use study design:

Provided qualitative Input to study design, data management, analysis and interpretation.
Provided technical assistance in developing study designs.

5. Data Analysis

Here's how research consultants use data analysis:

Perform data analysis and provide descriptive research results to assist in providing strategic reports for individual client needs and public dissemination.
Managed advertising tracking for 3 accounts, coordinating questionnaire development, data analysis and regular presentations of findings and recommendations.

6. Survey Design

Here's how research consultants use survey design:

Conducted survey design consultation and transcription on health-care policy research relevant to the 2008 presidential election.
Completed survey design and research for local marketing company offering industry reports.

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7. Research Projects

Here's how research consultants use research projects:

Managed several major marketing research projects aimed at assessing CRM solutions, digital marketing automation, and customer service processes simultaneously.
Designed and managed marketing research projects, including concept development, which created organizational strategies that increased and sustained customer participation.

8. SPSS

Here's how research consultants use spss:

Analyzed large data sets (AHCA, Census, BLS) using SPSS and Excel for hospital Certificate of Need applications.
Clean and import data sets from Excel to SPSS to execute various statistical analyses such as descriptive statistics and cross tabulations.

9. Statistical Analysis

Here's how research consultants use statistical analysis:

Directed statistical analysis and data coding in a remote, quantitative study of American media consumption habits.
Established an independent consulting company employing good laboratory practices, standard quality control procedures and statistical analysis.

10. R

R is a free software environment and a language used by programmers for statistical computing. The R programming language is famously used for data analysis by data scientists.

Here's how research consultants use r:

Derived estimation formulation using both EM method and Newton-Raphson algorithms, and developed corresponding program in MATLAB, R and SAS.
Evaluate the changes in reported motivations of the followers before and after project implementation using statistical tools like R and Tableau.

11. SAS

SAS stands for Statistical Analysis System which is a Statistical Software designed by SAS institute. This software enables users to perform advanced analytics and queries related to data analytics and predictive analysis. It can retrieve data from different sources and perform statistical analysis on it.

Here's how research consultants use sas:

Developed software to readily obtain information from several internal company sources for troubleshooting metering/billing problems using SAS and Visual Basic.
Programmed statistical models in SAS to evaluated the new medical equipment based on experiment data

12. Research Studies

Here's how research consultants use research studies:

Completed regulatory submissions necessary to initiate and maintain clinical trials and research studies.
Conducted statistical analyses for alcohol treatment/prevention-focused research studies.

13. Market Research

Market research is a collective effort to collect information related to a consumer's needs and wants. It is a systematic approach that involves recording and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Market research helps a business to identify a target market correctly and identify the gaps in potential consumer's expectations.

Here's how research consultants use market research:

Conducted market research and composed recommendations on Digital television, social media networks and content distribution.
Developed go-to-market research materials to showcase the community thought leaders.

14. Research Findings

Here's how research consultants use research findings:

Translated research findings into actionable insights on tools ranging from mobile applications to large-scale information websites.
Produced a more efficient, universal template utilized for summarizing research findings to clients

15. Qualitative Data

Here's how research consultants use qualitative data:

Contributed to revisions in methodological approach expanded to capture qualitative data.
Co-designed evaluation process and conducted qualitative data gathering with research team.

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What skills help Research Consultants find jobs?

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What skills stand out on research consultant resumes?

Stephen A. Matthews Ph.D.

Liberal Arts Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, Demography and Geography Director, Graduate Program in Demography Faculty Director, Graduate Programs in Applied Demography Editor, Spatial Demography Associate Editor, Mathematical Population Studies, Pennsylvania State University

Our program is too broad and complex to answer this in any meaningful way (see my opening paragraph). I hope our Ph.D. graduates have both soft skills (e.g., people skills, communication (writing/speaking), team science/work skills, critical thinking skills) as well as the technical skills (e.g., data analysis, data visualization, data ethics, IRB experience, etc.). As mentioned, I also hope they are flexible and adaptive vis-a-vis other perspectives (interdisciplinary outlook).

What research consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Brian Simmons

Associate Provost, Columbia International University

I would not think so much in terms of "skills to enhance" but rather experiences that will add depth of insight and understanding. Candidates with a variety of practical experiences, coupled with rigorous academic training, are set apart from others.

What type of skills will young research consultants need?

Michael Lorr Ph.D.

Chair, Professor of Sociology, & Director of the Community Leadership Program, Aquinas College

Graduates in sociology and community leadership will need to be critical thinkers, meaning they need to see the world from multiple perspectives and not be blinded by their ideologies. They also will need to continue to have and learn to facilitate difficult conversations across social divisions, both in-person and online--as the pandemic is illustrating.

What technical skills for a research consultant stand out to employers?

Sya Kedzior Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Towson University

The ability to understand technical or complex scientific processes and communicate that information with the public is one of the most attractive skills for an entry-level worker to possess. Many employers may not have staff skilled in the latest GIS technologies or social media trends. While the ability to use last year's software or network via Instagram might not seem particularly novel to recent graduates, these are skills less likely to be found in the workforce of even 10 years ago. Geographers are particularly well prepared for today's workforce because they've often had coursework across the "hard" and social sciences, along with training in technical skills (usually GIS or quantitative analysis) and written and oral communication skills. Another skill in high demand today is data collection and analysis. I often talk with potential employers who want to hire people who can develop and administer a public survey, and then analyze and write up the results. That requires understanding human behavior, public communication, and different forms of data analysis. But, these are skills that can be developed in perhaps only a few classes as part of a major or minor in Geography and other cognate fields.

What soft skills should all research consultants possess?

Dr. Christopher Close Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, Justice and Ethics in the Law program, Saint Joseph's University

Graduates should be able to make a well-supported, well-reasoned argument, both orally and in writing. They should be able to critically read and assess the validity of claims they see advanced by other people. These skills of critical thinking are crucial for any field.

Do you want to know more?

List of research consultant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a research consultant resume and required skills for a research consultant to have include:

Data Collection
Medicaid
Business Development
Study Design
Data Analysis
Survey Design
Research Projects
SPSS
Statistical Analysis
R
SAS
Research Studies
Market Research
Research Findings
Qualitative Data
Public Health

Stata
Literature Reviews
Clinical Trials
SQL
Strategic Sourcing
Qualitative Research
Analyze Data
Research Data
Quantitative Research
Survey Data
Data Management
Research Design
FDA
IRB
Medicare
Technical Reports

Qualitative Analysis
GCP
Management System
Quantitative Data
Research Reports
Research Results
Oncology
Program Evaluation
B Testing
Site Initiation
Research Support
ICH
PowerPoint
Informed Consent
Technical Assistance
Process Improvement

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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