Research coordinator vs study director

The differences between research coordinators and study directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a research coordinator and a study director. Additionally, a study director has an average salary of $82,066, which is higher than the $48,974 average annual salary of a research coordinator.

The top three skills for a research coordinator include patients, informed consent and data collection. The most important skills for a study director are toxicology, data collection, and study design.

Research coordinator vs study director overview

	Research Coordinator	Study Director
Yearly salary	$48,974	$82,066
Hourly rate	$23.55	$39.45
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	65,406	6,789
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

What does a research coordinator do?

A research coordinator is responsible for assisting the development of research data from clinical trials and laboratory investigations under the supervision of a lead researcher or a research supervisor. In some cases, research coordinators conduct field investigations and analyze existing research materials upon understanding the scope and limitations of the study. They enter their findings and useful resources on the research database for reference to the research team. A research coordinator must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, especially on gathering data and coordinating with other researchers for the progress and updates of the study.

What does a study director do?

Technically, a study director carries out scientific responsibilities for protocol design or study plan and approval. Study directors supervise the gathering, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and reporting of data results. They handle the matriculation of students with regard to data management system development. Working with the computer systems team is part of their duties so they will be able to establish a data management system in tracking the study participants. They also support the toxicology team or group on different project teams.

Research coordinator vs study director salary

Research coordinators and study directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Coordinator	Study Director
Average salary	$48,974	$82,066
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $68,000	Between $56,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Bothell, WA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	BNP Paribas	AbbVie
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between research coordinator and study director education

There are a few differences between a research coordinator and a study director in terms of educational background:

	Research Coordinator	Study Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Psychology	Biology
Most common college	Duke University	-

Research coordinator vs study director demographics

Here are the differences between research coordinators' and study directors' demographics:

	Research Coordinator	Study Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.1% Female, 70.9%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.6% Unknown, 7.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 10.2% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 12.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between research coordinator and study director duties and responsibilities

Research coordinator example responsibilities.

Manage participant's records ensuring confidentiality as well as NIH specifications.
Manage all IRB submissions, sponsor communications, participate in monitoring visits, drug reconciliation and dispensing.
Recruit, screen, conduct psychometric examinations and collect data for pharmaceutical clinical trials in patients diagnose with Alzheimer's disease.
Maintain confidential information and appropriate ethical professionalism with highly sensitive personal health information; take part in IRB human subjects training.
Assist in preparation of grants, NIH progress reports, presentations, and manuscripts.
Ensure and maintain confidentiality, privacy and compliance of patient rights in accordance with HIPAA regulations and NVCI policies.

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Study director example responsibilities.

Design, conducts and manages studies for EPA and oce compliance, such as water solubility and partition coefficient studies.
Manage all outsource toxicology studies at contract research laboratories.
Establish and maintain strong community partnerships to achieve HIV prevention objectives.
Evaluate study design and toxicology data as needed.
Consult drug development scientists on data interpretation and study conclusions for FDA submission.
Participate on the ISO certification team.

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Research coordinator vs study director skills

Common research coordinator skills

Patients, 11%
Informed Consent, 8%
Data Collection, 8%
IRB, 7%
Research Projects, 6%
Patient Care, 4%

Common study director skills

Toxicology, 10%
Data Collection, 7%
Study Design, 7%
Project Management, 6%
Data Analysis, 6%
FDA, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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