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.
Research coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real research coordinator resumes:
- 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.
- Detail knowledge of GCP and ICH guidelines including basic understanding of regulatory documents.
- Maintain security and confidentiality under HIPPA, GCP, institutional human research regulations.
- Maintain study documentation according to protocol guidelines and FDA regulations, timely adverse event reporting.
- Major functions are to develop community base health education programs for the patients who are undergoing different orthopedic complications.
- Coordinate multiple phase II/III investigator-initiat and sponsor clinical trials focuse on bone marrow transplant, hematology, and oncology.
- Coordinate a high-risk research site for international study focuse on FDA and CE mark approval of implant insulin delivery technology.
- Sound knowledge of Cytogenetics principles, various lab procedures such as DNA/RNA extraction and analyses.
- Model to capture hump in volatility surface when earning announcement approaching, calibration in python.
- Perform least square and robust regressions using STATA to test the statistical significancy of select variables.
Research coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Research Coordinators are proficient in Patients, Informed Consent, and Data Collection. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Research Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 11%
Recruited, screened, conducted psychometric examinations and collected data for pharmaceutical clinical trials in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
- Informed Consent, 8%
Adhered to strict study procedures including detailed informed consent procedures, standardized administration of measures, and procedures to assure confidentiality.
- Data Collection, 8%
Worked collaboratively with Director of Research and Evaluation and Senior Director of Development to create research questions and conduct data collection.
- IRB, 7%
Maintained confidential information and appropriate ethical professionalism with highly sensitive personal health information; took part in IRB human subjects training.
- Research Projects, 6%
Trained and assisted undergraduate and medical students in using a patient information database for research projects.
- Patient Care, 4%
Ensured data integrity and quality while achieving optimal patient care and communication of clinical findings for multiple research studies.
Common skills that a research coordinator uses to do their job include "patients," "informed consent," and "data collection." You can find details on the most important research coordinator responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a research coordinator to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." Research coordinators often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "experienced in ind fda filings and fda communication. "
Interpersonal skills. Many research coordinator duties rely on interpersonal skills. "natural sciences managers lead research teams and therefore need to work well with others in order to reach common goals," so a research coordinator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways research coordinator responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "used interpersonal skills to welcome patients before clinical trial visit with nurse and doctor. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of research coordinators is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday research coordinator duties, as "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "fostered growth and diversity of clinical research portfolio; worked in conjunction with administrative leadership for program development. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what research coordinators do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to research coordinator responsibilities because "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical research coordinator tasks: "devised and implemented on-site solutions in order to resolve sponsor and fda related issues. "
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a research coordinator to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what research coordinators relies on this skill, since "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." How this skill relates to research coordinator duties can be seen in an example from a research coordinator resume snippet: "prepared irb documents and submitted them on time. "
The three companies that hire the most research coordinators are:
- University of Washington121 research coordinators jobs
- Baylor College of Medicine39 research coordinators jobs
- Houston Methodist21 research coordinators jobs
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Research coordinator vs. Clinical trial manager
A clinical trial manager is primarily responsible for organizing and supervising clinical trials, ensuring to meet all goals while maintaining smooth operations. They are also responsible for collaborating with managers to set targets, hiring staff and participants for studies, and arranging the event. This planning includes its location and schedule. A clinical trial manager must also maintain documentation of all processes, liaise with scientists and key personnel, acquire necessary legal paperwork and certifications, and gather data accurately. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to implement the company's policies and regulations at all times.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between research coordinators and clinical trial manager. For instance, research coordinator responsibilities require skills such as "research projects," "patient care," "human subjects," and "clinical trials." Whereas a clinical trial manager is skilled in "clinical operations," "clinical research," "oversight," and "project management." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Clinical trial managers tend to make the most money working in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $97,986. In contrast, research coordinators make the biggest average salary, $52,963, in the health care industry.clinical trial managers tend to reach similar levels of education than research coordinators. In fact, clinical trial managers are 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Research coordinator vs. Clinical associate
A clinical associate is responsible for supporting the operations of a medical facility by performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to provide high-quality care services for the patients and assisting health care professionals in performing medical procedures. Clinical associates monitor the conditions of the patients, administer medication, collect laboratory samples, and conduct initial medical assessments such as checking temperature and vital signs. A clinical associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on addressing different patients' needs and reporting the patients' progress to the physicians.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that research coordinator responsibilities requires skills like "research projects," "patient care," "human subjects," and "research data." But a clinical associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "rehabilitation," "home health," "cpr," and "oncology."
Clinical associates earn lower levels of education than research coordinators in general. They're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Research coordinator vs. Clinical project manager
A clinical project manager specializes in developing and organizing clinical trials. Their responsibilities revolve around planning and coordinating with all necessary personnel and experts, scheduling meetings, and preparing necessary documentation, ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations. Moreover, a clinical project manager must devise strategies and train all staff, develop protocols and guidelines, coordinate with vendors and suppliers, evaluate staff and verify documentation, and assist in all activities to ensure that every process aligns with the project's agenda. Should there be any issues or concerns, a clinical project manager must conduct corrective measures right away.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a research coordinator is likely to be skilled in "research projects," "data entry," "human subjects," and "research data," while a typical clinical project manager is skilled in "manage cross," "clinical research," "project management," and "oversight."
Clinical project managers earn the best pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they command an average salary of $103,836. Research coordinators earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $52,963.clinical project managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to research coordinators. Specifically, they're 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Research coordinator vs. Study director
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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between research coordinators and study directors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a research coordinator might have more use for skills like "patients," "patient care," "data entry," and "human subjects." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of study directors require skills like "toxicology," "study design," "project management," and "data interpretation. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for study directors, with average annual pay of $87,246. Comparatively, the highest research coordinator annual salary comes from the health care industry.study directors reach similar levels of education compared to research coordinators, in general. The difference is that they're 3.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 7.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of research coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025