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Research Support Specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Stephen A. Matthews Ph.D.,

Jane Caldwell

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical research support specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for research support specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 26.4% of research support specialist resumes contained research support as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a research support specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 research support specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Research Support

Here's how research support specialists use research support:

Provided administrative and research support for all research projects, executive office, accounting, and property managers for the Institute.
Promoted from Lab Technician, to Research Support, to Senior Research Support Specialist throughout career at UB.

2. 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 support specialists use data collection:

Created relevant reports by detailed data collection and frequent quality assurance checks.
Assisted marketing directors and analysts with data collection and tabulation.

3. Research Projects

Here's how research support specialists use research projects:

Recruited patients for research projects and communicated with interdepartmental medical personnel to promote CAM research projects.
Assisted with research projects including conducting surveys as requested, prepared PowerPoint presentations, and created media packets for grant applications.

4. Analyze Data

Analyze data or data analysis refers to the practice of studying, organizing, and transforming data to make it more useful. It also includes the cleansing of non-useful information which helps in better decision making regarding any particular matter. Analyze data is a practice that is used widely in the field of business, social sciences, and science.

Here's how research support specialists use analyze data:

Developed spreadsheets to analyze data.
Analyze data sets from research sites at Washington University and University of California.

5. Biomedical

Biomedical combines the fields of biology and medicine to focus on animal and human health. It is a highly diverse discipline that offers students the opportunity to explore biological sciences and pursue careers to develop knowledge, interventions, or technologies that are useful in healthcare or public health.

Here's how research support specialists use biomedical:

Full Time - 40 hrs per week Position working with the Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division.
Participated in a summer research intensive that provided hands-on training in interdisciplinary biomedical laboratory techniques with an emphasis in advanced instrumentation.

6. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how research support specialists use data entry:

Managed data on a daily basis through efficient data entry and quality assurance activities.
Assisted in budget management; Oversaw patient education & data entry.

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7. IRB

An institutional review board (IRB), is a form of committee that applies research ethics by vetting research procedures to ensure they are ethical. In order to decide whether or not research can be undertaken, they often perform a kind of risk-benefit analysis. The IRB's function is to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect the interests and health of humans who are participants of a research sample.

Here's how research support specialists use irb:

Performed closure interviews while adhering to IRB protocol.
Operated as the principle liaison between IRB members and research Investigators to communicate IRB decisions and rationale and provide consultation/education.

8. Research Data

Here's how research support specialists use research data:

Performed the collection, compilation, and documentation of research data through effective organizational methods leading to reproducible research.
Supervised and taught undergrad/grad students basic and advanced scientific protocols and techniques to obtain necessary research data.

9. Data Analysis

Here's how research support specialists use data analysis:

Completed basic data analysis and gathered descriptive statistics including calculations of frequencies and means.
Perform data analysis when necessary.

10. FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services that regulates the production and sale of food, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, and other consumer goods, as well as veterinary medicine. The FDA is now in charge of overseeing the manufacture of products like vaccines, allergy treatments, and beauty products.

Here's how research support specialists use fda:

Assisted in the success of AALAS certification, FDA, USDA, and IACUC inspections.
Prepare for Sponsor quality assurance audits and/or FDA regulatory inspections.

11. Molecular Biology

Here's how research support specialists use molecular biology:

Supervised and trained students to integrate Molecular Biology techniques to traditional Plant Pathology research.
Trained of undergraduate students in basic molecular biology techniques.

12. Laboratory Equipment

Here's how research support specialists use laboratory equipment:

Maintained laboratory equipment and ordering/maintaining laboratory supplies.
Constructed thermostats and incubators for insect emergence experiments from individual components at a reduced cost than that of traditional laboratory equipment.

14. Technical Support

Technical support or tech support are the services provided by any hardware or software company to users. They help in solving the technical difficulties the customers face with their products or services. Moreover, the tech support employees maintain, manage, and repair the IT faults. They are also responsible for resolving the network problems, installing and configuring hardware and software.

Here's how research support specialists use technical support:

Collaborated with vendors to achieve successful product implementations, managed technical support, and achieved performance improvement in customer systems.
Provided technical support for 20 staff members and 80 research assistants including all hardware, software, and networking.

15. Cell Culture

Here's how research support specialists use cell culture:

Applied various processing techniques for cell cultures and PMBC extractions.
Constructed 3D extracellular matrices for cell culture using strands of alginate.

5 Research Support Specialist resume examples

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What skills help Research Support Specialists find jobs?

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What skills stand out on Research Support Specialist 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 Support Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Jane Caldwell

Senior Lecturer Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Pittsburgh

This is likely not a good time to take a gap year as the opportunities to use that time productively are limited. However, if a graduate must take a gap year, it's always useful to develop technology and analytical skills. There are online courses available to develop these skills.

What technical skills for a Research Support Specialist stand out to employers?

Dongwoo Kim

Assistant Professor, Texas Christian University

I believe that as an economics major, it is important to demonstrate quantitative skills to employers. One way is to show that you can objectively examine data by testing hypotheses and making inferences. Taking econometrics courses and getting yourself familiarized with statistical programs such as R, STATA, and Excel would provide strong evidence for it.
In addition to developing analytical skills, I believe it is important to (1) understand and follow directions, (2) work to deadlines, and (3) work effectively and efficiently with others. Working well with others in a group project is a crucial skill. Above all, employers would appreciate it if a potential employee has skills that pertain to being proactive.

What soft skills should all Research Support Specialists possess?

Shiri Noy Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Denison University

I am not particularly fond of the term "soft skills" since it's often gendered and I think in a lot of ways is not easily distinguishable from so-called "hard" or technical skills. However, I think that what people mean when they talk about soft skills is deeply important: communication, time management, organization, teamwork, approaches to problem-solving, etc. This affects not just how effectively you can use your "hard" skills, but also about communicating your work and ideas to your peers and supervisors. What good is technical knowledge if you don't know how to approach a problem critically, from diverse vantages, and while being open to feedback and others' ideas when you hit a dead end? In this way, and especially in today's world, I think patience and communication are key. With a liberal arts education our Denison University students are used to having to approach a topic from different lenses and perspectives, and work and learn from diverse peers, Professors, and community members. In this way, they have experience with clearly communicating their ideas but also with different ways of thinking about and approaching both practical and theoretical problems. No one will know every technology, system, and skill they will encounter in their first job, so what's most important is knowing how to learn--this means knowing yourself but also knowing how to ask for help, communicate challenges, and be willing to adapt!

Do you want to know more?

List of research support specialist skills to add to your resume

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

Research Support
Data Collection
Research Projects
Analyze Data
Biomedical
Data Entry
IRB
Research Data
Data Analysis
FDA
Molecular Biology
Laboratory Equipment
Informed Consent
Technical Support

Cell Culture
Sops
PCR
Statistical Analysis
Laboratory Procedures
NIH
Experimental Data
Genotyping
IV
Institutional Review
Research Assistants
RNA
Electrophoresis
DNA

Western Blotting
Literature Searches
Principal Investigators
Technical Assistance
Sample Collection
Elisa
IP
SAS
Academic Research
Stem Cells
HPLC
R
Literature Reviews

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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