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What does a research support specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.

A research support specialist is primarily in charge of performing administrative support and analytical tasks. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing extensive research and analysis to gather necessary data, preparing and processing documentation on behalf of researchers, liaising with internal or external parties, troubleshooting problems, and maintaining records of all transactions. There are also instances when one must conduct studies, prepare manuscripts, develop strategies to optimize operations, and participate in implementing new research methods, all while adhering to the company or institution's policies and regulations.

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Research support specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real research support specialist resumes:

  • Manage data and perform statistical analyses with SAS.
  • Manage social media publications to spread awareness and notifications on Facebook.
  • Perform closure interviews while adhering to IRB protocol.
  • Serve as liaison to clients, IRB office and other stakeholders.
  • Execute protocol for current NIH fund study collecting data from couples in conflict and their adolescent children.
  • Analyze DNA instability elements to the initiation of DNA replication within oriP of Epstein - Barr virus.
  • Participate in a summer research intensive that provide hands-on training in interdisciplinary biomedical laboratory techniques with an emphasis in advance instrumentation.
  • Finalize the protocol for an RT-PCR base minimal disease assay to detect circulating melanoma cells using patient blood.
  • Perform chemo resistance / sensitivity assays of metastasis cells of breast cancer by RT-PCR, MTT and H3-thymidine.
  • Characterize ionic liquid products by 1H NMR , 13C NMR, and melting point analysis.
  • Structure elucidation of small molecules using various spectroscopic techniques: NMR, mass spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy.
  • Used Solidworks to simulate a design of a thermoelectric conductor

Research support specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 26% of Research Support Specialists are proficient in Research Support, Data Collection, and Research Projects. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Research Support Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Research Support, 26%

    Provided administrative and research support for all research projects, executive office, accounting, and property managers for the Institute.

  • Data Collection, 9%

    Created relevant reports by detailed data collection and frequent quality assurance checks.

  • Research Projects, 8%

    Recruited patients for research projects and communicated with interdepartmental medical personnel to promote CAM research projects.

  • Analyze Data, 4%

    Developed spreadsheets to analyze data.

  • Biomedical, 4%

    Full Time - 40 hrs per week Position working with the Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division.

  • Data Entry, 4%

    Managed data on a daily basis through efficient data entry and quality assurance activities.

"research support," "data collection," and "research projects" are among the most common skills that research support specialists use at work. You can find even more research support specialist responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a research support specialist to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what research support specialists do because "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions." Additionally, a research support specialist resume shows how research support specialists use analytical skills: "developed business communications, fielded, prioritized and routed incoming calls and performed data entry and reporting. "

Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform research support specialist duties is communication skills. Research support specialists responsibilities require that "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." Research support specialists also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed protocols for growing and preserving viable cell lines coordinated continuous and effective communication with all principal investigators for each research project"

Detail oriented. research support specialists are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to research support specialist responsibilities, because "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." A research support specialist resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "created a system for providing detailed quality assurance checks of all data entry for healthy start. "

All research support specialist skills

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Compare different research support specialists

Research support specialist vs. Marketing internship

Marketing interns are usually marketing students or fresh graduates who are interested in getting actual work experiences before taking on a full-time job. They usually have an interest or academic background related to marketing. They assist marketing teams in most of their daily activities, sit in their meetings, record minutes of these meetings, take note of action plans, and attend other events related to marketing. They also assist in preparing collateral and other marketing materials, join brainstorming sessions, or any other activity that will help enrich their experience.

We looked at the average research support specialist salary and compared it with the wages of a marketing internship. Generally speaking, marketing interns are paid $17,734 lower than research support specialists per year.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a research support specialist are more likely to require skills like "research support," "data collection," "research projects," and "analyze data." On the other hand, a job as a marketing internship requires skills like "digital marketing," "facebook," "marketing campaigns," and "press releases." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Marketing interns tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,333. In contrast, research support specialists make the biggest average salary, $51,907, in the education industry.The education levels that marketing interns earn slightly differ from research support specialists. In particular, marketing interns are 11.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a research support specialist. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Research support specialist vs. Marketing coordinator

A marketing coordinator supports the marketing department on deciding strategies and business efforts to develop the brand image and boost customer satisfaction. Marketing coordinators' duties include assisting in advertising campaigns, scheduling promotional events, monitoring sales status, researching current market trends, maintaining a record of existing and potential clients, and contributing ideas to improve the brand's profitability. A marketing coordinator must have excellent critical thinking and writing skills to help with the creation of social media advertisements and marketing content. It also requires impressive time-management and multi-tasking skills, especially on meeting deadlines and making adjustments on the initial plans as needed.

On average, marketing coordinators earn a $332 higher salary than research support specialists a year.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real research support specialist resumes. While research support specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "research support," "data collection," "research projects," and "analyze data," marketing coordinators use skills like "digital marketing," "customer service," "marketing campaigns," and "email campaigns."

Marketing coordinators may earn a higher salary than research support specialists, but marketing coordinators earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $53,831. On the other hand, research support specialists receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $51,907.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Marketing coordinators tend to reach lower levels of education than research support specialists. In fact, they're 10.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for research support specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Director, College of Business Internship Program, Arkansas State University

As I mentioned above, technology and social media will continue to be necessary. As marketers, students will need to be able to use the technology and have the analytics to support their decisions. This may require working outside the structure of software as well. Google Analytics, Social Media Management, Excel, and Coding are all essential skills.

Research support specialist vs. Marketing assistant

A marketing assistant's general responsibility is to support the marketing programs and campaigns by sharing recommendations and useful insights to improve the brand's image. Marketing assistants' duties also include reaching out to other personnel for necessary files needed on promotional advertisements, assist the team in creating designs and developing content, publishing brochures for potential clients, analyzing sales reports, and researching the current market trends. A marketing assistant should have excellent organizational and time-management skills to meet deadlines and perform various tasks as required.

An average marketing assistant eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of research support specialists. The difference in salaries amounts to marketing assistants earning a $8,552 lower average salary than research support specialists.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from research support specialist resumes include skills like "research support," "data collection," "research projects," and "analyze data," whereas a marketing assistant is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "marketing campaigns," "facebook," and "trade shows. "

Marketing assistants earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $43,819. Comparatively, research support specialists have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $51,907.Most marketing assistants achieve a lower degree level compared to research support specialists. For example, they're 12.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Research support specialist vs. Marketing representative

A marketing representative's responsibilities will vary on the line of work or industry. However, it is the role of a marketing representative to engage with clients and secure sales by promoting, demonstrating, and even advertising products or services. Furthermore, they must devise marketing strategies, conduct research and analysis through surveys and polls, lookout for new opportunities and trends, and coordinate with advertisers. One must have extensive knowledge about the product as well as communication skills, being that building rapport will be very useful in accomplishing every task.

Marketing representatives average a lower salary than the annual salary of research support specialists. The difference is about $618 per year.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between research support specialists and marketing representatives, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a research support specialist might have more use for skills like "research support," "data collection," "research projects," and "analyze data." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of marketing representatives require skills like "product knowledge," "customer service," "sales presentations," and "life insurance. "

The finance industry tends to pay the highest salaries for marketing representatives, with average annual pay of $60,984. Comparatively, the highest research support specialist annual salary comes from the education industry.In general, marketing representatives hold lower degree levels compared to research support specialists. Marketing representatives are 11.5% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of research support specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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