A research researcher conducts surveys to gather information on a specific topic, informing marketing and advertising campaigns. A bachelor’s degree is required, with postgraduate degrees offering more job opportunities. Communication and analysis skills are necessary, as well as knowledge of psychology and mathematics. Salaries vary, with private sector workers earning more than civil servants.
A research researcher conducts surveys designed to determine how members of the public feel about a specific topic. This work is closely tied to marketing and advertising, as research informs campaigns for everything from selling new technology to developing an effective public health outreach program. To become a research researcher, it is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree, at the very least, with more job opportunities open to people who hold postgraduate degrees. Excellent analysis and communication skills are also required.
Survey researchers identify a topic of interest and design a study to gather information about it. They decide how the survey should be conducted, choosing from methods such as telephone surveys, online surveys, or mail surveys. They also create the survey content, adding questions to collect demographic and tracking data, as well as queries about the specific topic at hand. This job requires communication skills, as people need to be able to ask questions in a way that is designed to get the most accurate answers.
The researcher also decides how to select a survey sample and then starts the survey. As data comes in, it is added to the database and analyzed. At the end of the survey, all data can be used to gather information based on the results. This can include important data on demographics such as which age groups and races are responding to an advertising campaign and can help target campaigns and advertising more effectively.
Research researchers may work for advertising companies, political campaigns, government offices, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. Some are involved in research development for psychological research, and degrees in psychology can be very useful for researchers even if they are not interested in pursuing psychology on a long-term basis, as research design requires in-depth knowledge of psychology . Mathematics experience is also necessary for a research researcher because it is necessary to describe the results in a meaningful way and to be able to discuss margins of error and related topics.
Survey researchers’ salaries vary. People working in the private sector generally have access to higher salaries, particularly if they are involved in large advertising and research campaigns. Civil servants have lower wages, often with government benefits. A public research researcher may have access to a larger dataset; for example, the reach of the US Census, a form of survey, is legendary, with Census workers working to count every person in the United States with one survey.
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