Using Humanities & Social Science Research Skills in a Professional Setting
For Graduate Students

Sample Skills

• Ability to conduct thorough and efficient searches using databases Ability to confront an enormous mass of data and select the elements relevant to the problem at hand Ability to multi-taskAbility to translate technical language into non-technical terms (note: "technical, "can prefer to any form of specialized language, and does not necessarily mean "scientific.") Ability to write quickly and concisely Ability to write to deadlines Analytical skillsComputer skills Cultural breadth and sensitivity Data analysis Econometrics Familiarity with demographic data Interviewing skills and ability to summarize interview data Fluency in foreign languages Knowledge of how to use primary sources Knowledge of specialized research tools and collections Organizational skills Presentation/public speaking skillsProject managementPublic opinion analysisStrategic thinkingStatistical analysis

• Survey design and analysis

Sample Areas of Content Knowledge

• Aging American educational institutions Culture and history of an ethnic or geographic area Electoral politics Environmental controls Impressionist painters International commercePopular culture Population dynamics Risk assessmentTelecommunications Transnational organization

• Urban politics
  

Sample Types of Research

• Archives management Consulting Curatorial work Demographic research Development consulting Legal research Legislative research Location analysis Market research Policy research Program evaluation Public opinion polling

• Securities Analysis

Sample Types of Employers

College and Universities, Hospitals

May conduct "institutional research," analyzing data about the organization itself. For example, a university may do a study of trends in enrollment and attrition.

Sample organizations: University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown Medical Center.

Sources of names of employers: Yearbook of Higher Education, Hospital Blue Book.

Consulting Firms

Provide specialized advice and expertise for private companies, whose clients may be businesses, governments, or (more rarely), not-for-profits. Vary in size from small to enormous.

Sample employers: Abt Associates, Charles River Associates, Hay Associates, McKinsey

Sources of names of employers: Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory, and other consulting directories.

Foundations

Very small staff of program analysts evaluate proposals for funding. These jobs are highly competitive. Most research is funded by foundations, not conducted directly by them.

Sources of employers: Ford Foundation, Pew Charitable Trust.

Source of names of employers: The Foundation Directory.

Governments

Some units may do policy evaluation and research., More frequently found at federal and state, than at local, levels:

Sample employers: U.S. General Accounting Office, Office of Technology Assessment. State: New Jersey Department of Education.

Sources of names of employers: Federal Yellow Book, State Yellow Book.

Independent Research Centers

They may be independently funded, do contract research, or survive on a mixture of both.

Sample organizations: Research for Better Schools, Urban Institute, The Rand Corporation

Sources of names of employers: Research Centers Directory

Investment Firms

Securities analysts make recommendations on investments based upon analysis of companies and industries. Large firms may also have specialized units which do some form of modelling. These jobs are highly competitive.

Sample organizations: O'Connor and Associates, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

Sources of names of employers: The Financial 1000

Law Firms

Those involved in extensive corporate litigation frequently hire paralegal researchers. Career paths arelimited unless you obtain a law degree.

Sample organizations: Sullivan & Cromwell, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Source of names of employers: Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory

Market Research Firms

A specialized form of consulting firm, these advise clients, primarily, but not necessarily businesses, on topics related to the potential market for a product. There is some "qualitative" market research, but the majority of it tends to involve surveys and statistical analysis.

Sample organizations: ARBOR, National Analysts

Source of names of employers: Green Book: International Directory of Marketing Research Houses and Services

Museums and Archives

Curatorial and archival work involve research. Curatorial positions generally require content expertise in the field covered by the collection.

Sample employers: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Museum, American Philosophical Society

Sources of names of employers: The Official Museum Directory, Directory of Archive and Manuscript Repositories in the United States, Guide to the National Archives of the United States

Associations Other Not-for-Profit Organizations

Many organizations, whose main purpose is not research, but the promotion of a particular group, opinion, or policy, have staff who do legislative research which will eventually be turned into policy positions for which the organization will lobby.

Sample organizations: Sierra Club, American Medical Association

Sources of names of employers: National Directory of Non-Profit Organizations, National Trade and Professional Associations.

Publishers of periodicals

Staff writers must research their articles, doing either very cursory, or extensive, research.

Sample employers: in-house publications of nearly any large employer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chronicle of Higher Education.

Source of names of employers: Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media

Free-Lance Research

Other entrepreneurial possibilities exist. They include doing research for authors (and ghost-writing), or independent consulting.

Sources of information: Read up on running a small business.