Research skills have been found to be imperative in terms of advancing one’s career. This is so because these skills offer an individual a discernment advantage as well as inspire them into action.

Research is most needed in report writing, developing new products as well as keeping track of competitors. It also helps to identify the need of the customer, keeping up with ever-changing technologies as well as improvements in the market.

In general, research skills mean gathering information and presenting it, but this in most cases involves finding information from different sources using your critical thinking skills to analyse the information.

Why do research skills matter at work?

It’s no doubt that every employer would look for employees with great research skills because they can come up with new ideas for better ways to run the organisation.

Fred Omondi, an engineer working with a construction company called Arch grid consultant Ltd is of the view that being able to research your career zone and the wider industry will definitely show how dedicated and ambitious an individual is.

He notes out that research skills come in handy across a wide range of roles.

Reasons why research is vital 

It’s believed that the main purposes of research are to inform action, gather evidence for theories, and contribute to developing knowledge in a field of study.

Omondi says conducting research is important because it’s a tool for building knowledge and facilitating learning in all domains.

He adds that it’s not as many perceive that research is only required for students and academics, noting that this applies to all professionals and non-professionals alike.

"The whole purpose for doing research is to equip one with knowledge about the world and skills to help them survive and improve their lives in general,” he says.

Brain Research UK (formerly Brain Research Trust), a medical-research charity based in the United Kingdom, acknowledges the importance of research in building knowledge.

It sees research as crucial to finding possible cures for diseases and ways to prevent them. Thus, research is necessary to ascertain whether one’s ideas are supported by previous studies or if these ideas still need further proof to be considered knowledge.

Besides, it has been established that research encourages one to find the most recent information available in certain fields, especially scientific ones, there’s always new information and discoveries being made.

Also, staying updated prevents one from falling behind and giving info that’s inaccurate or doesn’t paint the whole picture. With the latest info, we’ll be better equipped to talk about a subject and build on ideas.

Diane Nawatti, a counsellor and head teacher believes that when one is well informed, people are most likely to take what they are saying or presenting more seriously, therefore, help in building their credibility.

She says that doing research also gives one a solid foundation on which they can build their ideas and opinions.

"It is very evident that when one is based on research findings, it gives them that confidence to present their work knowing that they are not only accurate but also their information is reliable,” she says.

How to improve your research skills

One can develop their research skills by applying them in different activities.

Studies show that to improve skills in research, it’s important to learn how to recognise a quality source, noting that not every source is reliable, so it’s crucial that you can recognise the good sources from the not-so-good ones.

To determine a reliable source, one needs to use their analytical skills and critical thinking, and also consider if the chosen sources agree with other sources you have found.

Also, verifying information from several sources is important given that many websites don’t evaluate their content for factual accuracy.

This however means that there are plenty of unreliable resources out there, and even many that are outright incorrect. The best way to combat this is to make sure that whatever you find in your research, several different sources can verify that it is true.

Rather than going off of one webpage, one should ensure that at least two other places agree with their previous information.