Research topics in area of expertise
Most of the output can be produced by software today.
An agent can find, read and summarise the sources this work depends on, and it can cover far more of them than a person would ever open. What it does not do is decide which sources deserve trust, or what the findings mean for your situation.
| How automatable | Mostly automatable |
|---|---|
| Kind of work | Research and retrieval work |
| Jobs that do it | 46 occupations |
| Tool categories that apply | Web, data and docs, Generalist agents |
| O*NET activity | Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (4.A.2.b.3) |
What this looks like on the job
Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 46 occupations that perform it.
- Conduct research in surveying and mapping methods, using knowledge of photogrammetric map compilation and electronic data processing.
- Study the relationships between ignition sources and materials to determine how fires start.
- Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings.
- Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
- Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings.
- Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings to the scientific audience and general public.
- Conduct research to generate new knowledge that can be used to address learning and behavior issues.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in books, professional journals, or electronic media.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and present findings in professional journals, books, electronic media, or at professional conferences.
- Collaborate with colleagues and community agencies to address teaching and research issues.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in scholarly journals, books, or electronic media.
- Specialize in an area of history or technology, researching topics or items relevant to collections to determine what should be retained or acquired.
- Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
- Plan and conduct research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens.
- Conduct agricultural research, analyze data, and prepare research reports.
- Research, evaluate, and prepare recommendations on curricula, instructional methods, and materials for school systems.
What we would actually use
One recommendation rather than a shortlist, because a shortlist is just your problem handed back. This is what we would buy for research and retrieval work, and what it costs.
Research is the one shape of work that needs no integration at all, so a single $20 assistant with browsing is the whole stack. Add a crawler only once you are pulling hundreds of pages on a schedule rather than reading a few.
Chosen for the cheapest thing that does the job, not the best funded. Nothing on this site is sponsored, and the full landscape is there when you want to disagree with us.
The rest of the category
Context, not alternatives to weigh up. We name the layer rather than promise a named product does your specific task.
Generalist agents
Matched from the kind of work, not from vendor marketing. Check any of them can reach the system your records actually live in — that connection, not the model, is where these projects stall.
How people actually do it
Step-by-step workflows that name this activity, with the prompts to paste and what to keep for yourself.
Others for research and retrieval work
Who does this work
46 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
- Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary
- Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary
- Archivists
- Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
- Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
- Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
- Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Biologists
- Business Teachers, Postsecondary
- Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
- Communications Teachers, Postsecondary
- Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary
- Curators
- Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary
- Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
- Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Epidemiologists
- Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
- Farm and Home Management Educators
- Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers
- Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
- Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Geography Teachers, Postsecondary
- Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
- History Teachers, Postsecondary
- Instructional Coordinators
- Law Teachers, Postsecondary
- Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
- Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
- Museum Technicians and Conservators
- Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary
- Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary
- Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
- Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary
- Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
- School Psychologists
- Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary
- Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary
- Surveyors
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise”. In practice they tend to be done by the same person, in the same sitting.
Method. The activity, its taxonomy placement and the occupations that perform it come straight from the public-domain O*NET 30.3 database. The automatability band is ours: we map each of O*NET’s 41 generalized work activities to how much of its output current software can produce, assuming a person still reviews and owns the result. It is a coarse three-way judgment on purpose. A precise-looking percentage here would be invented.