- Perform needs assessments or consult with clients to determine the types of research and information required.
Occupations with related tasks Save Table: XLSX CSV
- Demonstrate products to clients.
- Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
- Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
- Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
- Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
- Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
- Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.
- Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
- Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites.
- Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
- Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
- Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
- Demonstrate products to clients.
- Confer with customers to determine how to tailor materials to their needs.
- Conduct research on the structures and properties of materials, such as metals, alloys, polymers, and ceramics, to obtain information that could be used to develop new products or enhance existing ones.
- Determine ways to strengthen or combine materials or develop new materials with new or specific properties for use in a variety of products and applications.
- Plan laboratory experiments to confirm feasibility of processes and techniques used in the production of materials with special characteristics.
- Devise testing methods to evaluate the effects of various conditions on particular materials.
- Prepare reports, manuscripts, proposals, and technical manuals for use by other scientists and requestors, such as sponsors and customers.
- Perform experiments and computer modeling to study the nature, structure, and physical and chemical properties of metals and their alloys, and their responses to applied forces.
- Recommend materials for reliable performance in various environments.
- Test material samples for tolerance under tension, compression, and shear to determine the cause of metal failures.
- Test metals to determine conformance to specifications of mechanical strength, strength-weight ratio, ductility, magnetic and electrical properties, and resistance to abrasion, corrosion, heat, and cold.
- Write research papers for publication in scientific journals.
- Supervise and monitor production processes to ensure efficient use of equipment, timely changes to specifications, and project completion within time frame and budget.
- Visit suppliers of materials or users of products to gather specific information.
- Test individual parts and products to ensure that manufacturer and governmental quality and safety standards are met.
- Teach in colleges and universities.
- Research methods of processing, forming, and firing materials to develop such products as ceramic dental fillings, unbreakable dinner plates, and telescope lenses.
- Confer with customers to determine how to tailor materials to their needs.
- Consult with clients to identify survey needs and specific requirements, such as special samples.
- Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis.
- Produce documentation of the questionnaire development process, data collection methods, sampling designs, and decisions related to sample statistical weighting.
- Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results.
- Determine and specify details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used, and the design of survey instruments and materials.
- Conduct surveys and collect data, using methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, market analysis surveys, public opinion polls, literature reviews, and file reviews.
- Support, plan, and coordinate operations for single or multiple surveys.
- Conduct research to gather information about survey topics.
- Direct and review the work of staff members, including survey support staff and interviewers who gather survey data.
- Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software.
- Direct updates and changes in survey implementation and methods.
- Write proposals to win new projects.
- Collaborate with other researchers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of surveys.
- Hire and train recruiters and data collectors.
- Monitor and evaluate survey progress and performance, using sample disposition reports and response rate calculations.
- Write training manuals to be used by survey interviewers.
- Consult with clients to identify survey needs and specific requirements, such as special samples.
- Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
- Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
- Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
- Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
- Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, or promotion.
- Observe and interview workers to obtain information about the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs, as well as information about aspects such as job satisfaction.
- Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
- Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
- Conduct presentations on research findings for clients or at research meetings.
- Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
- Conduct individual assessments, including interpreting measures and providing feedback for selection, placement, or promotion.
- Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
- Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
- Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
- Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
- Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
- Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.
- Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
- Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
- Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.
- Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.
- Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.
- Facilitate organizational development and change.
- Assess employee performance.
- Identify training and development needs.
- Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
- Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
- Collect samples of gases, soils, water, industrial wastewater, or asbestos products to conduct tests on pollutant levels or identify sources of pollution.
- Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
- Prepare samples or photomicrographs for testing and analysis.
- Weigh, analyze, or measure collected sample particles, such as lead, coal dust, or rock, to determine concentration of pollutants.
- Calibrate microscopes or test instruments.
- Provide information or technical or program assistance to government representatives, employers, or the general public on the issues of public health, environmental protection, or workplace safety.
- Maintain files, such as hazardous waste databases, chemical usage data, personnel exposure information, or diagrams showing equipment locations.
- Set up equipment or stations to monitor and collect pollutants from sites, such as smoke stacks, manufacturing plants, or mechanical equipment.
- Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
- Monitor emission control devices to ensure they are operating properly and comply with state and federal regulations.
- Make recommendations to control or eliminate unsafe conditions at workplaces or public facilities.
- Develop testing procedures.
- Perform statistical analysis of environmental data.
- Develop or implement site recycling or hazardous waste stream programs.
- Direct activities of workers in laboratory.
- Analyze potential environmental impacts of production process changes, and recommend steps to mitigate negative impacts.
- Inspect sanitary conditions at public facilities.
- Conduct standardized tests to ensure materials or supplies used throughout power supply systems meet processing and safety specifications.
- Determine amounts and kinds of chemicals to use in destroying harmful organisms or removing impurities from purification systems.
- Examine and analyze material for presence and concentration of contaminants, such as asbestos, using variety of microscopes.
- Distribute permits, closure plans, or cleanup plans.
- Investigate hazardous conditions or spills or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.
- Inspect workplaces to ensure the absence of health and safety hazards, such as high noise levels, radiation, or potential lighting hazards.
- Calculate amount of pollutant in samples or compute air pollution or gas flow in industrial processes, using chemical and mathematical formulas.
- Initiate procedures to close down or fine establishments violating environmental or health regulations.
- Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
