Think Tank Researcher

Think Tank Researcher balances multiple duties and these 20 real tasks show how your day is divided across priorities. You’ll see which activities take most time and which decisions you make quickly. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

20evidenced tasks
20ready prompts
4tools of the trade
19-3099.00O*NET-SOC code
37,100hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$101,110median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

Half of all Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in the U.S. earn more than $101,110 a year — the middle 80% land between $66,120 and $160,300. About 37,100 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$101,110typical pay / year
37,100people in this work
$160,300+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
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The work, task by task

These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.

Social work theory

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Draft a two-page briefing that explains the chosen social work theory, links it to frontline safety…
Draft a two-page briefing that explains the chosen social work theory, links it to frontline safety practices, highlights its implications for client empowerment and legal transparency, and include three practical recommendations for local providers by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCOsee the evidence ↗

Communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields

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Write a concise one-page explainer tailored to public health researchers and urban planners that summarises…
Write a concise one-page explainer tailored to public health researchers and urban planners that summarises our social justice framing, outlines shared data needs, notes agreed safeguarding responsibilities, and proposes a 60-minute cross-team meeting next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workExcelESCOsee the evidence ↗

Monitor social trends and issues

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Monitor social conversations, policy announcements and service user reports this week, flag three emerging…
Monitor social conversations, policy announcements and service user reports this week, flag three emerging trends affecting care access and a short note on potential harm, prioritise items affecting disabled adults, and draft a one-page brief for Friday morning circulation.
The tools that do the workNVivojob descriptions

Develop research methodologies

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Draft a mixed-methods protocol for a six-month study on access to community services: state research…
Draft a mixed-methods protocol for a six-month study on access to community services: state research questions, sampling approach emphasising marginalised users, consent and safety steps, instruments to use, and an analysis plan ready for ethics review next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workExcelNVivojob descriptions

Collect data through surveys or interviews

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Assemble a survey and interview schedule that centres service users' rights: list 20 survey questions, a…
Assemble a survey and interview schedule that centres service users' rights: list 20 survey questions, a 10-question interview guide, consent wording, estimated completion times, and recruit quotas for underrepresented groups before the recruitment round starts Monday.
The tools that do the workExceljob descriptions

Design research studies

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Design two complementary study options—a rapid cross-sectional survey and a longitudinal qualitative…
Design two complementary study options—a rapid cross-sectional survey and a longitudinal qualitative panel—detailing sample sizes, recruitment channels, ethical safeguards for vulnerable participants, and timelines so the funder can choose by the 15th.
The tools that do the workStataNVivojob descriptions

Present findings to stakeholders

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Prepare a stakeholder presentation summarising findings, including three policy recommendations that improve…
Prepare a stakeholder presentation summarising findings, including three policy recommendations that improve transparency of legislation for service users, two case vignettes illustrating harm reduction, and a one-slide ask for commissioners for next quarter.
The tools that do the workExceljob descriptions

Conduct statistical analysis

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Run the agreed statistical tests on the service access dataset, produce cleaned tables of descriptive…
Run the agreed statistical tests on the service access dataset, produce cleaned tables of descriptive statistics and regression outputs, note any data limitations affecting vulnerable groups, and export labeled tables for the methods appendix by Thursday.
The tools that do the workSPSSjob descriptions

Collaborate with other researchers

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Draft a one-page collaboration plan for my colleagues Sara Khan and Dr. James O'Neill outlining shared…
Draft a one-page collaboration plan for my colleagues Sara Khan and Dr. James O'Neill outlining shared research questions, data responsibilities, fortnightly check-ins, and a decision rule for draft authorship so we can start the co-authored brief next Monday.
The tools that do the workNVivojob descriptions

Prepare grant proposals

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Write a 1,200-word grant narrative for the Healthy Communities Fund showing the problem, objectives, methods,…
Write a 1,200-word grant narrative for the Healthy Communities Fund showing the problem, objectives, methods, budget summary, and three measurable outcomes tied to reducing service barriers for young people, ready for review by Friday.
The tools that do the workExceljob descriptions

Maintain research databases

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Standardise and clean the intake dataset, map variables to the codebook, add documentation for missing-value…
Standardise and clean the intake dataset, map variables to the codebook, add documentation for missing-value rules, and produce a monthly extract that updates automatically so policy analysts can run fresh counts each Monday.
The tools that do the workSPSSjob descriptions

Assist and counsel young people

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Draft an outreach and counselling protocol for one-to-one sessions with young people, including consent…
Draft an outreach and counselling protocol for one-to-one sessions with young people, including consent language, safeguarding steps, risk escalation contacts, and a four-week follow-up schedule to hand to frontline staff this week.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCO

Deliver programmes related to drugs issues

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Design a four-session pilot curriculum on drugs harm reduction, with session aims, activities, handouts,…
Design a four-session pilot curriculum on drugs harm reduction, with session aims, activities, handouts, evaluation questions and a 6-week outcome measure so the pilot can run in two community centres next month.
The tools that do the workExcelESCO

Empower social service users

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Produce a plain-language guide that explains rights, complaint routes, and safety steps for social service…
Produce a plain-language guide that explains rights, complaint routes, and safety steps for social service users, with short examples and a checklist they can keep, ready to publish on the website on Wednesday.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCOsee the evidence ↗

Social justice

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Draft a short policy brief on social justice in local adult social care that names the problem, includes two…
Draft a short policy brief on social justice in local adult social care that names the problem, includes two evidence-backed recommendations, estimates costs for year one, and flags likely resistance from commissioners and providers before Friday.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCOsee the evidence ↗

Follow health and safety precautions in social care practices

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Compile a one-page checklist of health and safety precautions for domiciliary care workers, cross-referencing…
Compile a one-page checklist of health and safety precautions for domiciliary care workers, cross-referencing current guidance, noting where practice gaps occur, and send it to the safeguarding lead and training manager for sign-off by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workExcelESCOsee the evidence ↗

Make legislation transparent for users of social services

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Write a plain-language guide explaining the key rights and entitlements under the Care Act for service users,…
Write a plain-language guide explaining the key rights and entitlements under the Care Act for service users, include three examples of how to use complaints routes, and prepare a PDF to distribute at three community hubs next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCOsee the evidence ↗

Contribute to protecting individuals from harm

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Analyse recent incident reports to identify common risk factors, summarise them in a two-page memo with three…
Analyse recent incident reports to identify common risk factors, summarise them in a two-page memo with three priority mitigation actions, and send to the safeguarding board before their Monday meeting.
The tools that do the workSPSSESCOsee the evidence ↗

Assess social service users' situation

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Map current support pathways for adults with complex needs, highlight three pinch points where people fall…
Map current support pathways for adults with complex needs, highlight three pinch points where people fall through the system, cost two small fixes and email the commissioning lead and user advocacy group by next Thursday.
The tools that do the workExcelESCOsee the evidence ↗

Protect vulnerable social service users

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Design a short safeguarding intervention plan for a cohort of older people at risk, include referral…
Design a short safeguarding intervention plan for a cohort of older people at risk, include referral triggers, immediate actions, and who to notify, then circulate to the multi-agency panel for feedback within five working days.
The tools that do the workNVivoESCOsee the evidence ↗

Says who?

These are the pages we read to build this. Open any of them and check us.

O*NET 19-3099.00BLS pay surveyBLS OEWS 2025UK NOS SFJCCAB1.2ESCOserper-snippetswhat people in this job say

The logs, files & records this job keeps

Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.

accesspresentation

Related careers

Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.

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