The main duty of a student researcher is to gather data needed to complete the research. Student researchers usually work under the guidance of a professor or department chair, and these individuals give the student researchers specific guidelines on what to research and how to perform the research. Student researchers get the data by conducting interviews, reading books, visiting government buildings and museum archives and looking at credible research websites such as JSTOR and Lexis Nexis.
Student researchers also make and receive phone calls from others regarding the research project, send and read emails, prepare letters to send to clients and perform some light office maintenance. In some cases, student researchers may supervise lower-level employees who work under the supervisor.
The student researcher also finds new research project ideas or new ways of approaching current research projects to his supervisors. For example, a researcher who was assigned to do a study on the economic hardships of single mothers in rural parts of the South may want to include single fathers in the study, so she talks with the supervisor about the possibility of expanding the study.
For student researchers who are working independently and not for a professor, they often write scholarly articles based on their research findings. This is especially important for student researchers who are pursuing doctoral degrees because when students apply for teaching positions at universities, administrators like to see that applicants have some kind of research experience. Writing scholarly articles also help the student build his reputation as a scholar in a certain field.