Being a university researcher in general entails carrying out innovative and ground breaking research, and requires academic rigour, peer reviewing and rigorous writing and reading. But what is it like specifically for politics and international relations researchers?
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Having a wide and diverse knowledge base to draw from - research into politics and international relations often requires not only vigorous knowledge into these subjects, these are multidisciplinary and requires in depth knowledge of history, political economy and sociology
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Application of statistical methods for research - an important aspect is data driven research, which requires application of various statistical methods, data science techniques are certainly also beneficial to apply in your research
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Always staying up to date with political developments and current research - this is essential as you need to be aware of shifting political landscapes
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Collaboration with governments, institutions and think tanks - through your research, you aim to make the world a better place, this involves communication between different groups involved in policy making and governmental affairs
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Rigorous fact checking to ensure accuracy - due to sensitive topics, you will be required to ensure that what you and your colleagues publish is accurate and does not unintentionally cause harm