Design research studies to obtain scientific information.

Design research studies to obtain scientific information. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 5 occupations and seen in 10 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Develop research plans or methodologies. in Thinking Creatively .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 10 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 8 (80%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 3 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.011% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Plan or conduct geological, geochemical, or geophysical field studies or surveys, sample collection, or drilling and testing programs used to collect data for research or application. · Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Develop and test experimental designs, sampling techniques, and analytical methods. · Statisticians · importance 4.4 · direct LLM exposure
• Design research studies in collaboration with physicians, life scientists, or other professionals. · Biostatisticians · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Design research projects that apply valid scientific techniques, and use information obtained from baselines or historical data to structure uncompromised and efficient analyses. · Statisticians · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Design or perform experiments with equipment, such as lasers, accelerators, or mass spectrometers. · Biochemists and Biophysicists · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Plan laboratory experiments to confirm feasibility of processes and techniques used in the production of materials with special characteristics. · Materials Scientists · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Plan or direct research studies related to life sciences. · Biostatisticians · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Plan data collection methods for specific projects, and determine the types and sizes of sample groups to be used. · Statisticians · importance 3.8 · exposure with tools
• Design, conduct, or provide support to nursing informatics research. · Health Informatics Specialists · importance 3.7 · exposure with tools
• Design surveys to assess health issues. · Biostatisticians · importance 3.3 · exposure with tools

Occupations that perform this

• Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
• Statisticians
• Biochemists and Biophysicists
• Materials Scientists
• Health Informatics Specialists

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-design-research-studies-to-obtain-scientific-information,
  title  = {Design research studies to obtain scientific information.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/design-research-studies-to-obtain-scientific-information}
}