This series consists of materials related to Catalyst's research activities, which were undertaken in order to reveal statistical trends and provide data with the goal of provoking change in corporate culture from the inside. Beginning in the 1980s, studies were undertaken by the Research Department. Although the departmental structure has shifted over time, its core function has remained the same; accordingly, all research study material has been kept together.

The series is arranged by project. Each project subseries is titled by the project name used on funding reports and internal documents, which can vary from the title of the final report resulting from the research. Each subseries begins with the published report for convenience of use; copies of all published reports can be found in Series III., Subseries X. Published reports. Following the published report, the subseries are arranged by project workflow.

The series is arranged into twenty-five subseries: General files, Career Paths in High Technology, Catalyst Member Benchmarking Survey, Census initiatives, Center for Career and Leadership Development, Dual-Career Couples, Flexible Work Arrangements, Going Global, Manager-Subordinate Relationships Involving Women of Color Subordinates, the Next Generation, Paths to Entrepreneurship, Women and the MBA, Women in Corporate Management/Leadership, Women in Corporate Leadership Canada, Women in Corporate Leadership UK, Women in Engineering, Women in Financial Services, Women in Law, Women in Sales, Women in Science, Women of Color in Corporate Management, Women on Corporate Boards, Women Professionals in Oil and Gas, Published research reports, and Perspective. See individual subseries for detailed scope and content notes.