Research in the game is too easy. Here's how to ensure you are #1 by a very long way. Its not even close to perfectly efficient, but you will substantially out-research the AI.
Turn 1:
Check out your homeworld. Go into colony management screen. Set slider to 100% production. Build factories on exactly half of your squares - normally about 5-7 depending on the class of your homeworld. They should pump out at 1 per turn. As you build them, scale back the slider to research, researching xeno factories/labs.
Turn 7 (ish):
Fill the remaining tiles with labs. By now xeno factories/labs should be done - build the factories first and then continue with the labs. You should be done researching farms. Keep scaling back that slider to more research - or start pumping colony ships with remaining production. Farms should finish soon after.
Turn 20 (ish):
Research the next level of factories and labs. When you reach tier 3 of labs, you should have unlocked the research project. Bingo. Go to your homeworld, move the slider all the way to production, and 100% social production. Now build the research project. This should easily produce 200-300 research.
From here on out techs should flow in at 1 per turn. Make sure you are ALWAYS researching 1 new tech per turn - as much as possible, try to avoid even 2 turn techs unless you need to beeline for something (there's typically a couple of things you want that will make you do this - ie medium hull, weapons, approval, etc).
The trick is not to value research buildings too highly.
50% factories, 50% labs with 100% social production and research project is currently WAYYYY better than 100% labs with 100% research. Silly I know.
