Research at Statistics Norway has three main goals:

To be a source of factual information
By processing and analysing available data in light of current theory and appropriate methodology, factual information is produced which exceeds what statistics alone can provide. The results are presented in the form of status and development trend reports for various sections of society, or reports on the performance of the Norwegian economy, the behaviour of households and businesses, on connections between economic activity, resources and environment, and on the consequences of political interventions.

To promote the development of models for social and economic policy analyses.
Empirical insight is brought to bear in the construction of models for social planning and policy analysis in consultation with users.

To analyse statistics compiled at Statistics Norway
Research at Statistics Norway has a unique vantage point given the proximity to the sources of data.  Such proximity creates an excellent environment to exploit the institute's computing expertise, customise data for particular purposes, link up with other sources, and reform methods of data collection and processing, especially the primary data collected by the institute itself.  The impact of statistics is also an important research activity at Statistics Norway.