The Academy is the main research building, buildable very early (Keep Lv2). Research CANNOT be started while the Academy is upgrading (menu opens but you cannot begin), so a bot must sequence Academy upgrades vs research to avoid idle research queues; the Skill Books Shop and Duty slot remain usable. Duty Officer unlocks at Lv20 (increases research speed; ideal Sun Wu, Hammurabi, Eulji Mundeok). Research-category unlock milestones left-to-right: Lv17 Recovery; Lv28 Military Advance; Lv33 Defense Advance; Lv35 complete Advancement through Military Advance; Lv40 complete Defense Advance; Lv41 Offensive/Defensive Mastery. Implied priority: push Advancement FIRST because its Typography (max +70%) and Super Typography (max +100%) raise Research Speed, which accelerates all later research (Construction/Adv Construction/Super Construction similarly cut build times -- the snowball). Research-speed buffs: those Typography researches, Intellect Crown monarch gear (equip before starting), an Academy duty officer, ALSO a Military Academy duty officer (once Keep 36), Civilization Treasure Code of Hammurabi, an American subordinate city, Alliance Science, Victory Column, Celtic Demon dragon. Research-Stone sourcing: best is killing many Vikings (rally alliance members' Vikings for volume); stones can also be produced in the Research Factory but that is very expensive and only for emergencies. Skill Books Shop sells Common skill books at Lv1-3 only, Duty skill books Lv1 only. Keep-gated, cost F/L/S/O to +610% speed at Lv50. Rule for the bot: never let the Academy idle -- pick the highest-priority available node (Construction/Typography first).
Original research source: Evony Guide Wiki