Acton Research accommodates in-house and externally-based scholars from a variety of nationalities, Christian confessions, and intellectual disciplines. These disciplines include theology, philosophy, history, economics, and law. The investigations of these scholars attempt to clarify the foundations of a free, humane, and virtuous society. Their work is guided by an uncompromising commitment to human dignity, economic liberty, the recognition of the benefits of a limited government, the pursuit of truth, and the compatibility of faith and reason.

Acton Research provides the Acton Institute with the intellectual tools (including books, monographs, articles, and op-ed pieces as well as a refereed academic journal, the Journal of Markets & Morality) it needs to promote its distinct vision of the free and virtuous society, and the benefits of individual liberty guided by religious principles. Primary reference sources for Acton Research include Christian social ethics, the natural law tradition, and various schools of thought that explore and uphold the benefits of economic liberty. Acton Research has sought to expand knowledge of the economic thought of sixteenth and seventeenth century Roman Catholic and Protestant scholastic theologians. It has also drawn attention to the insights of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the wisdom of the Jewish Tradition.

Acton Research also oversees the Acton Institute's various scholarship programs, organizes occasional conferences, and seeks to cultivate young scholars interested in the same constellation of ideas as the Acton Institute. Acton's scholars also liaise extensively with university professors and instructors around the world who share the same intellectual interests. Scholars associated with Acton lecture regularly on a variety of themes at Acton Institute events, both in America and around the world. They are available to speak on appropriate themes to academic and non-academic audiences, and may be contacted at the Acton Institute.