Q:

How does a "research scientist" differ from a "scientist"?

I have seen the term research scientist in several job descriptions. Does the qualifier research distinguish a special kind of scientific role, or is this actually a redundant phrase? How can you work as a scientist without doing research?

A:

There is an overlap of areas of work between science and research science.
The definition of science according to FreeDictionary 

The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena

This implies that scientists propose a theory and ratifies it by observation and verification. This is basic science / theoretical science. It has very open scope, therefore much flexibility.
Whereas research science / applied science is both research and its application in practice. So, there are jobs of Research Scientists at Bell Laboratories, IBM R&D, Google Labs etc. It involves doing work on a specified requirement (probably with customers) and develop a product solution. So, it has narrower scope than the basic science.

