Thinking more about the way the research screen is organized I think another problem of why its so frustrating to use is due to specializations and they way you have to hunt around for them on 2 separate screens.
So I think restructuring the research window as follows would work out better:
Factory Upgrades > Robots, Improved Efficiency, Factory Expansion, Power Production
Factory Administration > Marketing, QA, Export, Research
Product Design > Car Designs
Product Features > Safety, Driver Assist, Security, Environmental, Convenience, Entertainment, Performance
Station Specialization (Unlock Slots/options for improvement in existing Stations) > Chassis, Body, Paint Engine, Accessories
Manufacturing Process (Unlock New Manufacturing Stations for Components) > Chassis, Body, Paint Engine, Accessories
to make this less confusing at the bottom of the page for Product features that require a Station Specialization include the research required so you dont have to switch tabs
adding the required prerequisite research to the research queue would help as well
also I think doing a top down approach would be better than a left to right layout because text is read left to right if there is more research they do not stack as well. going vertical would allow a lot more on screen I think