If you work on getting the Science Tech as early as you can, then the villagers will earn more per "research." Depending on the early events, I will either get Level 2 Science before or right after Level 2 Farming. I will then be patient and earn the points for Level 3 Science before anything else.

In a new game I'm playing now, I have Level 2 Science & Farming, but when my original Villagers went into "Elderly" mode at age 50, I spent 15,000 points for Level 2 Medicine and they are back to "normal" research mode. I expect, that I'll have enough points for Level 3 Science by the time I get home from work. At that point my Master Scientists will earn 33 points per research instead fo 20.

I also run my early game on 1/2 speed. The villagers get more tasks done and eat less per village year than on normal mode.

One tip that has been mentioned before is that if you watch your villager at the research table, you'll see him/her do a little kick/side step. At that point they've earned the points and you can pick him/her up and start a new research session. That will help you earn the points a bit faster. But you should also beware that villagers can get injured during researching, so I'll usually keep track and the one with the lowest health bar, I'll keep on farming instead.