Initially students in Higher Education learn research-related skills in tutor-led workshops. They practice assigned tasks using paper-based instructions facilitated by the workshop tutors. When a piece of software is used to assist data collection and analyses, the narrative based instructions need to be coupled with screen shots of the steps and functions of the software. The students generally read and work through the step-by-step instructions to learn the function of the software. This mode of learning does not account for the varied reading and comprehension speed of the students and the issues related to the cross modality interferences. More importantly students with reading difficulties find instructions with a very high load of written narrative challenging. This project explores a fundamentally different mode of instruction and aims to evaluate and compare it to narrative based instructions. A group of Year 1 psychology students learned SPSS, a piece of software for statistical analysis, using animated instructions. The animated instructions showed essential steps for data entries and data analyses. The animated instructions were created using Snapz, a video-capturing software. The tutor created a set of video clips using Snapz showing how to use SPSS. No narrative or voice was used. Only an animated arrow showed the different functions of SPSS. The students had full control over the pace of the instructions. They could use pause and rewind functions to suit their pace of learning. The task completion was also supported and facilitated by the workshop tutors. Both students’ and tutors’ feedback for narrative and animated instructions were compared. The levels of skills acquisition and retention for both modes of instructions were analysed. The implications of using animated instruction in learning research skills was discussed and recommendations made.