Besides performing and teaching A. Tsitsikian had been involved in scientific research since her student years. Many years of meticulous work with archival data, enabled her to bring back the names of outstanding musicians from oblivion, in so doing, she unveiled the previously unstudied history of performing arts in Armenia. It was the first major work in this area. Her studies on Armenian musical instruments were valuable as well. Materials discovered allowed her to find a new approach to the issue of the development of bow instruments. Here the author found critical evidence of the early existence of bow instruments, which were ancestors of the violin, in the Armenian highlands.

Thus, the discovery of a depiction of a “jutak” on a vase from the 10th century, in Dvin, caused a big stir because it reversed previous common understandings in musicology about the origins of the violin family of instruments. “The work of A. Tsitsikian is a genuine discovery, the mere fact of discovery and description of such early musical instruments is unique and makes essential changes in the history of the evolution of bow instruments both in the East and in the overall European-Asian region,” – this is the high praise of Anahit’s scientific studies, which was given by the researcher’.

In 1969, Tsitsikian successfully defended her thesis and was awarded the degree of the PhD Candidate of Art. Later on, until the close of her life she continued her research in the field of ancient musicology; wrote articles and books, participated in international research Conferences and Symposiums. A prominent researcher, she appeared to be the founder of a new science in Armenia – Musical Archeology.