In the field of heritage research and preservation, he also served as director of the Brigade of the National Artistic Inventory Centre of the National Academy of Fine Arts. This work led to the posthumous publication of a multi-volume series titled Inventário Artístico de Portugal [Artistic Inventory of Portugal] .

Vergílio Correia conducted significant research on the district and city of Coimbra, collaborating with António Nogueira Gonçalves.

His primary research methods included extensive documentary investigation and in loco monument assessments. He favoured what he called “intimate contact with reality” or “moving away from theory and focusing on observation and personal investigation of the facts” (Dr Vergílio Correia, 1945, p. 8). His writing often prioritised presenting new and objective facts over theorising and contextualising the objects he studied, reflecting a positivist approach: "Before presenting ideas, they must be grounded in facts. Before putting forward general ideas, which are often inconsistent and lack foundation, […] we must first prepare a detailed and faithful account of the documents. […] This is the method I follow in artistic history studies, where documents serve as the cornerstone" ( Vasco Fernandes: mestre do retábulo da Sé de Lamego [Vasco Fernandes: Master of the Altarpiece of Lamego Cathedral], 1924, pp. IX-X). This focus on historical documents is evident throughout his publications, which included transcriptions of sources, such as his research on the construction of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, his studies on the alterpiece of the Cathedral of Lamego — where he supported its attribution to Vasco Fernandes — and his nearly complete edition of the Livro dos regimentos dos officiaes mecânicos : da mui nobre e sempre leal cidade de Lisboa [Book of Regulations for Mechanical Officers : Of the Most Noble and Ever Loyal City of Lisbon] (1572).

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