It Respects them but if using tech advancing it might lock out out of certain categories. however as far as speed for gaining points it can be totally customized in the setting.

From experience, it respects them. If you have a tech cost multiplier, or a research effectiveness multiplier, it will take X research points to achieve 1 point in the category.

So if your Medieval tech is costing double, it's 2/1, or if you're using slower 50% research speed, doubled costs, etc, on top of that, 4/1.

The mod – outside of recent oddities with the update, missing prototypes and so on – works perfectly fine with Tech Advancing's cost multipliers which I use. 10* for ahead research is something I have on all the time and it takes 10/1 to get a point of research done.