Why basic research

This article is part of our Basic Research theme. Basic research is often described as research without any clear goals, or science to satisfy the curiosity of a lone scientist without anyone else even realising that it exists. ScienceNordic takes you into the engine room of basic research to find out:.

Read More: What is basic research? In the coming weeks, ScienceNordic is running a special theme on basic research. We will try to cover questions like: what is the point of basic research, who pays for it, who does it, and how does it benefit society? You can bookmark the basic research theme homepage to stay up to date with the new articles on basic research here at ScienceNordic. Basic research seeks answers to fundamental questions and provides broad insights to many different scientific fields.

Applied research, on the other hand, tends to have a much narrower focus within a specific field. Public debate usually tries to draw clear distinctions between basic research and applied research, so that they appear as almost polar opposites.

Applied research appears to have specific goals: a vaccine, a new windmill, or a new battery—concrete inventions that can improve our daily lives and lead to new products in the marketplace. Examples of Basic Research Basic research can be carried out in different fields with the primary aim of expanding the frontier of knowledge and developing the scope of these fields of study.

Basic Research Example in Education In education, basic research is used to develop pedagogical theories that explain teaching and learning behaviours in the classroom. Examples of basic research in education include the following: How does the Language Acquisition Device work on children? How does the human retentive memory work? How do teaching methods affect student's concentration in class? Basic Research Example in Science Basic research advances scientific knowledge by helping researchers understand the function of newly discovered molecules and cells, strange phenomena, or little-understood processes.

Examples of basic research in science include: A research to determine the chemical composition of organic molecules. A research to discover the components of the human DNA. Basic Research Example in Psychology In psychology, basic research helps individuals and organisations to gain insights and better understanding into different conditions.

Examples of basic research in psychology include: Do stress levels make individuals more aggressive? To what extent does caffeine consumption affect classroom concentration? A research on behavioral differences between children raised by separated families and children raised by married parents. To what extent do gender stereotypes trigger depression?

Basic Research Example in Health Basic research methods improve healthcare by providing different dimensions to the understanding and interpretation of healthcare issues. Examples of basic research in health include: An investigation into the symptoms of Coronavirus. An investigation into the causative factors of malaria An investigation into the secondary symptoms of high blood pressure. Basic Research Method Interview An interview is a common method of data collection in basic research that involves having a one-on-one interaction with an individual in order to gather relevant information about a phenomenon.

Observation Observation is a type of data-gathering method that involves paying close attention to a phenomenon for a specific period of time in order to gather relevant information about its behaviors. Experiment An experiment is a type of quantitative data-gathering method that seeks to validate or refute a hypothesis and it can also be used to test existing theories.

This can be done using 3 major methods which are controlled experiments, field experiments, and natural experiments Questionnaire A questionnaire is a data collection tool that is made up of a series of questions to which the research subjects provide answers. Edit Form Click on the edit button to edit the form. Edit fields iii. Click on "Save" iv. Form Customization With the form customization options in the form builder, you can easily change the look and feel of your form and make it more unique and personalized.

Multiple Sharing Options Formplus offers multiple form sharing options which enables you to easily share your questionnaire with respondents. Data Reporting Data reporting is a type of data collection method where the researcher gathers relevant data and turns them in for further analysis in order to arrive at specific conclusions.

Case Studies A case study is a type of data collection method that involves the detailed examination of a specific subject matter in order to gather objective information about the features and behaviors of the research subject. Definition Applied research is a type of research that is concerned with solving practical problems using scientific methods while basic research is a type of research that is concerned with the expansion of knowledge.

Nature Basic research generates new theories or improves on existing theories hence, it is theoretical in nature. Focus Basic research is knowledge-specific while applied research is solution-specific. Research Purpose The purpose of basic research is to improve on existing knowledge or to discover new knowledge while the purpose of applied research is to solve specific problems. Scope The scope of basic research is universal while applied research is limited in nature.

Basic research is primarily explanatory while applied research is descriptive in nature. Basic research adopts an indirect approach to problem-solving while applied research adopts a direct approach to problem solving. In basic research, generalizations are common while in applied research, specific problems are investigated without the aim of generalizations.

Characteristics of Basic Research Basic research is analytical in nature. It aims at theorising concepts and not solving specific problems. This shortening list of financially viable research topics also affects the ecosystem of scientific research by narrowing the scope of topics science can address, increasing competition and reducing collaborative efforts.

This leads me to make a critical point about basic research: while it might not offer clear-cut ways to immediately solve problems, it is the bedrock for future fixes. Breakthrough scientific discoveries are never made in a vacuum—they are built upon basic science work done by others, oftentimes decades and centuries ago Figure 2. We simply do not understand ourselves or the world well enough to predict everything we need or might need; basic scientific research ensures we are equipped to deal with issues beyond the limits of our present-day imagination, should they arise.

The beauty of exploration borne of curiosity is that it is unpredictable and will bear fruits of infinite possibilities. Many of the biggest breakthroughs in our lifetimes started out as almost absurdly arbitrary questions.

Without someone asking why jellyfish glow in the dark, we would not have Green Fluorescent Protein or any of its derivatives, which, among other uses, allows researchers to tag components in cells and track them under the microscope. This ability has enabled numerous scientific discovery, such as facilitating the investigation of neurological development and brain circuitry. Without someone once asking why our bodies are able to fight off sickness , we would not have cancer immunotherapy.

Even CRISPR Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats , the basis of the genome editing technology that drastically changed the prospect of gene therapy for the better, would not exist if microbiologists were not curious enough to probe the functions of the bizarre arrays of repeated DNA sequences they found in bacteria. Rather, basic and applied research are two sides of the same coin.

They go hand-in-hand as symbiotic and complementary entities: without basic research, applied research has no foundation, and without applied research, basic research yields no tools. As a biologist doing basic research, explaining my work to the public can too often morph into a game of scientific Taboo: I want to understand how, uh, this one thing interacts with another and then what happens after, which could be important because it, uh, might lead to diseases.

This type of research seeks to develop knowledge and make predictions. Applied research focuses on discovering new information. The two often overlap when basic research provides a foundational understanding to help with applied research. Related: Research Skills: Definition and Examples. Information found through basic research can help develop theories, whereas information found through applied research can help solve particular problems. Since applied research helps solve a problem, it's seen as being a more practical research method.

However, basic research can help researchers develop theories and predictions. While basic research helps society learn more about a particular field of study, applied research tends to have more of a commercial gain. This is because applied research has the potential to lead to a monetary gain and can help create new products. Often, governments and industries favor applied research over basic research. Basic research tends to be more popular for fields such as sociology, biology, astronomy philosophy and theology since it helps explain why certain instances occur.

Basic research tends to be a more universal research method since it applies to a variety of concepts. However, since applied research focuses on solving one particular problem, it tends to have a more specific utility. Applied research finds information for a select subject. Both basic research and applied research can be helpful tools for obtaining the information you don't know, but they each work best in different settings. Basic research can help you when you're looking for answers to universal, theoretical questions.

Typically, you conduct this kind of research when you're hoping to expand existing knowledge and create predictions. Applied research tends to be more beneficial when you're trying to come up with a solution. Here, you can use your finding to develop new technologies and improve existing systems.

This research works best if you have a specific question you are looking to answer. When choosing what type of research to use, consider whether you are looking to expand existing knowledge or hoping to find completely new knowledge to solve a problem.

Related: What Is User Research?