Research is often described as an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising facts. This intellectual investigation produces a greater knowledge of events, behaviors, theories, and laws and makes practical applications possible. The term research is also used to describe an entire collection of information about a particular subject, and is usually associated with the output of science and the scientific method. The word research derives from the obsolete French recherche, from rechercher, to search closely where "chercher" means "to search" (see French language); its literal meaning is 'to investigate thoroughly'.

Basic research

Basic research (also called fundamental or pure research) has as its primary objective the advancement of knowledge and the theoretical understanding of the relations among variables (see statistics). It is exploratory and often driven by the researcher’s curiosity, interest, or hunch. It is conducted without any practical end in mind, although it may have unexpected results pointing to practical applications. The terms “basic” or “fundamental” indicate that, through theory generation, basic research provides the foundation for further, sometimes applied research. As there is no guarantee of short-term practical gain, researchers often find it difficult to obtain funding for basic research. Research is a subset of invention.

Applied research

Applied research is done to solve specific, practical questions; its primary aim is not to gain knowledge for its own sake. It can be exploratory, but is usually descriptive. It is almost always done on the basis of basic research. Applied research can be carried out by academic or industrial institutions. Often, an academic institution such as a university will have a specific applied research program funded by an industrial partner interested in that program. Common areas of applied research include electronics, informatics, computer science, material science, process engineering, and drug design.

Research methods :

The goal of the research process is to produce new knowledge, which takes three main forms:
• Exploratory research, which structures and identifies new problems
• Constructive research, which develops solutions to a problem
• Empirical research, which tests the feasibility of a solution using empirical evidence

Research process

Generally, research is understood to follow a certain structural process. Though step order may vary depending on the subject matter and researcher, the following steps are usually part of most formal research, both basic and applied:

• Formation of the topic
• Hypothesis
• Conceptual definitions
• Operational definitions
• Gathering of data
• Analysis of data
• Conclusion, revising of hypothesis

A common misunderstanding is that by this method a hypothesis can be proven. Instead, by these methods no hypothesis can be proven, rather a hypothesis may only be disproven. A hypothesis can survive several rounds of scientific testing and be widely thought of as true (or better, predictive), but this is not the same as it having been proven. It would be better to say that the hypothesis has yet to be disproven.