Basic vs Applied Research - Know the Ultimate Difference!

Research is a creative and systematic work that is undertaken to increase knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of information to enhance the understanding and comprehension of a topic or issue. A research project can also be an expansion of past work in the field. Research provides basic aid to the decision-making process by calculated procedures and techniques. It is a very popular and most authentic method to identify the problems and come up with well-defined solutions for these problems. According to dissertation writing services, research can be categorized under two sections based on its nature and utility; they are basic and applied research.

What Is Basic Research?

Also known as pure or fundamental research, basic research focuses on advancing scientific knowledge for a complete understanding of a topic or certain natural phenomenon, mainly in natural sciences. Simply put, when knowledge is acquired for the sake of knowing it is called basic research. Basic Research is completely theoretical; it concentrates on basic principles and testing theories and tends to understand the basic law. Its main purpose is the formulation of theory about human behavior, and it deals with generalization.

As it is aligned towards collecting information that has universal applicability, basic research help in adding new knowledge to the already existing knowledge. Basic research works to outspread the existing puddle of evidence about various issues. It is completed in fixed backdrops like workrooms or closed rooms that have an incomplete number of unknown variables.

What Is Applied Research?

Applied research can be defined as research that includes the real-life application of natural science. It is directed towards providing a solution to the specific practical problems and developing innovative technology. Applied research is a type of research that is quantitative; it focuses more on the quantity or the number of respondents or deals with the number of something about which the research is being done.

To be more precise, it is the research that can be applied to real-life situations. It investigates a particular set of circumstances to relate the results to its corresponding circumstances. Applied research includes research that focuses on certain conclusions experiencing a business problem. Moreover, research that is aligned towards ascertaining social, economic, or political trends is also termed applied research.

Basic Research VS Applied Research:

Discussed here are the differences between basic and applied research:

Basic Research tries to expand the already existing scientific knowledge base. On the other hand, applied research is used for scientific study that helps solve real-life problems.
Basic research is purely theoretical, while applied research has a practical approach.
The applicability of basic research is greater than the applied research; the former is universally applicable whereas the latter can be applied only to the specific problem, for the purpose it was carried out.
The main objective of basic research is to develop scientific knowledge and predictions. On the contrary, applied research focuses on the development of technology and technique with the help of basic science.
The goal of the basic research is to add some knowledge to the already existing one. As opposed to this, applied research is directed towards finding a solution to the problem under consideration.

Here are is the parameter of comparison between basic research and applied research.

Definition:

Basic research — the new information and knowledge of already existing concepts is developed
Applied research — new industry-specific techniques or procedures are developed to solve commercial problems.

Nature:

Basic research — it is theoretical
Applied research — it is practical.

Aim:

Basic research — it extends the prevailing source of evidence about different sources and objectives.
Applied research — it develops new techniques and technologies for solving various industrial problems.

Efficacy:

Basic research — the efficacy of basic research is universal and has a global purpose to solve.
Applied research — the efficacy of advanced research is limited and has a practical purpose to solve.

Environment:

Basic research — it is carried out in a limited environment like laboratories, etc.
Applied research — it is conducted in an open world with many unexpected variables in place.

Nature Of Research:

Basic research — the landscape of research is theoretical and it is developed on already existing concepts and theorems.
Applied research — nature is completely practical and implied to develop techniques to implement in the industrial use cases.

Utility:

Basic research — it has a universal utility
Applied research — it has limited utility and can only be used in specified circumstances.

The type of research varies based on the level at which research is carried out and its purpose. In most cases, basic research is chosen over the applied one when the purpose is to add certain scientific knowledge. However, when the main purpose is to identify a proper solution to the problems under study, applied research works best in such cases.