Basic research explained

Basic research, also called pure research, fundamental research, basic science, or pure science, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena.[1] In contrast, applied research uses scientific theories to develop technology or techniques, which can be used to intervene and alter natural or other phenomena. Though often driven simply by curiosity,[2] basic research often fuels the technological innovations of applied science.[3] The two aims are often practiced simultaneously in coordinated research and development.

In addition to innovations, basic research also serves to provide insight into nature around us and allows us to respect its innate value.[4] The development of this respect is what drives conservation efforts. Through learning about the environment, conservation efforts can be strengthened using research as a basis.[5] Technological innovations can unintentionally be created through this as well, as seen with examples such as kingfishers' beaks affecting the design for high speed bullet trains in Japan.[6]

Overview

Basic research advances fundamental knowledge about the world. It focuses on creating and refuting or supporting theories that explain observed phenomena. Pure research is the source of most new scientific ideas and ways of thinking about the world. It can be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory; however, explanatory research is the most common.

Basic research generates new ideas, principles, and theories, which may not be immediately utilized but nonetheless form the basis of progress and development in different fields. Today's computers, for example, could not exist without research in pure mathematics conducted over a century ago, for which there was no known practical application at the time. Basic research rarely helps practitioners directly with their everyday concerns; nevertheless, it stimulates new ways of thinking that have the potential to revolutionize and dramatically improve how practitioners deal with a problem in the future.

By country

In the United States, basic research is funded mainly by the federal government and done mainly at universities and institutes.[7] As government funding has diminished in the 2010s, however, private funding is increasingly important.[8]

Basic versus applied science

See main article: Applied science and Translational research. Applied science focuses on the development of technology and techniques. In contrast, basic science develops scientific knowledge and predictions, principally in natural sciences but also in other empirical sciences, which are used as the scientific foundation for applied science. Basic science develops and establishes information to predict phenomena and perhaps to understand nature, whereas applied science uses portions of basic science to develop interventions via technology or technique to alter events or outcomes.[9] [10] Applied and basic sciences can interface closely in research and development.[11] [12] The interface between basic research and applied research has been studied by the National Science Foundation.

A worker in basic scientific research is motivated by a driving curiosity about the unknown. When his explorations yield new knowledge, he experiences the satisfaction of those who first attain the summit of a mountain or the upper reaches of a river flowing through unmapped territory. Discovery of truth and understanding of nature are his objectives. His professional standing among his fellows depends upon the originality and soundness of his work. Creativeness in science is of a cloth with that of the poet or painter.[13]
It conducted a study in which it traced the relationship between basic scientific research efforts and the development of major innovations, such as oral contraceptives and videotape recorders. This study found that basic research played a key role in the development in all of the innovations. The number of basic science research that assisted in the production of a given innovation peaked between 20 and 30 years before the innovation itself. While most innovation takes the form of applied science and most innovation occurs in the private sector, basic research is a necessary precursor to almost all applied science and associated instances of innovation. Roughly 76% of basic research is conducted by universities.[14]

A distinction can be made between basic science and disciplines such as medicine and technology.[9] [10] [15] [16] [17] They can be grouped as STM (science, technology, and medicine; not to be confused with STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics]) or STS (science, technology, and society). These groups are interrelated and influence each other,[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] although they may differ in the specifics such as methods and standards.[10] [15] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]

The Nobel Prize mixes basic with applied sciences for its award in Physiology or Medicine. In contrast, the Royal Society of London awards distinguish natural science from applied science.[36]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What is basic research? . 2014-05-31 . National Science Foundation.
  2. http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/factsheet_CuriosityCreatesCures.htm "Curiosity creates cures: The value and impact of basic research
  3. http://www.icsu.org/publications/icsu-position-statements/value-scientific-research "ICSU position statement: The value of basic scientific research"
  4. Book: Yong, Ed . An Immense World . 2022 . Random House Publishing Group . 978-0-593-13324-8 . 1333131287.
  5. Cook . Carly N. . Mascia . Michael B. . Schwartz . Mark W. . Possingham . Hugh P. . Fuller . Richard A. . 2013-04-10 . Achieving Conservation Science that Bridges the Knowledge–Action Boundary . Conservation Biology . en . 27 . 4 . 669–678 . 10.1111/cobi.12050 . 0888-8892 . 3761186 . 23574343. 2013ConBi..27..669C .
  6. Web site: High Speed Train Inspired by the Kingfisher — Innovation — AskNature . 2022-11-29 . asknature.org . en-US.
  7. Bell Labs kills fundamental physics research . Priya . Ganapati . 2008-08-27 . 2008-08-28 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20080828233520/http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/bell-labs-kills.html. 28 August 2008 . live.
  8. News: William J. Broad. Billionaires with big ideas are privatizing American science. December 26, 2014. The New York Times. March 15, 2014.
  9. Limited scope of science. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews. 64. 1. 1–12. 10.1128/MMBR.64.1.1-12.2000. 10704471. 98983. March 2000. Davis. Bernard D.. & "Technology" in Bernard Davis . Bernard Davis (biologist) . 10704471 . The scientist's world . . Mar 2000 . 64 . 1 . 1–12 . 10.1128/MMBR.64.1.1-12.2000 . 98983.
  10. James McCormick . 19790950 . 2560978 . Scientific medicine—fact of fiction? The contribution of science to medicine . Occasional Paper (Royal College of General Practitioners) . 80 . 2001 . 3–6.
  11. [Gerard Piel]
  12. Ruth-Marie E Fincher, Paul M Wallach & W Scott Richardson, "Basic science right, not basic science lite: Medical education at a crossroad", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Nov 2009;24(11):1255–58, abstract: "Thoughtful changes in education provide the opportunity to improve understanding of fundamental sciences, the process of scientific inquiry, and translation of that knowledge to clinical practice".
  13. Web site: What is basic research? . National Science Foundation. 2014-05-31 .
  14. Book: Stephan, Paula. How Economics Shapes Science. Harvard University Press. 2012. 978-0-674-04971-0. Cambridge, MA. 146.
  15. Richard Smith. Mar 2006. The trouble with medical journals. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 99. 3. 115–9. 10.1177/014107680609900311. 1383755. 16508048.
  16. Leon Eisenberg . Leon Eisenberg . Science in medicine: Too much or too little and too limited in scope? . American Journal of Medicine . 84 . 3 Pt 1 . 483–91 . Mar 1988 . 3348249 . 10.1016/0002-9343(88)90270-7.
  17. J N Clarke . S Arnold . M Everest . K Whitfield . amp . The paradoxical reliance on allopathic medicine and positivist science among skeptical audiences . Social Science & Medicine . 64 . 1 . 164–73 . Jan 2007 . 17045377 . 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.038.
  18. Eric Holtzman. 1981. Science, philosophy, and society: Some recent books. International Journal of Health Services. 11. 1. 123–49. 10.2190/l5eu-e7pc-hxg6-euml. 7016767. 25401644.
  19. P M Strong PM. K McPherson. amp. 1982. Natural science and medicine: Social science and medicine: Some methodological controversies. Social Science & Medicine. 16. 6. 643–57. 10.1016/0277-9536(82)90454-3. 7089600.
  20. Lucien R Karhausen. 2000. Causation: The elusive grail of epidemiology. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 3. 1. 59–67. 10.1023/A:1009970730507. 11080970. 24260908.
  21. Book: K Bayertz . P Nevers . amp . Biology as technology . Clio Medica . 48 . 108–32 . 1998 . 9646019.
  22. John V Pickstone . Michael Worboys . amp . Focus: Between and beyond 'histories of science' and 'histories of medicine'—introduction . Isis . 102 . 1 . 97–101 . Mar 2011 . 21667777 . 10.1086/658658. 224835675 .
  23. Lester S King . Lester S. King . Medicine in the USA: Historical vignettes: XI: Medicine seeks to be 'scientific' . JAMA . 249 . 18 . 2475–9 . May 1983 . 6341631 . 10.1001/jama.1983.03330420025028.
  24. Thomas Marshall . Scientific knowledge in medicine: A new clinical epistemology? . Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice . 3 . 2 . 133–8 . Apr 1997 . 9276588 . 10.1046/j.1365-2753.1997.00075.x.
  25. A Zalewski . Importance of philosophy of science to the history of medical thinking . Croatian Medical Journal . 40 . 1 . 8–13 . Mar 1999 . 9933889 .
  26. Kevork Hopayian . Why medicine still needs a scientific foundation: Restating the hypotheticodeductive model—part two . British Journal of General Practice . 54 . 502 . 402–3 . May 2004 . 15372724 . 1266186.
  27. A Skurvydas . New methodology in biomedical science: Methodological errors in classical science . Medicina . 41 . 1 . 7–16 . 2005 . 15687745 . 2015-03-08 . 2005-11-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051104063456/http://medicina.kmu.lt/0501/0501-02e.htm . dead .
  28. Ronald A Arky . Abe Flexner, where are you? We need you! . Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association . 118 . 89–96 . 2007 . 18528492 . 1863593.
  29. Peter Byass . The democratic fallacy in matters of clinical opinion: Implications for analysing cause-of-death data . Emerging Themes in Epidemiology . 8 . 1 . 1 . 2011 . 21223568 . 3026021 . 10.1186/1742-7622-8-1 . free .
  30. M Brandon Westover . Kenneth D Westover KD . Matt T Bianchi . amp . Significance testing as perverse probabilistic reasoning . BMC Medicine . 9 . 20 . 2011 . 21356064 . 3058025 . 10.1186/1741-7015-9-20 . free .
  31. Alfredo Morabia . Epidemiological causality . History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences . 27 . 3–4 . 365–79 . 2005 . 16898206.
  32. Michael Kundi . Michael Kundi . Causality and the interpretation of epidemiologic evidence . Environmental Health Perspectives . 114 . 7 . 969–74 . July 2006 . 16835045 . 1513293 . 10.1289/ehp.8297.
  33. Andrew C Ward . The role of causal criteria in causal inferences: Bradford Hill's 'aspects of association' . Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations . 6 . 2 . 2009 . 19534788 . 2706236 . 10.1186/1742-5573-6-2 . free .
  34. Georg W Kreutzberg . Scientists and the marketplace of opinions: Scientific credibility takes on a different meaning when reaching out to the public . EMBO Reports . 6 . 5 . 393–6 . May 2005 . 15864285 . 1299311 . 10.1038/sj.embor.7400405.
  35. John Worrall . John Worrall (philosopher) . Evidence: Philosophy of science meets medicine . Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice . 16 . 2 . 356–62 . Apr 2010 . 20367864 . 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01400.x.
  36. "Medals, Awards & Prize lectures", The Royal Society website, accessed 22 Sep 2013.

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