Page "Research" Paragraph 1

Research and experimental development is formal work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications ( OECD ( 2002 ) Frascati Manual: proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development, 6th edition.

It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories.

A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field.

To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects, or the project as a whole.

The primary purposes of basic research ( as opposed to applied research ) are documentation, discovery, interpretation, or the research and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge.

Approaches to research depend on epistemologies, which vary considerably both within and between humanities and sciences.