Basic research

The basic research ( mostly English: Basic Research, partly Fundamental Research ) in the narrower sense, the scientific preparation, review and discussion of the principles of a science, as in the natural sciences, medicine and mathematics.

The intellectual, cultural and social sciences such as psychology, anthropology, pedagogy or linguistics provide basic knowledge of cultural, economic and social development as well as on social structures. They thus create a basis for decisions on current anthropological or social problems and challenges.

Basic research creates an elementary knowledge for further research and differs from applied research and industrial research, some of which work similar research fields, but these look with a different focus and others, about wirtschaftsorientierteren objectives. The concept of basic research has been popularized by the report Science - The Endless Frontier of the American engineer Vannevar Bush. This report also marked the beginning of modern science policy. The term Basic Research was first used by the U.S. Secretary of State Henry C. Wallace.

In contrast to contract research - - In the problem-oriented basic research, the questions are from the scientific literature developed, but in terms of concrete problems that are not necessarily scientific nature.