Basic Research

Overview

Basic research (also called fundamental or pure research) has as its primary objective the advancement of knowledge and the understanding of the relationship among different ideas. It is exploratory and often driven by the researcher's curiosity, interest, and intuition. Because of this, basic research is sometimes conducted without any practical end in mind, although it often has unexpected results leading to practical applications.

The terms "basic" or "fundamental" indicate that, through theory generation, basic research provides the foundation for further, possible applied or translational research. Most scientists believe that a basic, fundamental understanding of all branches of science is needed first in order for progress to take place, so this is a critically important step in the research process.

Going back to our arrow image, you can see we have been discussing what's on the far left, which is the beginning of the process. When you hear the term "bench to bedside" the "bench" part of the research refers to basic research, because this work takes place in a lab at a "bench".

 

 

Most of the information explained earlier in 'What We Know About Cancer' came from the efforts of basic researchers.

In this section we will discuss:

• Basic Research Scientists
• Scientific Disciplines
• Tools of The Trade