What is Research: Definition and 998 Discussions

Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of information to increase understanding of a topic or issue. A research project may 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, and the research and development (R&D) 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. There are several forms of research: scientific, humanities, artistic, economic, social, business, marketing, practitioner research, life, technological, etc. The scientific study of research practices is known as meta-research.

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  1. F

    Schools Graduate school without ANY research experience

    Hello, By next summer I'll have completed my bachelor's degree in geophysics at the University of Zagreb (Croatia). My GPA is perfect (5.0/5.0, although i know that a good gpa from a globally unknown university doesn't stand for much), my GRE's are great (General test, quant-170, verbal-160)...
  2. M

    Physics Plasma Physics Research Potential

    I'm currently in my final year of an aircraft propulsion PhD and have become passionate about plasma physics, due to its fluid like similarities. I find engineering too-well-defined for my liking and would like to research in a less well defined field, i.e. physics. I am considering taking a...
  3. bleist88

    Available Astronomy Research Topics?

    My astronomy lab group is planning a research project. We will have access to a .6 m reflecting telescope in the northern hemisphere as well as I believe a .6 or larger reflector in Australia remotely. We are curious how likely or practical it would be to be able to find research subjects...
  4. S

    Learning Materials for Speech, Music, and Acoustics Research

    I am interested in starting to research into the acoustics of speech and music. In particular I want to analyze the spectral profile of human voice in hopes of finding relationships between it and music. A possible future direction for this research is to improve synthetic speech to mimic...
  5. T

    Importance of undergrad research

    Alright, so I have a question that's really been bothering me. Suppose you're an undergrad, and you've done research for a year or two. And you've been fairly successful under two groups so you know what research is like. Then what is the point of being pushed ("encouraged") to do MORE...
  6. P

    Help Acquiring a Research Paper From ScienceDirect

    Can someone help me get the research paper from here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319999000087 I tried asking my teacher and even the deputy head but they couldn't help me. I hope someone from here can.
  7. N

    Thinking of withdrawing from a class and not accepting a research position

    Is it really that bad to withdraw from a class? I am taking 18 credits and I am taking the following classes: Computer Based Experimentation Classical Mechanics Multivariable Calculus Linear Algebra Computing for math & science Students in Transition Seminar I'm going to drop 1 class, computer...
  8. T

    Looking for undergrad communication research topics

    Hi, I'm a junior year electrical engineering student with communication major. Within 3 or 4 months i'll have to select a research topic. Can anyone help me with some latest topics? It is bad luck for me, I'm not adroit with circuits.:mad: Actually, I'm very much interested in physics and from...
  9. V

    Advice for starting out in research

    Starting this next week, I will be involved with volunteering as an undergraduate student in a biomedical research facility. I will be helping out the postdoc around the lab on a project that he is currently working on and I will be primarily involved with helping out with basic tasks around the...
  10. D

    Math To what degree can mathematicians research physics and vice versa

    indeed, this is the question: "to what degree can mathematicians research physics and vice versa ?" also, say you're in the analysis department of math for instance, to what degree is your research confined to the branch of analysis? thanks
  11. D

    Research Opportunities for Post-Undergrad Students

    Hi, What research internships are there out there for students between undergrad and grad school. This upcoming summer I'll have graduated from undergrad and will (hopefully) be going to grad school in the fall. But I want to be doing some research this upcoming summer. I'm not...
  12. M

    Physics What are my chances of getting a job in actual physics research?

    I'm looking at universities to go to next September. I'm still quite torn between theoretical physics and particle physics. In an absolutely ideal world, my plan is to do my masters, then a PhD and my dream job would be a university professor, or at least working in physics research. I know...
  13. S

    Interesting Aerodynamics Research topics

    Hi everyone, first off i'd like to thank you all for maintaining this awesome forum, seems really cool :D I wasn't sure whether this should be in the homework forums or not, but since I'm not asking for any solution of some sorts, i decided to post here. I'm a senior high school student...
  14. S

    Programming for research physics

    I'm applying for some REU's later on this year and I'm wondering whether knowing a programming language is necessary, and if so what book(s) I should get to learn. Also if anyone else has done an REU, is there any other skills or outside school actives I could do to increase my chances of being...
  15. A

    Is Undergraduate Research Crucial for Aspiring Physicists?

    hello everyone, How much important is doing undergraduate research during summer ? I'm a physics student of the second year, and next summer I could ask for doing research at LIGO or SURF. I'd like to ask you: Is this highly evaluated in the curriculum ? Is it important for my future work as a...
  16. S

    Archimedes Research: Explore Math History's Greatest Mind

    Hello everyone, I'm beginning a research project for a Math History class on Archimedes. Since technically it is a math class, I have to demonstrate and explain some of his math. Naturally, I can't explain and go into detail on everything the man did, and having only about a month to prepare...
  17. K

    Switching research groups without burning bridges?

    I'm currently a third year undergraduate doing semiconductor research for about one semester and a summer and I absolutely hate it! My professor doesn't have that many grad students and his lab is severely under funded. I don't have my own mentor/grad student and I've been blindly doing a...
  18. C

    Sophomore in Undergraduate Research

    I just finished my first 2 years of college and completed all the lower division classes. I spent 2 quarters part-time researching and a summer full time researching for my professor (who is a theorist) in solid state physics. The work I done was mostly calculation through programming and I...
  19. Arsenic&Lace

    How does mathematics research look for physics graduate?

    I'm interested in mathematical or theoretical physics (and, I am quite aware of how daunting it is to obtain a career in this field). I'm curious, if I do research with the mathematics department, does this look good? Currently I might have a project in dynamical systems, although I could...
  20. jbrussell93

    How can I find a lab/field that I truly enjoy working in?

    Freshman year, I knew that I wanted to get involved with research but had so many interests that I thought I could just pick any lab and be happy. I started working in a neurobiology research lab in January of this year and continued through the summer until now. I'm planning on continuing in...
  21. M

    Meeting with a Professor for Undergrad Research Tomorrow.

    Hey everyone, Tomorrow I'll be meeting with an undergraduate professor (does work in Astrophysics/Astronomy) to discuss work as an undergrad for the quarter. I know it'll mostly be grunt work and I'm not harboring any illusions on that but, I have no idea what she'll ask me during this...
  22. P

    Will my research help me to get into grad school

    Hi Guys, I have a BSc in physical sciences and an equivalent in mechanical engineering and I am going to apply to grad school for a masters in aerospace engineering. Problem is, where I am from, aerospace engineering is like way off the map, Both the institutions I study do not offer it...
  23. B

    Math research ideas for high school student?

    So I've been accepted into a research program at my school, and I'm to come up with a research topic to work on over the school year. My mathematics is limited to geometry, though after this year will encompass trig and pre-calc. Anyway, I'm interested in pure mathematics, but obviously my...
  24. H

    Medical Tracking Research as a Layman (Help Appreciated)

    A recent abstract discusses the first report ever of the remission of an autoimmune disease from which I suffer, ankylosing spondylitis. As a layman without access to subscriptions to professional journals, I was wondering if there might be any posters who are aware of the best internet sites...
  25. S

    Schools Ranking US Universities according to their physics research

    Hello I have asked similar questions in the past but am having a lot of trouble with this!: I am welcoming all advice on finding good official ranking tables of US Universities according to the quality and volume (and perhaps other metrics as well!) of their scientific research. For...
  26. C

    Courses 3 year research vs. 2 year pure coursework MS

    I'm currently doing a MS in physics. The way I'm progressing, it looks to me that I'd probably have to take 3 years to finish the thesis. This is because I'm having to take extra classes since I didn't have a critical 1 year class (E and M) during undergrad; I didn't major in physics. I'll be...
  27. E

    Programs Doubting to go for PhD after real research experience

    Dear all, I've just finished my second real lab experience (after my bachelors thesis). I spent 3 weeks in ISOLDE working on the beamline that would collect the data for my master thesis. The experiment was a huge success. I enjoyed it a lot, but at some point I just felt like I was...
  28. B

    Applied Physics/Engineering for Research

    Hello. I am a senior in high school who is looking for some guidance deciding on what would best suit my interests. I would like to work with a national lab or something along those lines in the future. I think that construction of particle accelerators, laser experimentation and electronics...
  29. A

    Postgraduate by research Mathematics

    Hi, I am planning to take my master next year, I have several misunderstanding that I wish anybody can explain. Okay, at first, last year, I've been checking Master programme on Universities. I found that some of them distinguished Master by research and master by coursework. And I keep...
  30. N

    Which Field of Theoretical Physics Involves Research in Superconductivity?

    What field in theoretical physics can you enter to do research in superconductivity?
  31. C

    What are the significant differences between graduate and undergraduate research?

    I understand that undergraduate research is big at UCSC and that it is required for both of my prospective majors (physics and robotics engineering). What I'm trying to figure out is the specific differences between undergraduate and graduate research. I would guess that undergraduate reseach...
  32. E

    Research study on Digital Delay/Pulse Generators

    Hello everyone, I am doing a little bit of research on Digital Delay and Pulse Generators, and I would like to ask a question to anyone who works with that kind of equipment. How do you choose a DD/PG? The main criterion I guess should be it's function (DD/PG models are normally very...
  33. P

    HHMI Research Scholars Opportunity

    Hello, everyone. I am an undergrad physics major - returned to school after many years, in case you had forgotten *_* It is almost Fall and time to start a new semester. I was all set to take a pretty full load of Chemistry, Computational Physics, Physics, Math, and Philosophy classes...
  34. K

    Undergraduate, how to find research position

    Hello guys I am wondering how to find a research position as an undergraduate. Typically, only third year student will be able to find something "real" research job in the summer. Does this mean that it's not possible to do research or maybe assisting research during the regular school time...
  35. B

    Making stupid mistakes during research - ettiquette

    making stupid mistakes during research - "ettiquette" Hi, I have been doing research this summer, and I have been making a lot of stupid mistakes that my adviser has to correct me on. For instance, a graph does not go to 0 where it should due to a preceding function w/zeros, different math...
  36. H

    Does Schur's Theorem Apply to Fractions in Ramsey Theory?

    Hi all, I am currently doing research in Ramsey Theory and my research question is: does Schur's Theorem apply to fractions? Right now I am up to the point where I have proven several basic bounds of Schur and Ramsey numbers and have proven that an arithmetic sequence of fractions does not obey...
  37. S

    High school project in mathematics, original research

    I have been thinking about doing my 'high school project' in mathematics and I would like to do some original research. So my question is: Which areas of mathematics would be most suited for me? Having in mind that I'm still in high school, although I have taken some (fundamental) math...
  38. Darth Frodo

    Undergrad Research Q&A: Tips for Applying and Choosing Research Areas

    Hi guys, I really want to engage in some undergrad research this year but I have some queries. 1. If I wanted to apply for the summer what is the ideal date to ask the professor or set up a meeting? After Christmas Break when I get results back? 2. My Uni does mostly work in Solid State...
  39. PhizKid

    Schools List of schools based on undergraduate research?

    My school doesn't have any faculty involved in Condensed Matter Experimentation, and that's what I want to get my PhD in, so I'd like to transfer to a school that offers plenty of research opportunity in this field, instead of just having 1 summer of research experience at an external lab (I...
  40. U

    The Newest research in solar cell?

    Hi, I want to continue my study in physics, but i have to find topics for research proposal, and I need your help. I hope you can give me the news about the newest research in solar cell? the material or new method? thanks for your help...:smile:
  41. V

    Research Papers in classical mechanics

    Please tell me a website where I can find latest research papers in classical mechanics.
  42. A

    Data analysis software for hydrology research

    Hello there! This is my first time posting, but I'm a long time reader. I could not find a more appropriate sub-forum. I have just been hired to compile and organize data for an arctic hydrology research project in Fairbanks, AK. They are studying climate change and have recorded a few...
  43. D

    Year 12 Cosmology extended research task

    Hey guys, I am currently in year 12 and have been asked to develop a thesis on cosmology for an Extended research task (ERT) and I am bewildered. Nothing is coming to mind at the moment and I am struggling. I have no idea what to do mine on. the teacher gave us a list of topics that we might...
  44. M

    Schools Grad school - importance of research

    Hi, I am a sophomore undergraduate and I have a question about the importance of research experience for grad school applications (from senior year to masters or phd). I have read that research experience and letters of recommendation are the two main factors for top 10 grad school...
  45. magnetic flux

    How will current research affect our lifes?

    I had a debate with my dad today. At the core, there were questions like: How does the Higgs boson affect my life? Why do we spend so much money at CERN? Couln't they do smaller experiments? Why do we look for extraterrestial planets although we lack a decent spaceship to even get there...
  46. jbrussell93

    Importance of research area as an undergrad

    As an undergrad, how much does the area of research matter when applying to graduate schools? I am a biological engineering student hoping to go to graduate school for neural engineering. I'm currently in a neurobiology lab working working in the theoretical/computational side of neuroscience...
  47. A

    Worried About Selected Graduate Research Topic

    Hey, I'm just looking for some advice with regards to a bad gut feeling I've been having lately. I will be starting graduate school this fall and I am worried that the topic I chose is not the "best" topic for me. By best, I mean a subject I feel is not my true passion and will not allow me to...
  48. U

    Is there any cosmological research field concerning signal processing?

    Hi, everyone~ I have a BS in EE, and I want to be a researcher in cosmology or astronomy. To accomplish that I have to get a PHD in such areas. But my major in college was mainly about signal processing and networks. So, I'm wondering if there is any PHD program in cosmology or astronomy that...
  49. N

    Getting Help with Patent Funding for Climate Research

    Hello, Can you guys please tell me where do I can get help about my patent. I am a student and am unable to complete my EXPERIMENTS about climate research Cloud and storm I really need help to find a laboratory or a place to get my patent funded Thanks
  50. Y

    How to request for a research position?

    Before going off to college, I'd really like to do some physics-related research at a local university. I'm really excited about the idea of physics, and I can do math very proficiently. The problem is, I have no prior experience in research other than labs done in high school science classes...
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