Basic Research Examples
Basic research in psychology might explore:
Whether stress levels influence how often students engage in academic cheatingHow caffeine consumption affects the brainWhether men or women are more likely to be diagnosed with depressionHow attachment styles among children of divorced parents compare to those raised by married parents
In all of these examples, the goal is merely to increase knowledge on a topic, not to come up with a practical solution to a problem.
The Link Between Basic and Applied Research
As Stanovich (2007) noted, many practical solutions to real-world problems have emerged directly from basic research. For this reason, the distinction between basic research and applied research is often simply a matter of time. As social psychologist Kurt Lewin once observed, “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” For example, researchers might conduct basic research on how stress levels impact students academically, emotionally, and socially. The results of these theoretical explorations might lead to further studies designed to solve specific problems. Researchers might initially observe that students with high stress levels are more prone to dropping out of college before graduating. These first studies are examples of basic research designed to learn more about the topic. As a result, scientists might then design research to determine what interventions might best lower these stress levels. Such studies would be examples of applied research. The purpose of applied research is specifically focused on solving a real problem that exists in the world. Thanks to the foundations established by basic research, psychologists can then design interventions that will help students effectively manage their stress levels, with the hopes of improving college retention rates.
Why Basic Research Is Important
The possible applications of basic research might not be obvious right away. During the earliest phases of basic research, scientists might not even be able to see how the information gleaned from theoretical research might ever apply to real-world problems. However, this foundational knowledge is essential. By learning as much as possible about a topic, researchers are able to gather what they need to know about an issue to fully understand the impact it may have. “For example, early neuroscientists conducted basic research studies to understand how neurons function. The applications of this knowledge were not clear until much later when neuroscientists better understood how this neural functioning affected behavior,” explained author Dawn M. McBride in her text The Process of Research in Psychology. “The understanding of the basic knowledge of neural functioning became useful in helping individuals with disorders long after this research had been completed.”
Basic Research Methods
Basic research relies on many types of investigatory tools. These include observation, case studies, experiments, focus groups, surveys, interviews—anything that increases the scope of knowledge on the topic at hand.
