Basic and Applied Research

Basic and Applied Research

A given research study will be designed to primarily address a basic (i.e., theoretical) research question versus an applied research question. Basic research is aimed at formulating and testing fundamental psychological principles governing a domain of interest. For instance, a researcher might be interested in developing a theory of the role of emotions in aggression. The goal of this researcher is to develop principles that explain which specific emotions either increase or decrease aggression and why these emotions have the effects they do on aggression. Thus, the goal is to arrive at a fundamental understanding of the relations among the constructs of emotions and the construct of aggression.

In contrast, applied research questions tend to focus on a specific problem. They typically emphasize predicting or influencing an outcome rather than in understanding why that outcome is predicted or influenced by a given factor. Indeed, applied research questions often focus on the effects of a specific measure or intervention with little concern as to why that measure or manipulation accomplishes its goal and/or the effects of the broader construct of interest that measure or intervention is presumed to represent. For example, an applied researcher might be interested in testing if a specific measure of anger predicts employee aggression or if a specific anger-management program lowers employee aggression.

The basic versus applied research question distinctions are not mutually exclusive. Often basic research might have the ultimate goal of developing principles that can be used to solve applied problems. Likewise, the exploration of applied questions can often contribute to the understanding of basic questions. Thus, this distinction is more a matter of emphasis than a fundamental difference in the nature of the research question being addressed.  However, this difference in emphasis does have implications for the methodological decisions that a researcher might make at subsequent stages of the research process.