= Basic research
<Basic research> seeks understanding of underlying phenomena without being directed at a particular practical application. <Applied research> instead starts from a specific practical objective. The distinction concerns the aim of the investigation: either kind can use <experiments>, <observations> and <mathematical models>.<Definitions of Research and Development by NCSES>[I, Distribution by type of R&D; III.D, definitions used in surveys of federal research funding]{ref}
For example, investigating how an unfamiliar material responds to <light> can seek a general explanation of its behaviour; optimizing a particular <photodetector> for a specified use has an application-driven goal. The first investigation can later enable useful technology without having started as a design project. Conversely, the practical aim of the second does not remove its need for careful <measurement> and a testable physical explanation. These categories describe research purposes, rather than a ranking of scientific quality.
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