Difference between Applied and Fundamental Research
Applied research are those research that are meant to directly solve problems to improve human conditions.
An example is the research conducted to produce vaccine for the deadly coronavirus. Why? Because scientist want to eradicate the virus from the earth’s surface, hence saving lives.
Fundamental research is a kind of research solely meant for knowledge acquisition. It helps to expand our knowledge beyond our immediate surroundings. This kind of research rarely help to improve human lives.
For example, we might be interested in investigating the relationship between happiness and Facebook usage i.e. being happy means you use Facebook. The idea is to ONLY know whether or not this relationship is the same across different countries, race, ethnicities, gender etc. Note that the key here is not HOW happiness leads to Facebook usage.