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Research is a blanket term describing various activities used to find new answers to questions.

These activities include conducting experiments, interviewing people, or consulting a variety of publications. Methods are often combined to provide all the evidence required for informed opinions and decisions.

Applied research aims to find an answer to a specific problem, usually identified by an industry or community partner.

A broad range of work fits under the applied research umbrella:

• creating and improving products and processes, for example prototyping and product testing in design research and traditional R&D
• evaluation and market research to improve outcomes in businesses and community organizations. 

In Basic Research, by comparison, the goal is generating new knowledge, regardless of whether it has any known application.

This curiosity-driven work is associated with universities, while most research conducted at colleges is applied.

While Basic Researchers ask why things happen the way they do, Applied Researchers ask how to make things happen in a better way.

The focus on solving clearly identified, practical problems means that Applied Research projects are more direct and contained than the open-ended discovery of Basic Research. As a result, Applied Research generally has much shorter time frames, with expected research products or "deliverables" identified from the outset.

While student applied research fits under the umbrella of work-integrated learning (WIL), there are characteristics that distinguish it from other types of WIL.

Applied research activities typically take the form of projects. A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Fifth Edition, p. 3).

When students join a partner’s team to work on everyday operations and core business activities, that is work-integrated learning. When students undertake a temporary investigation to create a unique recommendation or invention for a partner (e.g., a business plan for a new revenue stream, a process improvement, or a prototype), that is applied research.

Colleges use provincial and federal research funding to purchase specialized equipment and employ experts in order to promote equitable economic development.

According to Colleges and Institutes Canada, “over 95% of Canadians and more than 86% of Indigenous people live within 50 km of a college or institute.” College applied research departments help ensure as many people as possible benefit from innovation and technological developments.

Local businesses and community organizations who can’t afford cutting-edge equipment or expertise can gain access by partnering with the college. The greater accessibility of colleges also means that, through these investments and projects, a greater number of students receive training that addresses local, current, real-world challenges.