The overall objective of research is to gain knowledge in order to better understand the world we live in and in order to, if possible, change it for the better.
(God sed i forskningen, SOU 1999:4, my translation)
Where is research conducted?
Research is carried out at the large, long since established universities like for example Uppsala, Lund and Gothenburg, as well as at the new universities who have received university status relatively recently. In addition to this, there are some university colleges who are entitled to conduct research in a particular discipline and some who are not. Among those university colleges who are entitled to conduct research in a particular discipline we find Blekinge Institute of Technology. The university colleges of Borås, Dalarna and Gävle belong to a group of small and medium size university colleges without the right to offer postgraduate programs.
Research is also conducted at state as well as private research institutes. At the research institutes research and development is often conducted in close cooperation with trade and industry. They carry out research in a certain line of business, or in a certain field, and constitute an important resource for the transferring of knowledge to small and medium size companies among others.
Basic research / applied research
When we talk about research there is basic research and applied research. A person who does basic research often does not have a preconceived opinion about how the research he is conducting will be used. The search is free. It is rather like heading out for unfamiliar waters to try to seek explanations for different phenomena. Basic research is important for the general knowledge development in our society.
Applied research on the other hand is devoted to finding solutions or explanations for specific problems. Already from the beginning the scientist knows what the research results are going to be used for. A great deal of the applied research is conducted in trade and industry or at research institutes, often in cooperation with scientists at universities and university colleges.
Dissemination of research results
The purpose of research is to increase our knowledge in different fields and thus it is important that research results are accessible. There are a number of different ways to present research results. They can be presented in journal articles, research reports, books or dissertations. It is also common for research results to be presented orally at conferences and to be published in so called conference proceedings. At conferences and seminars, posters can also be one alternative for disseminating results. Another way to quickly shed light on your research can be so called preprints, i.e. scientific articles published electronically on the Internet. Dissemination of results also happens between colleagues at seminars and through more informal communication in discussion lists and news groups on the Internet.
Anne-Marie Pettersson
2005-06-20
