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What research is, and what makes it scientific

Research is a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Method and intent draw the boundary. A journalist interviewing the same parents about bed nets produces something valuable that falls outside the definition, because the aim is to tell those families' stories rather than to reach conclusions that hold for other parents elsewhere. A company testing two email campaigns runs a real experiment and still falls outside it, because it wants better marketing. When the line is unclear, an Institutional Review Board decides.

Also covered: Pilot study · Common Rule · Empirical evidence · Descriptive inference · Causal inference · Maternal mortality estimates