Researcher facts for kids

A researcher is a person who looks for new knowledge and facts. They do this by carefully studying things and asking questions. Researchers work to understand how the world works, solve problems, and discover new things. They can work in many different places, like universities, companies, government labs, or private organizations.

What Researchers Do

Researchers spend their time investigating topics. They might:

• Ask questions: They start by wondering about something.
• Gather information: They read books, look at data, or do experiments.
• Analyze findings: They look closely at what they found to see what it means.
• Share results: They write reports or give presentations to tell others what they learned.

Their work helps us learn more about everything from space to tiny cells. It also helps create new technologies and medicines.

Where Researchers Work

Researchers can be found in many different environments:

• Universities: Many researchers teach students and also do their own studies. They often work on basic research, which means they are trying to understand fundamental ideas.
• Companies: Businesses hire researchers to develop new products or improve old ones. This is often called applied research. For example, they might research new phone technologies or better ways to make food.
• Government Labs: Governments have research centers that work on things important for the country. This could be anything from weather forecasting to national defense.
• Non-profit Organizations: Some groups focus on specific causes, like finding cures for diseases or protecting the environment. Researchers here work to achieve these goals.

Examples of Research Institutions

Aerial view of Moffett Field and Ames Research Center.

Many famous places are dedicated to research:

• NASA Ames Research Center (USA): This center does research for space exploration and aviation.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (USA): They study Earth's atmosphere and climate.
• National Institute of Mental Health (USA): This institute focuses on understanding and treating mental illnesses.
• Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA): A large lab that does research in many science and technology areas.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA): Another big lab, known for energy and computing research.
• Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russia): This institute specializes in nuclear physics.
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France): A large government research organization covering many fields.

Images for kids

• 

  Basrelief sculpture "Research holding the torch of knowledge" (1896) by Olin Levi Warner. Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, in Washington, D.C.

• 

  Aristotle, (384–322 BC), one of the early figures in the development of the scientific method

• 

  Primary scientific research being carried out at the Microscopy Laboratory of the Idaho National Laboratory

• 

  Scientific research equipment at MIT

• 

  German maritime research vessel Sonne

• 

  German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), considered to be one of the founders of modern source-based history

• 

  Research cycle

• 

  The research room at the New York Public Library, an example of secondary research in progress

• 

  Maurice Hilleman, the preeminent vaccinologist of the 20th century, is credited with saving more lives than any other scientist in that time.

• 

  Cover of the first issue of Nature, 4 November 1869

See also

In Spanish: Investigación para niños