The definitive research question that your team will be working on depends on the team’s interpretation of the challenge and your plan for tackling it. Honours+ Challenges may imply doing either applied research or theoretical research.

With a theoretical research focus, your aim with the Challenge is to contribute to the advancement in scientific knowledge for the complete understanding of a topic or certain phenomenon. It is completely theoretical, and focuses on basic principles and testing theories. These Challenges are aligned towards collecting information that has universal applicability. Therefore, it aims to adding new knowledge to the already existing knowledge.

With an applied research focus, your Challenge is directed towards providing a solution to specific problems or an attempt to solve these problems. The research is not done for its own sake, but with the specific aim of solving the problem. It is research that can be applied to real-life situations. It studies a particular set of circumstances, so as to relate the results to its corresponding circumstances.