Research
Research is the systematic collection of data in order to make generalizations about how the world works. Research usually collects data from experiments in tightly-controlled environments. The outcome of research is knowledge that can be applied to different contexts. In contrast, evaluation does not typically try to make conclusions about the way the world works – instead, we draw conclusions about a particular program and context. Evaluation is meant to give timely, useful information in real-world situations.
See also: generalizability, program evaluation