A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies scientific research, there are also many research institutes in the social sciences as well, especially for sociological and historical research purposes such as the Institute of Historical Research. Some research institutes are associated with public educ...
more
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies scientific research, there are also many research institutes in the social sciences as well, especially for sociological and historical research purposes such as the Institute of Historical Research. Some research institutes are associated with public education museums such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
The earliest research institutes were the astronomical observatory complexes set up by medieval Muslim astronomers. They were built for the purpose of housing large astronomical instruments and for scientific research staff carrying out astronomical research and observations. The first of these research institutes was the 9th-century Baghdad observatory built during the time of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, though the most famous were the 13th-century Maragheh observatory and...
less
