The Classification of R&D

自20世纪50年代以来，美国国家科学基金会一直依靠基础研究、应用研究和开发的分类，努力使用一套通用的定义来比较公共和私营部门的研发支出。本研究的目的是质疑(1)基本/应用/开发分类方案如何完整或准确地反映整个研发过程；(2)任何一种分类方案在整个制造业中的普遍性。通过对化学工业、机械工业、电气和电子设备工业中具有代表性的公司进行广泛的电话采访和邮件调查，将收集和评价关于研究和发展组成的资料，以便以更分散的支出类别补充基本/应用/发展计划。

Since the 1950s, the National Science Foundation has relied on the categories of basic research, applied research, and development in an effort to compare R&D expenditures in both the public and private sectors using a common set of definitions. The objective of this research is to question (1) how completely or accurately the basic/applied/development classification scheme reflects the overall R&D process and (2) the generality of any one classification scheme throughout the manufacturing sector. Based on extensive telephone interviews and mail surveys to a representative sample of firms in the chemicals industry, the machinery industry, and the electric and electronic equipment industry, information on the composition of R&D will be collected and evaluated in an effort to supplement the basic/applied/development scheme with more discrete expenditure categories.