In layman’s term, any work that requires research, in whatever capacity, can be called ‘research work’.
There’s no definite designation for this. Almost all kinds of work/job require research in one form or another.
(Courtesy: Betbev.com)For example, if you’re doing digital marketing of your business, you would need to do research on, say…
• Target audience
• Competitors
• Tools (to find the right ones)
• Industry-trends
Doing research on these departments will help you craft a better digital marketing strategy.
If you’re doing your homework on, say, ‘Quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle’ – unless you’re an expert on this topic, you would need to do some research. Be it using Google, asking friends, talking to your teachers/professors.
(Courtesy: Freepik)In fact, even when you’re purchasing something, you do your research by reading the product reviews. Right? You read the reviews to make sure the quality of the product is good. This is research!
If you want to join a school, you do the research. If you want to know more about sports, you do the research. If you want to make more money in the stock market, you do the research.
So, the idea of ‘research work’ is quite expansive and diverse.
Wikipedia defines it as anything that “comprises creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.”
(Courtesy: Thoughco)Really, me finding this definition of ‘Research’ on Wikipedia is research work.
The intensity or magnitude of research, of course, varies for different people.
We do research on which clothing brand is good. Scientists at ISRO and NASA do research on the black hole and parallel universe. We do research on which movie we should watch this weekend. Journalists do research on how many farmers killed themselves this year and why.
I hope this answers your question! :)