A methodological comparison of the structures of scientific research and engineering design: their similarities and differences

The misunderstanding that engineering is just a part of science (at the most applied science) and that engineering design is only a kind of scientific research (often considered rather trivial) is still widespread, especially among scientists. Yet it is a misunderstanding. In the present paper the structures of scientific research and of engineering design will be compared and, apart from a few very evident similarities, a large number of essential differences will be discussed. The conclusions are on the one hand that science and engineering are strongly interwoven and mutually dependent on each other, but on the other hand that there are fundamental differences between scientific research and engineering design. They consequently require specific methodologies.