When doing research, students are expected to be actively involved in an ongoing process of gathering and examining information in different ways and for a variety of purposes. Depending on the stage of the research, , this process can focus on specific aspects of the topic being studied (e.g., identifying different parts of the universe) or be sustained throughout the study (e.g., describing how different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum such as visible light and radio waves are used to gain information about components in the universe). The former is an example of a short-term inquiry, whereas the latter illustrates a sustained recursive inquiry.