In Basic Research, discovery targets are broad. Scientists and researchers generally look for capabilities that have some efficacy with an articulated broad market or customer-based need. Some Basic Research is truly blue sky, but that has been on the decline the past few decades as few can afford it. Basic Research often just rules out things that won't work and identifies inventions that might work.
Applied Research generally has a more specific target. It usually focuses on a known problem, business opportunity, or an application area where economic or social improvements are possible. Applied Research generally starts off by taking enablers that might work and attempts to narrow them down to the possible and likely feasible solutions.
Advanced Development generally takes these possible and likely feasible solutions and further reduces the risk in hopes of culling out the best alternatives to deliver to an expressed target for a capability or feature to incorporate into products. Downstream manufactured cost considerations start to come into play as a culling consideration. Mentioned earlier, some advanced and innovation organizations actually bring the entire product to market.
Finally, Product Development invents what’s needed and necessary “now” and packages both the form and function of all feasible and risk-reduced features and/or capabilities into products planned for release to the marketplace. Venn diagrams of each of these four historical R&D categories always overlapped, but the overlaps have grown in cadence with the growth of innovation emphasis this past decade.