Investigate » investigation

The act or process of searching, inquiring into, or examining thoroughly or in detail, especially to discover facts, causes, etc., in order to find out about something or someone, e.g., scientists studying a phenomenon or police investigating a murder, etc.; minute and careful research.

Related words: look into, explore, inspect, probe, scrutinize, consider, delve into, research, delve into, etc.

(see also: study, analyze » analysis, empirical research)