Editing Unwritten: System Reference Document/Discovery and Investigation (section)

===Experiment vs. Notice vs. Research===

The obvious trifecta of skills to use on a discover action is Experiment, Notice, and Research. Each of these skills fills a different role in discovery; understanding those roles will prevent a lot of confusion. 

Experiment is the skill used for experimentation. It is an active skill that takes some time to utilize. Use Experiment when you are actively testing, checking, and re-checking. An easy trap to fall into is to use Experiment for any process of mental evaluation, but Experiment is not suitable for situations that require quick decisions, or that rely on significant amounts of digging through information.

Notice is your skill for things that happen quickly: perception that happens on the fly while other things are happening. What you notice is colored by your aspects and stunts, of course; someone with the aspect Trained Paleontologist will notice things that a Former Beat Cop would not, and vice versa.

Research revolves around hitting the books. In general, Research is a procedure that takes a long time. You will be digging through archives, comparing texts, asking experts, etc. You will use it in interlude scenes more than anywhere else. However, a gamemaster may allow you to use Research to represent the knowledge that you have already accumulated. Once again, your aspects and stunts will affect this and reflect the sort of knowledge you are assumed to have.

====Other Skills====

The three above are the foundation of discovery. However, other skills can be used and will have more specific areas of application. Craft and Engineering will be used for discovery on crafted items or machines, Surveying is used on the lay of the land, Survival on the elements of an environment, Medicine on medical subjects, etc. Each of these skills can be used in place of Experiment, Notice, or Research as appropriate.