Engineering research is when really smart people, called engineers, try to figure out new and better ways to build things. They use their brains and special tools to find answers to questions like "How can we make a car go faster?" or "How can we build a bridge that is really strong and won't fall down?".
First, they have to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of research to figure out what has been done already, what works well, and what could be improved. Then, they come up with ideas and designs for new things that could work better.
Once they have a good idea of how something should be built, they make a model of it or test it out to see if it really works. They might use computer programs to simulate the way their idea would work in real life, or they might do experiments in a lab or out in the real world.
Finally, they keep testing and tweaking their designs until they find the best possible solution to their problem. They have to think about things like safety, cost, and practicality to make sure their ideas are good enough to actually be used by people.
Overall, engineering research is all about solving problems and making things better by using science and innovation.