What is an empirical article and how do I find one?
Answer
An empirical research article reports research based on actual observations or experiments. The research may use quantitative research methods, which generate numerical data, or qualitative research methods which do not, or a mixture of both, called mixed methods.
When looking at an article or the abstract of an article, here are some ways to tell that an article is an empirical article.
- Is the article published in an academic or scholarly journal?
- Does the abstract of the article describe the study conducted? (In OneSearch you can mouse over the magnifying glass on the right to see the abstract.) The abstract should mention methodologies used, like how the data was collected, or what kind of survey or measurement was used.
- Empirical articles normally contain these sections:
- Introduction
- Methodology - Describes how the research was conducted, the design of the study, who participated, what measures were used
- Results - Reports the outcomes of the study
- Discussion - Contains interpretations and implications of the study
- Conclusion
- References
- How long is the article? An empirical article is usually substantial.
How can I search for empirical research articles using the library's databases?
- You can type your search terms into the database's search boxes adding the terms STUDY OR STUDIES. Limit your search to scholarly/professional journals.
- In some databases, in the Advanced Search page you have the option to specify what goes in the PUBLICATION TYPE or DOCUMENT TYPE fields. Empirical research may not be the term used; look for a term like REPORTS-RESEARCH or STUDIES/RESEARCH REPORTS. Some databases include a field for METHODOLOGY where you can select EMPIRICAL STUDY.
- Some databases like Pub Med or Medline index scholarly and professional journals which publish primarily empirical articles, so you might consider choosing an individual database rather than using Discovery Search.
