An empirical article is a research article that reports the results of a study that uses data derived from actual observation or experimentation. Empirical articles may also be called research reports, research studies, or empirical studies. They are most common in Education or Psychology.
Empirical research articles are published in scholarly or academic journals. These journal are also called “peer-reviewed,” or “refereed” publications.
Empirical articles often contain these sections:
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
The sections may vary in the articles; however, the information that would fall within these sections should be present in an empirical article.
You may use the following databases to locate empirical articles.
1. PsycINFO and PsychARTICLES
Select Advanced Search
- Enter search terms in the search box at top of the screen
- Scroll down to Methodology and select: Empirical Study. There are subsets below this category that you can choose based on your needs.
2. ERIC
- Enter your search terms in the search box at top of the screen
- Scroll down the screen and locate the Publication Types dropdown box
- Select Numerical/Quantitative Data or Reports-Research
- Select Advanced Search
- In the first line of the search box, enter your search terms
- In a different line of the search box, enter the following:
"study OR methodology OR subjects OR data OR results OR findings OR discussion"
For information on how to find a database, please click here