Frequently Asked Questions

Empirical research is based upon systematic observation or measurement rather than from theory or belief.

Generally speaking, an empirical article will contain the following sections:

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References

To determine if an article is an empirical article, see if the article mentions a study, an observation, a number of participants or subjects.  Was data collected or a survey administered?  These terms indicate possible methodologies used in empirical research.

To find an empirical article using the JSCC Libraries, you will want to access the Advanced search feature from the library's tabbed search box:

From the Advanced search options, enter a term in the first search box then the string "study or research or empirical or data or method or experiment" in the next search box:

You also have the option to limit your results to Scholarly [Peer Reviewed] Journals.  Please note that although empirical studies are published in peer-reviewed journals, not every article in a peer-reviewed journal reports empirical research studies.