Psychology Courses & Research

What is an empirical article?

An empirical article reports on research conducted by the author or authors. The research can be based on observations or experiments that derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief.

What types of research make an article empirical?

An empirical article may report a study that used quantitative research methods, which generate numerical data and seek to establish causal relationships between two or more variables. They may also report on a study that uses qualitative research methods, which objectively and critically analyze behaviors, beliefs, feelings, or values with few or no numerical data available for analysis

How can I tell if an article is empirical?

• Check the publication in which the article appears. Is it scholarly? The vast majority of empirical articles will be in scholarly journals.
• Read the article's abstract. Does it include details of a study, observation, or analysis of a number of participants or subjects?
• Look at the article itself. Is it more than three pages long? Most empirical articles will be fairly lengthy.
• Look at the article itself. If it contains a subsection marked "Methodology" and another called "Results," it is probably empirical.
• Look at the end of the article. Empirical articles will include a list of references.
• If you're still unsure, consult your professor or a librarian.

What sections might an empirical article contain?

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References

How can I search for these articles?

There is no quick way to limit your searches only to articles that review empirical studies (or to empirical studies themselves). You will have to do keyword searches, then review article abstracts in order to determine the nature of each.