MLS 452: Research Methods & Project: Empirical Research

What is an empirical article?

Empirical research articles are scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles that are based on data collected during the authors' real-life experiments or observations. They are primary research documents that contain either qualitative or quantitative research methods:

• Qualitative research focuses on collecting in-depth information from small sample sizes in order to describe a trend. Data is typically collected through one-on-one interviews with participants.
• Quantitative research uses large, representative sample sizes to collect a variety of statistics that can then be generalized. Data is typically collected through a questionnaire, attitude scale, or achievement test.

How can I tell if an article is empirical?

Several factors can help you decide whether or not an article is empirical:

• What type of journal/magazine was the article published in?
  • Academic journals such as the Medical Laboratory Journal, Clinical Laboratory Science, and the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine often publish empirical articles.
  • Popular magazines such as Time or Newsweek don't publish empirical articles.
  • Professional journals such as TRANSFUSION or the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education will publish empirical articles, while professional magazines (e.g., Clinical Microbiology Reviews, Lab Manager, and MEDLAB Magazine) won't publish empirical articles.
• If there's an abstract available, what does it say?
  • Did the author(s):
  • Administer a survey or questionnaire?
  • Conduct an interview?
  • Collect data?
  • Use an assessment to measure results?
  • Empirical articles include many of the above characteristics.
• What headings or sections is the article broken down into?
  1. Introduction/Literature Review
  2. Methodology/Research Design
     • This section will include information on how the study was conducted: how it was designed, who the participants were and how they participated, and how the results were measured.
     • This information allows other researchers to replicate the study with their own participants.
  3. Results/Findings
  4. Discussion/Conclusion/Implications
  5. References
• Although authors might combine some sections, label them differently, or not use any headings at all, empirical articles will contain all of the above information.
• How long is the article?
  • Because empirical articles contain so many details about their studies, they tend to be longer.
  • They also contain charts, tables, and other graphics to help display the data that was collected.

Sources

College of Southern Maryland. CSM Library. (2018, Jan. 19). Empirical research article. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://libguides.csmd.edu/empirical_research

Pan, M. L. (2016). Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Penn State University Libraries. (2019, May 9). Empirical research in the social sciences and education. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/emp

University of La Verne. Wilson Library. (2018, June 26). Identify empirical research articles. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://laverne.libguides.com/empirical-articles