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Find Empirical Research...

What is Empirical Research?

What is Empirical Research?

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines empirical as:
• Relying on or derived from observation or experiment;
• Verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment;
• Guided by practical experience and not theory, especially in medicine.

Characteristics of Empirical Research

• Relevance of theory is proved by ability to work in a real world environment
• Relates relevance to context
• Integrates research and practice

How can I identify articles that used empirical research methods?

In PsycINFO:
– use thesaurus term “empirical methods”
– limit methodology – “empirical study”

In Sociological Abstracts:
– use thesaurus term “empirical methods”

In ERIC:
– Keyword search “empirical” or “observ*”

Read abstract for a description of the methodology