Locating empirical research:
The UWM Libraries offers several databases for accessing scholarly resources based on empirical research. Some include a coded search limiter for EMPIRICAL-based methodology. See the Search Tips below.
Empirical research requires observation or actual experience that is able to be measured; the resulting empirical evidence documents the observations and can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively.
Characteristics to look for in empirically based research:
Identifies a problem, population, or research question under study
Methodology is stated
Alternate course of action may be included
Defines the group or issue being studied
May be quantitative or qualitative [check with your course instructor or syllabus, as the course focus may be on just one or the other]
May include tests or surveys (embedded, as an appendix, or referred to by Proper Name)
May be reproducible; to be replicated or adapted to a new study
Some databases have a filter or advanced search limiter to focus results on empirical research. See the database descriptions elsewhere on this page for details.
If a filter/limiter is not available, enter keywords to match on appropriate content and/or to look for these terms in the summary abstract or article itself:
design
hypothesis
method
quantitative
statistic* (to match on statistic, statistics or statistical)
[inclusion of] charts, statistical tables or graphs
Locating empirical research:
The UWM Libraries offers several databases for accessing scholarly resources based on empirical research. Some include a coded search limiter for EMPIRICAL-based methodology. See the Search Tips below.