Skip to Main Content
About Us Services Research Get Help

What is an empirical research article? 

An empirical research article reports the results of a study that uses data derived from actual observation or experimentation.

How to recognize an empirical research article.
  • The article is published in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal.
  • The article abstract mentions a study, observation, # of participants/subjects, analysis.
  • The article has charts, graphs or statistical analysis.
  • The article is likely to be more than 5 pages long.
  • The article contains the sections below (exact terms may vary).
Empirical research articles typically have the following sections.
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References/Bibliography
The following methodologies are examples of empirical research.
  • Empirical study
  • Quantitative study
  • Qualitative study
  • Clinical study
  • Longitudinal study

 

 

 

SUNY Genesee Library (8:13 min)