SUNY Genesee Library (8:13 min)

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