SOC 20 & 40, Roberts   Tags: empirical articles, social sciences, sociology  

What is an empirical article?

An empirical article reports on research conducted by the authors. The research should be based on actual observations or experiments. Here are some guidelines to follow to determine whether an article is empirical:

• The article is published in an academic, scholarly, or peer-reviewed journal.
• The article includes many of the following sections:
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• The article is usually quite substantial in length. Look for articles longer than 5 pages.

When in doubt, contact your instructor! Share the citation and abstract with your instructor to make sure you have selected an appropriate article. If you cannot reach your instructor, Ask a Librarian.