Criminal Justice & Criminology

An empirical research article is an article which reports research based on actual observations or experiments. The research may use quantitative research methods, which generate numerical data and seek to establish causal relationships between two or more variables. Empirical research articles may also use qualitative research methods, which objectively and critically analyze behaviors, beliefs, feelings, or values with few or no numerical data available for analysis.

How can I tell if an article is empirical?

• Check the publication in which the article appears. Is it scholarly? Most empirical articles will be in scholarly journals.
• Read the article's abstract. Does it include details of a study, observation, or analysis of a number of participants or subjects?
• Look at the article itself. Is it more than three pages long? Most empirical articles will be fairly lengthy.
• Look at the article itself. If it contains a subsection marked "Methodology" and another called "Results," it is probably empirical.