Finding Empirical Research Articles
What are empirical research articles?
Empirical research articles use data derived from actual observation, experiments or surveys. Original research papers that describe empirical studies and their results are published in academic journals. Many academic journals are peer-reviewed. Peer-reviewed journals have a peer-review board consisting of experts in their field. The board selects, reviews and often makes recommendations or revisions to manuscripts submitted for publication.
What type of journals will include these articles?
Criminal Justice Science Journals
What is the best method to search within scholarly journals?
The best approach to find empirical research articles is to search within databases that index scholarly journals covering the subject area of your research. Milner Library subscribes to many databases and indexes that help researchers find citations, abstracts and sometimes full-text to a wide variety of resources (academic journals, trade journals, popular magazines, newspapers) including journals containing empirical research articles.
Databases have a broader definition of research than strictly empirical research articles. Some databases are better than others for finding empirical research studies. Below are examples of databases that are useful places to start your research:
Criminal Justice Abstracts
PAIS International
ERIC
Academic Search Premier
What search terms should I use in the databases?
Example research topic #1:
Imagine you need to pull togethr a literature review of scholarly articles written about college students who cheat in coursework. These articles should include surveys given to students.
First, you will want to include the main concepts of the research topic, such as cheating and students. To retrieve the best resutls possible, also include words that are synonyms to cheating and students, such as plagiarism or academic dishonesty, and college or university or campus. Second, to locate articles that would include surveys given to students, try limiting your search by typing in keywords such as: survey, study, measure, subjects, data, statistical, or quantitative.
Example research topic #2:
Imagine you need to compile a literature review of scholarly articles written about college students who drink alcholol and engage in risky behavior. These articles should include a survey given to students.
First, you will want to include the main concepts of the research topic, such as drinking, risk, and students. To retrieve the best resutls possible, also include words that are synonyms to drinking, risk, and students, such as alcohol or beer, and sex or gambling, and college or university or campus. Second, to locate articles that would include surveys given to students, try limiting your search by typing in keywords such as: survey, study, measure, subjects, data, statistical, or quantitative.
How can I determine whether an article contains empirical research?
To determine if an article is an empirical research article, use these guidelines:
1. What is the name of the journal?
Popular magazines such as Time and Newsweek and newspapers do not publish empirical research articles, though they may report on important findings or conclusions from those studies. Scholarly journals such as Criminology, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Journal of Quantitative Criminology and Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology do publish empirical studies.
2. How long is the article?
Empirical research articles are substantial in length, not one or two pages. The articles also typically follow a format with headings such as: methodology, data, measures, findings, and conclusions. Look for those elements in the article.
Empirical research articles are substantial in length, not one or two pages. The articles also typically follow a format with headings such as: methodology, data, measures, findings, and conclusions. Look for those elements in the article.
3. Does the article contain references to other works?
Serious researchers always cite their sources.
4. Does the abstract of the article contain variations of the words: survey, study, measure, subjects, data, statistical, empirical or quantitative?
How do I know if an article is available full text?
Not all articles are available full text. To determine whether an article is available fulltext, look for the button in the record you would like to look at:
When you click on this button, a pop-up box will appear indicating if the article is available fulltext. Click on the link to retrieve the article.
If it is not available fulltext, a link for Milner's catalog will appear so that you can check our holdings to find the floor location and call number of the periodical.
Map of Social Science Floor (fourth floor)
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