Empirical Research

An empirical research article is an article which reports research based on actual observations or experiments.  The research may use quantitative or qualitative research methods. 

• Quantitative Research uses numerical data to try to establish causal relationships between variables 
• Qualitative Research objectively and critically analyzes behaviors, beliefs, feelings, or other values 

When looking at an article or the abstract of an article, here are some guidelines to use to decide if an article is an empirical article.

• Is the article published in an academic, scholarly, or professional journal? Popular magazines such as Business Week or Newsweek do not publish empirical research articles; academic journals such as Business Communication Quarterly or Journal of Psychology may publish empirical articles. Some professional journals, such as JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association publish empirical research. 
• Does the abstract of the article mention a study, an observation, an analysis or a number of participants or subjects? Was data collected, a survey or questionnaire administered, an assessment or measurement used, an interview conducted? All of these terms indicate possible methodologies used in empirical research.