Empirical research is published in books and in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. However, most library databases do not offer straightforward ways to locate empirical research. Below are tips for some of Penn State's most popular Education and Behavioral/Social Sciences databases. If you need further help, contact a Librarian at your location.
LionSearch does not have a method for locating empirical research. Using "empirical" as a keyword will find some studies, but miss many others. Consider using one of the more specialized databases below.
To find empirical articles in PsycINFO (ProQuest version):
Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCO version) does not have a simple method to locate empirical research. Using "empirical" as a keyword will find some studies, but miss others.
If you are interested in studies that employ a specific type of research methodology, use the Criminal Justice Abstracts subject index to identify the best search terms for it. Some methodological terms that are commonly used in Criminal Justice Abstracts are:
There are 2 ways to find empirical articles in PubMed (NIH version):
One technique is to limit your search results after you perform a search:
Another alternative is to construct a more sophisticated search:
research OR studies. Then, in the same row, change "Selected a Field" to "SU Subject" to obtain results that have been tagged with these words.
If you are interested in studies that employ a specific type of research methodology, use CINAHL's Subject Headings list to identify the best search terms for it. Some methodological terms that are commonly used in CINAHL are:
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest version) does not have a simple method to locate empirical research. Using "empirical" as a keyword will find some studies, but miss others.
One technique is to use the Advanced search in Worldwide Political Science Abstracts and add the following string to one of the search boxes: analysis OR research OR studies. Then, in the same row, change the "Anywhere" field to "All Subjects & Indexing: SUBJECT" to obtain results that have been tagged with these words.
If you are interested in studies that employ a specific type of research methodology, use Worldwide Political Science Abstracts' thesaurus to identify the best search terms for it. Some methodological terms that are commonly used in WPSA are:
One technique is to use the Advanced search in LLBA and add the following string to one of the search boxes: analysis OR research OR studies. Then, in the same row, change the "Anywhere" field to "All Subjects & Indexing: SUBJECT" to obtain results that have been tagged with these words.
If you are interested in studies that employ a specific type of research methodology, use LLBA's thesaurus to identify the best search terms for it. Some methodological terms that are commonly used in LLBA are: