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.
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. Consider using terminology recommended by the Criminal Justice Abstracts subject index. Some useful keywords 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. Consider using terminology recommended by the Worldwide Political Science Abstracts thesaurus. Some useful keywords 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: