This guide was written for Dr. Xu's Spring and Fall 2022 course. The guide helps you complete the first homework assignment.
(From Dr. Xu's assignment description and rubric.)
Empirical: a very short definition from the 3rd edition of the Dictionary of Pschology:
"Derived from observation or experiment rather than speculation or theory."
In practice, empirical research is published in scholarly articles. These articles usually have the following sections, though the headings can vary:
– A statement of the question studied
– An introduction/overview of the topic (sometimes called a literature review)
– A description of the methodology used to study the question
– A section describing the results
– A discussion of the implications of the results
– A list of references
Below is a short video (3:45) describing these articles, and showing what to look for.
Go to the Article Search page for databases and tips!
Start with this online collection of (mostly) reference books. Subject-specific encyclopedias, handbooks, companions, etc.
Below are sample encyclopedia articles which may be relevant to the topics assigned.
Go to the Subject Encyclopedias page for more.
Although the detailed instructions page refers you to Information Technology Services for help, at the Raynor Information Desk we can also help with some parts of the process. Give us a call at (414) 288-7556.