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PSY 193H (Hahn-Holbrook)

What's "empirical?"

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "empirical" as:

1. originating in or based on observation or experience empirical data;
 
2 . relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory an empirical basis for the theory; or
 
3. capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment empirical laws.

An empirical study is one in which an experiment, survey, or study is conducted and the results of that experiment, survey, or study are reported. An empirical study journal article is one that details the study by describing it in detail: what was studied, why it was studied, how it was studied (survey, experiment, et c.), the results of the study, and a discussion of those results. The reporting of empirical studies in scholarly journals almost always follows the same structure: IMRAD.

I M R A D (!)

[pronounced "IHM-rad"]

I - Introduction
What's this study about? What population, or phenomenon, are we studying? Why are we studying it? What gaps in knowledge exist that make this study necessary?

M - Methods or Methodology
How will we answer the questions posed in the introduction? Who or what are we studying? What group (men, women, adults, children, lower economic class, middle economic class, upper economic class, et c.)? How will we study them: survey, experiment? How will we measure our results? How will we measure our results -- what scales will we use?

R - Results
What were the results of all that measuring? This section of an empirical study journal article is likely to have a lot of tabular data: charts, tables, graphs, et c.

AND

D - DISCUSSION
What's it all mean? What impact do the results have on the field or discipline? What gaps in knowledge have been answered?

LibWizard Finding Empirical Studies in PsycInfo

Finding Empirical Studies in PsycInfo

Finding Empirical Studies in Psycinfo Tutorial

Instructions:

1. Connect to the campus network via the VPN if you are off-campus.  You will need this connection to access one or more library databases while taking the tutorial.

2. Take the short quiz at the end of the tutorial. Enter your email address AND your professor's email address. Afterwards locate the email confirmation. These emails often go to your SPAM folder, so be sure to check there.  It is often easiest to search in your email account for the phrase "Certificate of completion" to find your email confirmation.

3. You are ready! Click on the link below to start the tutorial. Follow the instructions on the left hand of the screen and, as directed, complete activities in the main screen (right).

Finding Empirical Studies in PsycInfo >> https://ucmercedlibrary.libwizard.com/f/empirical-psycinfo