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APSY2041.01 Adolescent Psychology

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Reading an empirical study

Empirical Study components

The following components are typically found in an empirical study:

  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
  • Methods used
  • Results
  • Discussion of findings
  • Reference list 

Steps for reading an empirical study

On your reading of an empirical article, select the article sections you want to read first. During this first reading you will skim through the sections and decide if the article meets your needs . Some components you should pay attention to include the following: 

  • Title
  • Journal name, and Subjects or Keywords assigned to the article
  • Abstract/summary of the article
  • Introduction - the last paragraph will provide their research question and hypothesis
  • Discussion  -  in the first paragraph the authors will interpret the results of their study

Decide if the article meets your needs, if it does continue on and read the following:

  •  Methods
  •  Results
  •  Reference list (for other articles to evaluate) 

Then go back and read the entire article.

 

What is empirical evidence?

What is empirical evidence?

  • Scientifically-based research from fields such as psychology, sociology, economics, and neuroscience, and especially from research in educational settings
  • Empirical data on performance used to compare, evaluate, and monitor progress