ERIC 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 search for "Research Reports":
- Use the "Advanced Search"
- Type your keywords into the search boxes
- Under "More Search Options," see "Document Type," and choose "Reports: Research"
- Choose other limits, such as publication date, if needed
- Click on the "Search" button
An alternative is to use terminology recommended by the ERIC thesaurus. Some useful keywords are:
- Action Research
- Case Studies
- Ethnography
- Evaluation Methods
- Evaluation Research
- Experiments
- Focus Groups
- Field Studies
- Interviews
- Mail Surveys
- Mixed Methods Research
- Naturalistic Observation
- Participant Observation
- Participatory Research
- Qualitative Research
- Questionnaires
- Research
- Statistical Analysis
- Statistical Studies
- Telephone Surveys
Sociological Abstracts 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 Sociological Abstracts thesaurus. Some useful keywords are:
- Case Studies
- Empirical Methods
- Empirical Research
- Experiments
- Fieldwork
- Interviews
- Observation
- Qualitative Methods
- Quantitative Methods
- Research
- Surveys