BIOL 151: Human Physiology

How can I know if the article I found is an Empirical Article?

1. Is the article published in an academic, scholarly, or peer-reviewed journal? 

   • Academic journals such as Athletic Therapy Today or Journal of Sports Economics may publish empirical articles. Some professional journals such as JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association publish empirical research.

   • Other professional sources such as Performance Conditioning Soccer publish articles of professional interest, but they do not usually publish research articles.

2. Does the article:

   • report on original research based on actual measurement, observation or experience

   • authored by the researchers

   • provide in-depth coverage and tend to be longer than a few pages

   • may be qualitative or quantitative in the methodology they use

   • considered a primary source

3. Can you answer yes to the following questions?

   • Does the article's abstract mention a study, an observation, an analysis, or a number of participants or subjects?

   • Was data collected, a survey or questionnaire administered, an assessment or measurement used, or an interview conducted

4. Does the article contain these headings/sections:

   • Abstract - a short summary of the article

   • Introduction - includes a rationale for the research and a literature review on the topic

   • Methodology - a description of the research design, participants, etc.

   • Results - outcomes of the study

   • Discussion - the interpretations and implications of the study

   • References - citation information on the material cited in the report

What are Qualitative Studies?

• a kind of empirical study methodology
• collected data is based on words; descriptions, stories, 
• based on observations of people's experiences
• sometimes called naturalistic approach
• data is collected from interviews, surveys, diaries, direct observation of people's experiences
• sets out aims not hypotheses
• attempts to explain events but not predict what may happen to other people

What are some types of Qualitative Studies?

• grounded theory--continuous comparison between data analysis and data collection
• phenomenological studies--also described as "lived experience"
• ethnography (participant participation)
• mixed-methods (both Qualitative and Quantitative combined in a study)

How can I identify Qualitative Studies?

• How was the data collected? interviews, focus groups, surveys
• Who were the study participants? How were they chosen? 
  • Also called sampling methods--single group participants with similar experience
• Other terms to identify and search for qualitative articles:
  • life experiences
  • theoretical sample
  • field study
  • hermeneutics
  • heuristics
  • action research
  • constant comparative method
  • cluster sample
  • thematic analysis
  • semiotics
  • narrative data