Finding empirical research articles is a critical skill for students in behavioral disciplines. The best way to identify whether or not an article is an empirical research study is to examine the source directly and confirm that it has the key elements of such a study. A typical empirical study will have the following five sections, with the terminology sometimes varying. Sometimes introduction and literature review will be merged; sometimes either section might not be labeled. Sometimes a separate conclusions section may be added. 

Absolutely necessary are the three core sections: methods, results, discussion. Some of the typical variants are listed below. If these three components are not found in the article, it is NOT an empirical study.

Typical Headings:

1. Introduction/Literature Review
2. Methodology / Methods / Research Design
3. Data / Results
4. Discussion / Interpretation / Analysis
5. References

Hints:

1. Choose "Scholarly" or "Peer-Reviewed" when searching a database
2. Add the word "research" or "study" to your search topic

Adapted from "ECC 543 -- Single Subject Research Design" at Shippensburg University, by Kirk Moll.  http://library.ship.edu/eec543. Used with permission.