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PSYC 212: Fall 2025

What are empirical articles?

There are many different types of peer-reviewed articles. For many of your psychology courses, you'll be asked to find empirical articles. These may also be called primary research articles. 

Empirical articles report the methods and findings of an original research study conducted by the authors of the article. These differ from literature reviews which discuss previous research studies on a topic. 

Watch the video below to learn how to filter to these kinds of articles in PsycInfo & PsycArticles.

How are empirical articles organized?

Empirical articles often have a common organization that makes it easier to identify them.

Empirical research articles will usually have the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion

Watch the video to learn more about what you can find in each section and to see an example of an empirical article.

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