McQuade LibGuides: MPA 6200: Research Methods and Evaluation (Nguyen): Find Empirical Articles

Finding Empirical Articles

Empirical articles are those in which authors report on their own study. The authors will have collected data to answer a research question. Empirical research contains observed and measured examples that inform or answer the research question. The data can be collected in a variety of ways such as interviews, surveys, questionnaires, observations, and various other quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Section	Definition
Abstract	A short synopsis of the article’s content
Introduction	Need and rational of this particular research project with research question, statement, and hypothesis.
Literature Review (sometimes included in the Introduction)	Supporting their ideas with other scholarly research
Methods	Describes the methodology including a description of the participants, and a description of the research method, measure, research design, or approach to data analysis.
Results or Findings	Uses narrative, charts, tables, graphs, or other graphics to describe the findings of the paper
Discussion/Conclusion/Implications	Provides a discussion, summary, or conclusion, bringing together the research question, statement,
References	References all the articles discussed and cited in the paper- mostly in the literature or results sections

MACKsearch

MACKsearch

Think of MACKsearch like Google, but created specifically for McQuade- easy searching but with more credible results. MACKsearch does a combination search of the NOBLE Catalog as well as most of our databases, so typically you'll get a lot a results back. This can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, but fortunately, you have several options to refine and limit your results list to find exactly what you're looking for. In MACKsearch you'll find books, e-books, journal articles, streaming media, news briefs, and more.

Finding Peer-Reviewd Articles in MACKsearch

Enter the keywords (the main points of the research) into the search boxes
After the initial search, click the "All Filters" button below the search box.
Select "Full-Text" and "Peer-Reviewed."
Set the date range- usually looking at the last 10 years is a good starting point
Click "Source Type" and Select "Academic Journals"
Take a look at your results list. Click on titles that stand out to you and read the abstract. If the article seems promising, consider reading the full text (which will be linked in the record page).

If your not finding articles that support your research, try changing up the keywords by thinking of synonyms or alternate terms, as well as different aspects of your topic. Depending on what keywords you use, you'll get different results back.

Finding News Articles in MACKsearch

Enter the keywords (the main points of the research) into the search boxes
After the initial search, click the "All Filters" button below the search box.
Select "Full-Text"
Set the date range- usually looking at the last 10 years is a good starting point
Select "News"
Take a look at your results list. Click on titles that stand out to you and read the abstract. If the article seems promising, consider reading the full text (which will be linked in the record page).

If your not finding articles that support your research, try changing up the keywords by thinking of synonyms or alternate terms, as well as different aspects of your topic. Depending on what keywords you use, you'll get different results back.

Additional Information About MACKsearch:

When you click on a title from your results list, you'll be brought to the record page. Here you find all of the bibliographic information needed for the citation, as well as an abstract (summary) that can help you determine if you'd like to pursue the full text.
PDF of the full-text is linked below the title on the record page
To print an article, save it to Google drive, or to email the article, go to the tools on the right-hand side of the record page.
Citations can also be found on the top, right of the the record page.