Empirical research derives its knowledge directly from scientific observations and measurements. It allows researchers to answer a wide variety of research questions. The idea of empirical research dates back to ancient Greece. Over the years, methods have been developed to make empirical research more rigorous. However, a standardized process for conducting empirical research allows researchers to better compare studies and evaluate them for their rigor and accuracy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of each step in the standardized process for conducting empirical research. In general, empirical research can be conducted using quantitative or qualitative research methods. The steps described in this paper are mainly applicable to quantitative research in the social sciences but can be adapted to other scientific areas and methodologies with slight modifications. Each step in the process will also become a part of your final research article.

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<h2 data-id="1. Develop Basic Research Questions" id="1. Develop Basic Research Questions">1. Develop Basic Research Questions</h2>

Empirical research&nbsp;starts with a broad question about a specific research topic. This question will be refined further along in the process after you perform the literature review. The goal of an&nbsp;empirical research&nbsp;question is usually inference: drawing a conclusion about a research topic without complete certainty (Lavraka, 2008). Davis (1971) provides suggestions on how to develop relevant research questions. There are different types of empirical questions such as descriptive questions, relational questions, and explanatory questions (Andrews, 2003).&nbsp;&nbsp;

Descriptive questions aim to describe the facts about a certain research topic. Relational research questions examine the relationship between different concepts. A variation of relational research questions is predictive research questions. Predictive research questions seek to determine how variable&nbsp;y&nbsp;would change if variable&nbsp;x&nbsp;happened. Explanatory research questions aim to detect causal relationships between concepts and establish causal inference. The goal is to determine if there exists any cause-and-effect relationship between variable&nbsp;x&nbsp;and variable&nbsp;y. A variety of criteria should be met to suggest causation (Hill, 1965). There are a variety of other types of&nbsp;empirical research&nbsp;questions. For example, design questions ask what the best way is to design a product or a study and explore different metrics to measure the effectiveness of different designs. Comparative analysis research takes competing events or ideas and tries to determine if one is better than the others.

Note:&nbsp;The description of the research question and why it is important is the main body of the&nbsp;Introduction&nbsp;section for your article.

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<h2 data-id="2. Review the Literature " id="2. Review the Literature ">2. Review the Literature&nbsp;</h2>

The next step after developing a broad research question is to find out if anyone has answered that question or similar questions before. To this end, you need to review the literature related to the research area. This step in the research process has several objectives:

<ol>
	<li>Build a general knowledge base of the research conducted in the area.</li>
	<li>Review the existing theories underlying the research field.</li>
	<li>Identify knowledge gaps related to the research question.</li>
</ol>

Note:&nbsp;This literature review serves as the basis for a&nbsp;Background / Introduction / Literature Review&nbsp;section for your article.

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<h3>2.1. Build a Knowledge Base Related to the Research Question</h3>

Once a general research idea has been developed, a review of the literature is needed to identify existing research related to the research question. This requires searching through the literature and textbooks related to the subject. Databases for scientific literature such as Google Scholar or PubMed serve as a good starting point for a literature search. The goal of this step is to better understand the topic and synthesize relevant research that has already been conducted related to the research question.&nbsp;

Note:&nbsp;Keep a record of the articles you read and their important points, as you may reference them in your article later on.

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<h3>2.2. Review Theories Underlying the Research in the Field</h3>

Similar to a general review of the literature, a review of related theories is advised. Theory should be a foundation for every research project (Suddaby, 2014), and the goal of the research is often to test or refine a theory (Whetten, 1989). To identify theory, seminal work about the research topic should be consulted. Many authors include a discussion of relevant theory in the introduction section of their articles. In their seminal work, Sutton and Straw (1995) discuss how to identify theory in research (Sutton &amp; Staw, 1995).

In more advanced research fields, it is common to propose a revision of an established theory at the beginning of your research project with the objective of testing your proposed theory.

Note:&nbsp;You would describe the theoretical foundation for your study or your proposed theory in a&nbsp;Theories&nbsp;section in your article.

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<h3>2.3. Identify Research Gaps&nbsp;</h3>

The last part of the literature review step is to identify gaps in the research. Think about the approaches used in the papers as you read them. What assumptions are made and how do the authors attempt to solve their problem? Are there new data or ideas that could improve the methods used? What other similar questions are there without an answer and how could you use newly available data and methods to answer them better?

Many authors will put forward unanswered questions and avenues for future research in their research articles. They are usually in the future research or conclusion section of the papers. These discussion points can be used as starting points for your research project.

Note:&nbsp;These research gaps will serve as the&nbsp;Problem Statement / Gaps in the Literature&nbsp;for your article.

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<h2 data-id="3. Refine Your Research Questions" id="3. Refine Your Research Questions">3. Refine Your Research Questions</h2>

Based on the review of the literature, and especially based on the research gaps you have identified, your next step is to refine your research question.&nbsp;Empirical research&nbsp;is usually focused on two to three specific questions. The research questions are based on the research gaps and the underlying theory identified in the literature review. Research questions might change slightly based on the analytic approaches you will use. In order to answer your research questions, you will need to form your hypothesis, determine your research methodology and develop your models.

Note:&nbsp;Oftentimes, research questions are listed in an&nbsp;Aims and Objectives&nbsp;section at the end of the&nbsp;Introduction&nbsp;section.

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<h3>3.1. Form Hypotheses</h3>

Hypotheses are based on your research questions. Hypotheses state what you expect to find in your data based on the literature you have reviewed. Developing clear hypotheses for your research project can help to determine the analytic approaches you want to use. Davis (1971) can be used as a guide to develop strong hypotheses. An example hypothesis for the research question &ldquo;What is the relationship between smoking and caffeine consumption?&rdquo; is: &ldquo;Smoking leads to higher caffeine consumption.&rdquo; Not all&nbsp;empirical research&nbsp;articles list specific hypotheses, especially if the research is of an exploratory nature or research questions are bidirectional.&nbsp;

Note:&nbsp;If you generate hypotheses for your research, you will list those in an&nbsp;Aims and Objectives&nbsp;section at the end of the&nbsp;Introduction&nbsp;section.&nbsp;

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<h3>3.2. Determine Your Research Methodology</h3>

Empirical research offers various approaches to answer your research questions. The methodology you use will depend on your scientific field and on the type of research questions you have developed. In this step, you describe in detail what type of study you are conducting (e.g., cross-sectional, experimental, longitudinal) and how you select and recruit your population (e.g., online survey platform, patients of an integrated hospital system). In human subjects research, this section typically includes a brief description of ethical concerns describing the consent process and listing the IRB application number.

Note:&nbsp;You will describe your study methodology in the&nbsp;Methods&nbsp;section of your article using subheadings such as &ldquo;Study Design,&rdquo; &ldquo;Setting,&rdquo; &ldquo;Study Population,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Human Subjects Protocol.&rdquo;

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<h3>3.3. Develop a Model</h3>

Based on your research questions/hypotheses and research methodology, it can be helpful to develop a model including your main variables and potential relationships among them. Refining your model is an interactive process and will depend on the statistical analysis you apply to test your research questions or hypotheses.

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<h2 data-id="4. Collect Your Data" id="4. Collect Your Data">4. Collect Your Data</h2>

At this point in the research process, you have determined your research questions and hypotheses as well as your methodology and model. The next step is to collect your data, which you will use to test your hypotheses.

Note:&nbsp;This part of&nbsp;empirical research&nbsp;will make up the&nbsp;Methods&nbsp;section of your article.

You will need to describe which data you will collect and how you will collect it. For&nbsp;empirical research, you can use primary or secondary data. Primary data is data you collect specifically for the purpose of your study, whereas secondary data is collected from large data repositories, like national surveys (e.g., NHANES, MIDUS, NHES). Both data approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Your study methodology will determine which approach is more suitable for your study. To collect the right data for your research questions, a clear delineation of your variables of interest is needed. The variable selection is oftentimes based on the literature review and the theory you chose as a foundation for your study.&nbsp;

There are two important factors that we are going to discuss now.

<ol>
	<li>Primary Data Collection</li>
	<li>Secondary Data Collection</li>
</ol>

Note:&nbsp;This will be the basis for the&nbsp;Data Collection&nbsp;and&nbsp;Variable Description&nbsp;paragraphs within the&nbsp;Methods&nbsp;section of your article.

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<h3>4.1. Primary Data Collection</h3>

Primary data comes in many different forms. Examples are:

<ul>
	<li>Surveys (online or pen-and-paper): Survey questions are targeted towards the main variables of interest. For example, a survey to explore the relationship between smoking and caffeine consumption would include questions on a person&rsquo;s smoking habits and caffeine consumption, along with possible confounding variables and demographic information.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Clinical patient outcomes: either collected directly from the patient or through electronic health records, for example, blood pressure or A1C.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Other personal records, such as school grades.</li>
</ul>

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<h3>4.2. Secondary Data Collection</h3>

Secondary data often comes from large data repositories containing hundreds of variables but can also be data you or a colleague has collected for another study. Depending on the research questions, different surveys provide relevant information. For example, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) contains information on a variety of health behaviors and health conditions.&nbsp;The National Household Education Survey (NHES) contains information on education status and outcomes.

Conducting Empirical Research

Empirical research derives its knowledge directly from scientific observations and measurements. It allows researchers to answer a wide variety of research questions. The idea of empirical research...