Types of Articles in the Behavioral and

Social Sciences

Empirical Studies- How do you know?

Empirical studies are reports of original research.  These include secondary analyses that test hypotheses not addressed in previous reports. Articles contain an introduction, method, results, and discussion of the research study.

Literature Reviews - How do you know?

Literature reviews are critical evaluations of material that has already been published.  Articles generally contain a definition of the problem, summary of the research, identify relationships or inconsistencies in the literature, and suggest next step(s) in solving the problem. (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition, 2009)