what exactly does empirical study mean?
if we study a phenomenon based on secondary data only, can we classify such study as empirical study? or the empirical study must be the one which is done based on primary data.
is the type of data a criterion for deciding whether the study is empirical ?
thanks in advance
Empirical studies refer to the collection and analysis of primary data based on direct observation or experiences in the field.
analysis of secondary data cant be considered as Empirical study but experimental study.
An empirical study is one based on experimentation, observation, or measurement, rather than theoretical formulation
Hi Srikanth,
Empirical research is based on experiments. That is, you observe and measure phenomena and derive knowledge from actual experience rather than theory or belief. This kind of research has the following features: A research question, a target behavior, population, or phenomena is defined and finally, the process is described in detail so that the research could be verified and duplicated by any individual if need be. See the following for more information on the subject.
https://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~meeden/cs81/s12/EmpiricalMethods.pdf
www.unm.edu/~rrobergs/604Lecture3.pdf
Hi Folasade Isinkaye
your replay is more informative, but i could not get precise answer for my question.
suppose, i want to test the impact of inflation on the relationship between stock market and gold market. i collected secondary data relating to inflation, stock market index and gold price and made some statistical analysis.
can i classify my study as empirical? if not, how to classify my work.
Hi Srikanth,
Further explanation on the use of both primary and secondary data.
In primary data, researchers collect data themselves using different methods such as surveys, interviews and direct observations. An advantage of using primary data is that researchers collect data for specific purposes of their study. On the other hand, Secondary data may be a product of other research, or may have been collected by some individuals. Secondary data is not tightly controlled by the researcher. The process of generating the data has already been done not directly by the researcher. The advantage of secondary data is that it is readily available and inexpensive to obtain.
Therefore which data to use depends entirely on the researcher’s resources and purposes. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Also, the type of data a researcher chooses can depend on many things, such as the research question, budget, skills and available resources. Based on these and other factors, researcher may choose to use primary data, secondary data or both.
Yes, your research is empirical study. either you use primary or secondary or combination of both. it is still an exprimental study,
Best!
A
I think that empirical study refers to experimental study! It should include somehow some data and provides observations, measurement and conclusions based on the conducted experiments.
I can see the significance of observation here as a tool to collect data for empirical study. Can we use surveys focus groups, interviews and still classify the study as empirical study?
Sahar Moursi , Yes: there are several ways of conducting empirical studies. These may include; Experiment, Survey (all forms of Interviews), Case Study, Ethnography & Observations. It is imperative to note that the definition of "empirical study'" may not be restricted to the methods of data collection only but also extends to the nature of data collected - it must be data best on first hand experience rather than theory or pure logic/reason. for easy comprehension, please refer to the synonyms & definition of the word " Empirical" CF ease to use https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/another-word-for/empirical.html
Empirical research is defined as any research where conclusions of the study is strictly drawn from concretely empirical evidence, and therefore “verifiable” evidence. This empirical evidence can be gathered using quantitative research and qualitative research methods.
In other words, it is research that is based on observation and measurement of phenomena, as directly experienced by the researcher. The data thus gathered may be compared against a theory or hypothesis, but the results are still based on real life experience. The data gathered is all primary data, although secondary data from a literature review may form the theoretical background.
Simply it's just an evidence based study. Primary or secondary does not important here. You can explore more from the reality and qualitative and mixed method approach will be more close to reality rather than quantity only.
Ali Abidi is absolutely correct!
Folasade, compare your response to Ali's.
Empirical study involves experimental set up to make observations from which further analytics can be drawn from
My understanding regarding empirical research study is almost similar with Ali Abidi's answer. For me, empirical research is a research type where its final conclusion must drawn from real evidences. Here the initial ground data shuld be collected from both primary and seconday sources because they are very important. Thus, my concept do not agree with the answer given by muhammed Ashrafu.
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