empirical

Research

Based on observation, measurement, or experiment rather than pure theory or argument — can be qualitative or quantitative.

Sources

1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — “Rationalism vs. Empiricism”, Peter Markie and M. Folescu (first published 19 August 2004; substantive revision 2 September 2021) plato.stanford.edu accessed 22 September 2026

The philosophical root of the word is empiricism, which the Stanford Encyclopedia entry by Peter Markie and M. Folescu states as a thesis: “We have no source of knowledge in S or for the concepts we use in S other than experience.” The research sense this entry defines is the practical descendant — a claim is empirical when it rests on observation or measurement — and it does not require the philosophical thesis to be true. A qualitative interview study is as empirical, in this sense, as an experiment.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is cited because it carries a named author and a dated revision for each entry, so the claim is attributable to a person on a date — which is the test this lexicon applies to reference sources, and the reason an open-edit encyclopedia is not used. The application to research practice above is this lexicon’s reading.

Related terms

• Abbreviation
• Abstract
• Abstraction
• Academic Database
• Analysis
• Annotation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).