It is impossible to write an academic paper without a methodological basis. However, these are not all the tools that a student needs for a course, diploma, or other work. Sometimes it is worth using empirical, theoretical, normative, and other types of bases. In my first year at college, I decided to pay someone to write my research paper for me, since I didn’t know much about study methodologies. In this article, we will talk in detail about the empirical basis of research in coursework or thesis. You will not only understand the terminology but also see examples of the description of the empirical base of the study.
Empirical research base: what is an empirical research base – it is the actual material of scientific work, irrefutable and reliable data. The student uses them in his work as a basis for observation, experiment, hypothesis building, model creation, and so on. The empirical base is called a kind of analytical base because the main question it answers is: what are the research methods applied to?
What is the difference between these two bases in this case? Analytics is simply a list of data based on which the study is conducted. And the empirical base is the materials collected with the help of specially designed questionnaires, and other experiments which the student processes and analyzes himself. That is an author’s approach. It is also worth distinguishing the empirical base of the study from the literary list. In the first case, these are the specific data and facts that we use, and in the second case, the materials that we refer to prove the conclusions. What can constitute an empirical base
What specific materials can be included in the empirical base of the study? It depends on the scientific discipline and the methods that the student uses in his work: dictionaries and data from language experiments can serve as an empirical basis in linguistic research.
In sociological coursework and diplomas — the results of opinion polls, interviews, and questionnaires. In the works devoted to economics – economic indices, data from statistical reports, balance sheet indicators of the organization.
In literary research — biographical data and examples of works.
In coursework and theses on jurisprudence – legislative acts, case materials, official legal norms.
Management studies include case studies, examples of organizational work in a company, business specifics, and statistical data.
The empirical base can include both primary and secondary data. The primary ones receive first-hand – annual reports at the enterprise, the results of a social survey. And the secondary ones are from open official sources. For example, laws, regulations, and acts of the government. The empirical base can not be found in all works. It is mainly used for those term papers, theses, and dissertations that are based on practical research, require data processing, prove theories and back them up with factual material.
For a thorough study, it is worth collecting more data. The location of the empirical base in the work Where is the empirical base of the study located? Both in the coursework, in the thesis report, and other types of work, it is placed in the introduction, after describing the subject and object, the goals and objectives of the course, as well as the methodological base. The text should reflect all the provisions of the emphasis on the following points: to show that the data is reliable, to indicate the source and refer to authoritative names; to clarify how they correspond to the problem and cover the issues under study; it is desirable to give the exact amount of data used in the study; explain why you chose them for your research.
If you use just one example, you need to justify your choice and show why the results based on this material will be valuable. If you lack some data, this should also be indicated in the introduction, thereby defining the limitations of the educational research. This will not take a course or diploma project worse — because data is often not enough. This approach will show that you are responsible for the research part of the work and the material that you use for conclusions.
The volume of the empirical base in the study usually consists of four to five sentences and does not exceed one paragraph. Empirical research base: examples
You can read the characteristics of the empirical base for a long time and never figure out what it is. Therefore, we have collected real examples of descriptions that can be found in term papers, diplomas, and dissertations. Study the samples and use them as a template for your research.
Examples of the description of the empirical base of research in coursework
Coursework in Sociology
Topic: Instagram Facebook, Livejournal, and YouTube, the empirical base of the study were the results of the analysis of the accounts of women politicians in social media The observation was conducted in the period from January 1, 2017, to April 8, 2017.
Studying this period is enough to see how politicians commented on holidays, important events and make it possible to study publications for a fairly long period. Accounts were selected according to the following principle: Posts on the pages should be published at least once a week, otherwise, the account will be considered abandoned.
The sample includes the accounts of politicians of different ranks: the highest echelon of power – ministers; deputies, press secretaries; local politicians. 2-3 most popular representatives were selected for each group. The degree of their fame and popularity is estimated using the statistics of their citation in the media. It also took into account how popular their accounts were (how many followers they had).
Course work in psychology
Topic: “Psychological analysis of the features of the formation of artificial bilingualism in autistic children” Empirical basis of the study: The study involved two groups of children (experimental and control), numbering 15 subjects, aged 10-11 years, living in Dallas region, with a diagnosed autistic spectrum disorder, not burdened with mental retardation. Examples of the description of the empirical base of research in the diploma
Thesis on financial law
Topic: “Features of the legal regulation of the activities of foreign legal entities in the securities market” Empirical base of research: The factual basis of the work was statistical data of the State Statistics Committee, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Financial Service, as well as other official sources.
Thesis in medicine
Topic: “Professional ontogenesis: medical-sociological and psychological-ethical problems of medical activity” Empirical basis of research: The research was conducted based on Volgograd State Medical University using a questionnaire. The study was attended by junior and senior students of medical and pediatric faculties, as well as doctors of medical institutions and the Center of Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of Volgograd and Volzhsky. An example of the description of the empirical base of research in the dissertation
Dissertation on law
Topic: “Law and corporate norms” Empirical base of research: The empirical base of the study is a generalization of the practical activities of many organizations, both local and interregional scale, which was based on the study and detailed analysis of corporate acts of these structures.
All samples of the description of the empirical research base in term papers, diplomas, and dissertations can be downloaded in Word format. We hope that now you will be able to confidently describe the empirical basis of your educational research and easily defend it before the commission.