| Empirical research is any activity that uses direct or indirect observation as its test of reality. If atheoretical, it is a form
of inductive reasoning. It may also be conducted according to
hypothetico-deductive procedures, such as
those developed from the work of R. A. Fisher.
The empirical researcher attempts to describe accurately the interaction between his instrument (which may be as
simple as the human eye) and the entity being observed. The researcher is expected to calibrate his instrument by applying
it to known standard objects and documenting the results before applying it to unknown objects.
In practice, the accumulation of evidence for or against any particular theory involves planned research designs for the collection
of empirical data. Several typographies for such designs have been suggested,
one of the most popular of which comes from Campbell and Stanley (1963). They are responsible for popularizing the widely cited
distinction among pre-experimental, experimental, and quasi-experimental designs and are staunch advocates of the central role of
randomized experiments in educational research.
Hallmarks of science
The main distinguishing characteristics of scientific research are purposiveness, rigor, testability, replicability, precision and confidence, objectivity, generalizability, and parsimony.
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