These are some key features to look for when identifying empirical research in political science and criminal justice.
NOTE: Not all of these features will be in every empirical research article, some may be excluded, use this only as a guide.
Evaluate these articles to determine if they are empirical research or not.
Citation:
2009. "Disproportionate sales of crime guns among licensed handgun retailers in the United States: a case–control study." Injury Prevention 15, no. 5: 291-299. Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed October 3, 2013). http://mantis.csuchico.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=i3h&AN=44739892&site=eds-live