ABSTRACT
The empirical approach to knowledge simply means that it is based on observation, direct or indirect, or in other words, on experience. In a casual sense, everyone uses the empirical approach in his or her daily life. Researchers use the empirical approach as a way to avoid misleading results and poor interpretations. The key is carefully planning why they want to make observations, how to observe, when to observe, and whom they want to observe. Empirical approaches to research encompass all research design approaches, including experimental designs and nonexperimental designs. When researchers plan whom to observe, they first decide whether to observe an entire population or just a sample of the population. Once observations are made, the researcher has data. Data may be in the form of numbers, which are analyzed statistically. This is called quantitative research.
