Eric Fink's Library tagged empirical →  View Popular

This essay is the introductory chapter of a book about research methods in the field of law and society (Halliday, S. and Schmidt, P., Conducting Law and Society Research: Reflections on Methods and Practices, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009). Through interviews with many of the most noteworthy authors of law and society, Conducting Law and Society Research takes readers behind the scenes of empirical scholarship, showing the messy reality of the research process. The challenges and the uncertainties, so often missing from research methods textbooks, are revealed in candid detail. The accessible and revealing conversations about the lived reality of classic projects will be a source of encouragement and inspiration to those embarking on empirical research, ranging across the full array of disciplines that contribute to law and society. In this introductory essay, we argue for greater candor in discussing the messiness of empirical research methods, particularly in the field of law and society which has for many years explored the gap between rules and reality. We also examine the role which luck (both good and bad) plays in empirical research. Ultimately, we suggest that narratives of the research process such as the conversations contained in the book are a necessary complement to research methods textbooks. They reveal, in powerful ways, that 'good research' displays not an absence of problems but the care taken in negotiating them.

papers.ssrn.com/...papers.cfm - Preview

law sociology socio-legal research empirical

Existing empirical scholarship about judicial activism has almost exclusively focused on the United States Supreme Court and actions by the judiciary that invalidate legislative, executive, and state actions. This article contends that such limitations gi

papers.ssrn.com/...papers.cfm - Preview

Bookmarks judges courts law empirical research

This paper provides the preliminary results of a convenience sample of ninety MDL orders from 2003 to 2009. The study investigates the rationale for transfer of federal civil litigation by the Panel, where cases are assigned, and to whom. The purpose of t

papers.ssrn.com/...papers.cfm - Preview

Bookmarks law CivilProcedure CivilRights empirical research courts

A cornerstone of the law and economics approach to standard form contracts is the 'informed minority' hypothesis: in competitive markets, a minority of term-conscious buyers is enough to discipline sellers from offering unfavorable boilerplate terms. The

papers.ssrn.com/...papers.cfm - Preview

Bookmarks law economics contracts empirical research

Every state in the United States has laws which prohibit sexual activity with individuals under a certain age. These laws are typically strict liability. Generally, they are justifed under the auspice of protecting young women from 'predatory' older males

papers.ssrn.com/...papers.cfm - Preview

Bookmarks law CriminalLaw empirical research