Prepared by Mirya HolmanDuke University Law LibraryEmpirical Research Support

A (Brief) Introduction to Empirical Legal Scholarship

What is Empirical Legal Scholarship?Empirical: derived from experiment and

observation rather than theoryLegal: of or pertaining to law; connected with

the law or its administrationScholarship: learning; knowledge acquired by

study; the academic attainments of a scholar

Empirical Legal Scholarship: Learning, knowledge, or studies that use experimentation or observation – rather than theory – to comment on the law or its administration.

Why Do Empirical Legal Scholarship?Relatively new field:

Lots of opportunities to get publishedSignificant gaps in the literature

Exciting avenues for researchIt is fun!Collaboration and co-authorship

opportunities abound

Elements of Empirical ResearchQualitative DataQuantitative DataStatistical AnalysisData Collection

Qualitative Data Qualitative data is distinguished by being a set of

unordered categoriesQualitative variables differ in quality, not quantity or

magnitudeExamples include race, sex, political party, type of law firm

Qualitative data is often collected through observation, interviews, participation, or analysis of archival documents

Qualitative research “provides often an unparalleled understanding of the motivations behind human behavior, desires and needs” (From the Association for Qualitative Research)

Quantitative DataQuantitative (or interval) data varies in

magnitude.Each possible value of a quantitative variable is

greater than or smaller than any other possible value.

Example include years of education, income, length of time in court, amount of settlement

Quantitative research is the systematic investigation of a wide variety of properties, their individual characteristics, and relationships.

Quantitative research involves either measuring data, or using someone else’s measurement of data

Statistical AnalysisWhat are statistics?

Statistics are information about a subject expressed in numerical form

Basic statistical information can includes the mean (or the average), the variance (the mathematical dispersion of a dataset), the range (the distance from the minimum to the maximum), and more.

Advanced statistical information can include coefficients and standard errors from regression models, correlation statistics, fixed effects from time series models, and more.

Statistical Analysis, cont.Statistical analysis often involves the use of

a statistical software package. These include: SPSSSASSTATAR

These packages vary in capacity, in interface, and in cost.

The Duke Law Empirical Research Support Program provides support for STATA.

Data CollectionCollection and use of data is very important

in empirical research. A good dataset (or a collection of related

data) can produce a wide variety of scholarship.

For example: D-NOMINATE scores are a numerical representation of ideology in Congress, compiled and created by Kenneth Poole and Howard Rosenthal

These scores have been used in over 100 articles and many books.

Empirical Legal Scholarship At DukeDuke University Law School has started an

Empirical Research Support program to assist those interested in Empirical Legal Scholarship

Contact Mirya Holman at 919 613 7041or mholman@law.duke.edu or Lauren Collins for more information.

www.law.duke.edu/lib/facultyservices/empirical has information on: Empirical Legal ScholarshipStatistics trainingLinks to data sourcesComputer program training and support

General Resources for Empirical Legal Scholarship

The Society for Empirical Legal Studies publishes:The Journal of Empirical Legal StudiesThe ELS Blog: www.elsblog.org

UCLA’s Empirical Research Group provides access to an ELS bibliography, datasets, and general information. www.law.ucla.edu/home/index.asp?page=840

The Center for Empirical Legal Research in the Law at Washington University Lawcerl.wustl.edu/index.php

Steps to a good ELS paper1. Start with a good research question!2. Look for existing datasets

It is very frustrating to spend hours or days collecting or assembling data, only to find out that it is available somewhere

3. If you cannot run the statistics, ask someone to helpPoorly done quantitative analysis, like any other analysis, is

not worth doing4. Be aware of other disciplines

Many other social science disciplines have been doing empirical research decades; be sure to look outside the law for relevant literature. Also, the Social Science Research Institute at Duke can provide direct support, while Political Science, Public Policy, Economics, and other schools have professors that actively engage in this research.

5. Get lots of feedback6. Send it out!