The books below are available either as ebooks or as print books in the Georgetown Law Library. The main campus libraries also provide access to the database Sage Research Methods, which includes numerous downloadable ebooks and other resources on research methodology and statistics, although these are not specific to empirical legal research.
Advanced Introduction to Empirical Legal Research by
Key features include: Summaries of the history of empirical legal research; a clear introduction to methods in empirical legal research; coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methods and research; a readable guide to the impact and rationale of different methodologies.
Empirical Legal Research: A Guidance Book for Lawyers, Legislators and Regulators by
Empirical Legal Research describes how to investigate the roles of legislation, regulation, legal policies and other legal arrangements at play in society. It is invaluable as a guide to legal scholars, practitioners and students on how to do empirical legal research, covering history, methods, evidence, growth of knowledge and links with normativity. This multidisciplinary approach combines insights and approaches from different social sciences, evaluation studies, Big Data analytics and empirically informed ethics. The book addresses not only data analysis and statistics, but also how to formulate adequate research problems, to use (and test) different types of theories (explanatory and intervention theories) and to apply new forms of literature research to the field of law such as the systematic, rapid and realist reviews and synthesis studies. The choice and architecture of research designs, the collection of data, including Big Data, and how to analyze and visualize data are also covered. The book discusses the tensions between the normative character of law and legal issues and the descriptive and causal character of empirical legal research, and suggests ways to help handle this seeming disconnect.
Empirical Legal Research in Action by
Empirical Legal Research in Action presents readers with first-hand experiences of empirical research on law and legal issues. The chapters, written by an international cast of scholars, reflect on the methods that they have applied in their own empirical work, spanning a wide breadth of research from psychological experiments in personal injury to field studies in criminology.
Empirical Methods in Law by
Empirical Methods in Law brings the basic principles and concepts of social-science research to the desks of law students and lawyers who expect to work with data experts. Now available in a second edition, the updated text continues its focus on explaining basic principles and concepts in an intuitive style requiring no prior knowledge of math or statistics. The text also continues its emphasis on the importance of research design as well as statistical methods. Among the features of the second edition: * Available in softcover and competitively priced, making the book accessible either as a principal course text or as a supplemental text * A significantly streamlined book without loss of important content or topics from the first edition * An extensive online set of resources: Teachers Manual, PowerPoint slides, problems, example datasets, bibliography, glossary of terms * A detailed index that allows readers to quickly identify coverage of specific topics * Broad perspectives from three authors from three different methodological traditions that results in a presentation of general best practices * Generous use of examples from the legal world that show how empirical techniques are applied in a range of substantive legal areas * Coverage of topics often overlooked in the research process such as data coding or communication of results * Sidebars with in-depth treatment of specific topics
An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research by
Is the death penalty a more effective deterrent than lengthy prison sentences? Does a judge's gender influence their decisions? Do independent judiciaries promote economic freedom? Answering such questions requires empirical evidence, and arguments based on empirical research have become aneveryday part of legal practice, scholarship, and teaching. In litigation judges are confronted with empirical evidence in cases ranging from bankruptcy and taxation to criminal law and environmental infringement. In academia researchers are increasingly turning to sophisticated empirical methods toassess and challenge fundamental assumptions about the law.As empirical methods impact on traditional legal scholarship and practice, new forms of education are needed for today's lawyers. All lawyers asked to present or assess empirical arguments need to understand the fundamental principles of social science methodology that underpin sound empiricalresearch. An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research introduces that methodology in a legal context, explaining how empirical analysis can inform legal arguments; how lawyers can set about framing empirical questions, conducting empirical research, analysing data, and presenting or evaluating theresults. The fundamentals of understanding quantitative and qualitative data, statistical models, and the structure of empirical arguments are explained in a way accessible to lawyers with or without formal training in statistics.Written by two of the world's leading experts in empirical legal analysis, drawing on years of experience in training lawyers in empirical methods, An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research will be an invaluable primer for all students, academics, or practising lawyers coming to empirical research- whether they are embarking themselves on an empirical research project, or engaging with empirical arguments in their field of study, research, or practice.
The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Legal Research by
The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Legal Research provides a comprehensive guide to one of the most central developments in modern legal scholarship. 43 chapters trace the development of the field, its methodology, and its contribution to understanding every aspect of the modern legal world - from policing to finance, employment to the environment.