Session I

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Session Type: AALS Programs

Session Capacity: 180

Location: Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel

Room: Gramercy

Floor: Lower Level

How do researchers formulate a specific question that is answerable empirically? How does one identify an appropriate method for answering any given particular research question? And how can we combine different kinds of methods for studying the law as it works in action? This session introduces a variety of research methods and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses for answering different kinds of research questions. The session will also compare approaches in terms of their assumptions, objectives, types of data collected, and use of theory. We will consider a wide range of empirical methods and issues including interviewing, survey design, focus groups, participant observation, language/text analysis, historical analysis, and when/how to combine methods - including quantitative and experimental approaches. We will also focus on the crucial role played by social science literature reviews in empirical project design.