This Workshop provides an overview of qualitative and experimental research methods. No social science background is required. The session has two goals: 1) To provide information to law professors interested in drawing on qualitative and experimental social science studies pertinent to their research on law; and 2) To support law professors who seek to augment their scholarship by using interviews, observation, historical data, language analysis, or mixed methods.
The Workshop is divided into three sessions: (1) an introduction to various qualitative research methods and approaches (3 hours); (2) a panel discussion addressing specific methodological issues that arise in interviewing, ethnography, survey design, experiments, language analysis, historical research, and other social science methods (3 hours); and (3) a session focused on very practical research issues such as Institutional Review Board approval, use of software, research funding, analyzing and presenting qualitative and mixed methods data, along with open time for specific participant questions and answers about their own research (3 hours). There will be a working lunch on Monday during which participants can talk informally with workshop faculty and with each other about issues raised in the workshop. Participants are not required to have any specific equipment or preparation.
Session I: Introduction - Getting Started with Qualitative Research
How do you formulate a specific research question that is answerable empirically? How do you identify an appropriate method for answering any given particular research question? How do you combine qualitative and quantitative methods for studying the law as it works in action? This session introduces a variety of qualitative research methods and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses for answering different kinds of research questions. The session will also compare qualitative approaches in terms of their assumptions, objectives, types of data collected, and use of theory. We will draw on a wide range of empirical studies of law and decision making by legal actors. Particular attention will be given to: interview techniques; focus groups; participant observation; language analysis; historical analysis; survey design; and combining methods - including quantitative.
Session II. Didactic