Leveraging Empirical Analysis in Advocacy and Scholarship

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Franciscan D

Floor: Ballroom Level

There are a growing number of clinicians who recognize the natural fit between empirical research and creative advocacy strategies as a mechanism to attain justice and equity. The goal of the session will be to provide fellow clinicians with inspiration, lessons learned, frameworks for combining creative advocacy and empirical research in their own engagement with communities, and approaches to managing the tensions and conflicts that may also arise. The concurrent session will bring together clinicians who produce scholarship and conduct empirical research in communities where they are also advocates and activists. The presenters have taught or currently teach in clinics that address issues such as access to justice, legal services, health justice, criminal defense, consumer law, education policy, prison policy, and immigration law. Their research methods have included observation, qualitative interviews, and quantitative analysis. Many of the presenters are working with social science partners across disciplines on their empirical projects. This session connects to the conference theme by discussing the ability of clinicians to turn their hopes for change into action in their clinical teaching, advocacy, and scholarship. Attendees will explore whether – and how – to use empirical analysis in clinical teaching and scholarship and will gain an understanding of the nuanced relationship between empirical research and creative advocacy strategies.