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Tips to conducting an effective legal research
Top legal websites for legal research, all you need to know about legal research.
This article is written by Surbhi Jindal , a law student at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat Haryana. Through this article, she attempts to put forth the concept of legal research and its importance. She further attempts to discuss some of the effective tips to do legal research.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Legal profession cannot move forward without research and findings. The main reason behind this is the dynamic nature of law. Legal research forms an integral part in the life of law professionals, whether they are law students, lawyers, academicians, practitioners who are interested in legal knowledge. Even if you are someone preparing for a career in law and trying to understand what kind of education is needed for a lawyer , legal research will come in handy. With the changing of society and laws every day, it becomes essential to scrutinize the pool of laws and social rules. The primary purpose of legal research remains to either find the lacunas in the laws, so they are made following the society’s needs or add some vastness to the subject matter of rules to make it comprehensive.
Through this article, we shall ascertain the true meaning of research and, after that, understand the legal research. There exist different types of legal research. We shall also look at them by having a comparative analysis between them. Furthermore, in the last part of this article, I will share a few legal websites that can do legal research. Not only this, but the article will also provide you with some of the best tips to conduct effective legal research. So, let us get started.
What is research
Research means to investigate, inquire or probe in any particular area of discipline. It is a careful and detailed study of a topic to gather more information about it. This can be done by adding, deleting, updating, separating, or correcting the previous knowledge.
People intentionally or unintentionally are involved in the process of research in their day-to-day life. The human mind is full of curiosity. It conducts an inquiry about something at some point in a day. The term research is itself made up of two words, ‘Re’ and ‘Search’. Re means again, and Search is to scrutinize or probe. In other words, searching, again and again, is what we call research.
According to M Stephenson and D Slesinger in the encyclopedia of social sciences, research is
“The manipulation of things, concepts or symbols to generalize to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in the construction of theory or the practice of an art”
There are three objectives of conducting research. These are as follows:
- To contribute to the existing field of knowledge in any specified discipline.
- To get a better understanding of how to formulate policies
- To answer a specific area of question or fact.
After understanding the meaning of research, it would be much easier to know what legal research is and its objectives. We would also understand the various kinds of legal research. Also, it is pertinent to note that research must be done carefully and systematically with minimal errors because their outcome impacts the public at large. It must be done in an organized system so that answers to the questions are simplified.
What is legal research
Law is a subject that has broad dimensions of knowledge in society. There are several laws in India, making it difficult for a prudent man to remember them all. With the growing needs and challenges of society, laws also have to change. This means the area of law is as dynamic as our society. A complementary relationship of law and society here comes to play a vital role.
Therefore, it becomes essential to review the laws and see whether they are suited to the best interests of society or not. Here, legal research comes into play. A systematic finding and ascertainment of the law on any identified topic to advance the science of law is known as legal research.
As discussed earlier, the law is a vast area. With a mass of statutes, constant amendments, and supplementary rules and regulations, it becomes challenging for a prudent man to understand and grasp everything from it. Therefore, a probe is conducted for different underlying principles and their reasons to make advancements in the law and simplify various acts and statutes.
Legal research is a broad area that leads to an inquiry and investigation consistently made by judges, lawyers, advocates, law students, and legal researchers in the quest for a deeper and fuller understanding of the law. To support legal-decision making, legal research comes into the limelight. It identifies and retrieves the information to make the complex process simplified.
Purposes of legal research
Law is dynamic as our society is. It operates in a complex structure of society. Behavioural norms and attitudes are controlled and moulded by the law. However, with the nature of these norms changing with time and space, it becomes essential that law becomes adaptable to the changing order of society.
Legal research is also essential to write plagiarism-free content. Plagiarism is a common practice with severe consequences. Most students avoid legal research and stick to paraphrasing or plagiarizing from the content written by others. This can lead to serious consequences such as a copyright complaint, a Google penalty, deduction of marks in universities, etc. So, legal research is an essential step to avoid resorting to such practices. Some students also order free from plagiarism essays from professional writers to succeed with the tasks and help them in their assignments.
Here, in such a situation, legal research becomes essential for the ascertainment of law, clearing ambiguities in the law, identifying the weak points in a direction, and critically examining the order to ensure consistency, coherence, and stability in the law, etc. There are various purposes for which legal research is conducted. These are:
- With various laws, rules, and regulations existing in society, it becomes essential to filter the laws presently applicable to the given situation. It is not easy to find the law or a judicial pronouncement at a particular point in time. Here, legal research makes the task easier. It makes the ascertainment of the law easier and much more helpful.
- It is not always true that law, once made, can never bring rise to any contingency in the future. There exist some ambiguities and gaps which might be removed with the help of legal research. The nature of law is both reactive and proactive in that it answers the question arising out of such ambiguities and gaps. Apart from helping in removing ambiguities, it also helps in determining coherence, stability, and consistency.
- Legal research also helps in predicting the future. It also helps to understand the social factors that had indirectly impacted the making of law. Social auditing of law helps in identifying the gap between the legal ideal and social reality. It further helps in suggesting reforms based on analytical, historical, and comparative research.
Types of legal research
The research can be broadly divided into various types by having a comparative analysis with respect to another kind of research. These are:
Descriptive and analytical legal research
On the basis of | Descriptive legal research | Analytical legal research |
Meaning | Descriptive legal research indicates the phenomenon or situation under study and its various characteristics. ‘What has happened’ and ‘what is happening’ is the main focus of this research. It does not attempt to answer the question ‘why it has happened’. In other words, it does not try to find out the causes of the phenomenon, rather it seeks to describe the study as it is at present. | Analytical legal research indicates the use of already available facts and information to critically study the situation. It analyzes the whole range of facts and information critically. |
Methods used | Surveys, comparative and correlational methods, other fact-finding requirements. | Already available facts and information are used for this kind of research. |
Applied and fundamental legal research
On the basis of | Applied legal research | Fundamental legal research |
Meaning | It aims to find the solution for the problem practically. Here, a legal researcher tries to do his research in a practical context. | It is concerned with the generalization and formulation of the theory. This research is done merely to increase the knowledge in a field of inquiry. |
Also known by | Action research. | Pure research or Basic research. |
Central aim | It aims to discover a solution for a pressing practical problem. | It aims to find additional information and thereby to add to the existing knowledge. |
Quantitative and Qualitative legal research
On the basis of | Quantitative legal research | Qualitative legal research |
Meaning | It is conducting research based on numerical data. It seeks to measure the quantity or amount. A systematic and scientific investigation of quantifiable reports for understanding their inter-relation. | It is basically concerned with the qualitative phenomenon i.e. relating to quality or characteristic. It relies on the reasoning behind various aspects of behavior. |
Methods used | Questionnaires, surveys, structured interviews, and experiments. | Participant surveys, unstructured interviews, and life histories. |
Conceptual and Empirical legal research
On the basis of | Conceptual legal research | Empirical legal research |
Meaning | It is related to an abstract theory or idea. Generally used by philosophers and thinkers either to develop or re-interpret the existing concept. | It is done by relying upon experience or observation alone, often without due regard for any system or theory. It is also known as experimental research. |
Relies upon | It relies upon the existing concept to either re-interpret it into a new concept or formulate from it. | It makes use of experiments and observations of a researcher. It uses facts and data to prove its hypothesis. |
Legal research comes with a cost. Legal websites like Manupatra, SCC Online aren’t available for free. You would have to spend more than a penny on these sites in order to access their features. However, several authentic websites provide ways to access legal research easily without any hassle. This will be dealt with in the latter part of this article. In this section, the primary purpose is to tell you some tips for conducting effective legal research.
- Always start with secondary sources. Though some people prefer to start from the primary sources, creating from secondary sources is the best way, to begin with, legal research. It helps in saving time and makes the research process effective and efficient.
- You can always start with the news articles. There you will mostly get reliable information and also the opinions of different jurists.
- To find the correct and reliable legal information, you can always refer to the legal websites (discussed later on) to boost your research.
- Try to read judgements as they are a great source of information and can help make articles exhaustive.
- Remember that whatever information you search for and find relevant for yourself, bookmark it somewhere. Otherwise, you will have to go back again and find that pertinent piece of information.
- Also, you can follow the 10-minute rule by Ramanuj Mukherjee (CEO, Lawsikho ) to save your time in conducting legal research. The 10-minute rule says that you do the research for 10 minutes and after it, whatever you read, write for 10 minutes. In this way, you will not miss out on any critical points while doing research and writing. This will save you a lot of time and will have a positive effect on your article.
- Avoiding plagiarism at all costs. If you have used somebody’s idea in the information you’re disseminating, duly credit them. It becomes really easy if you have saved the sources. Also, you can cite the sources without facing any difficulty. There are different types of citation methods like Bluebook , Chicago , Oscola etc. In case you haven’t saved the sources, you can simply run the document through the free plagiarism checker . This tool analyzes content and lets you know the source from where your text is duplicated.
These were some of the practical tips that could help a person conduct effective and efficient legal research.
Conducting legal research is very easy till one knows how to do it. However, not everyone can access legal databases such as Manupatra , SCC Online etc. Either you have to purchase them, or your college will provide access to them. But don’t worry; there are many legal websites you can refer to for your legal research. These all are user-friendly and can be of great use if one looks at its structure. A lot of information can be accessed on these websites very easily.
- Indian Kanoon : The Indian Kanoon was founded by Sushant Sinha in 2008. It is one of the best tools that law students can use for understanding complex judgments simply.
- Livelaw : The website Livelaw was started by Rashid M.A. in 2013. The most prominent blog in India seeks to create awareness in society by providing accurate and reliable information.
- iPleaders : iPleaders was started by the two NUJS graduates Ramanuj Mukherjee and Abhudyay Aggarwal, in 2010. It is an educational start-up whose primary purpose is to make legal education accessible to all. It has its blog called iPleaders blog, which focuses on legal issues and legal questions.
- Path Legal : It is a legal directory started by Sunil Joseph in 2011. The main aim of Path Legal is to provide free legal advice online, telephone consultation, free legal advice, free LPO training, legal papers etc.
- Lawctopus : It was founded by the NUJS graduate Tanuj Kalia in 2010. It is one of the exclusive sites for law students that provide information regarding internships, career opportunities etc.
- Bar and Bench : It was established in 2011. It is a place where comprehensive news and analysis is provided for the legal community. The entire legal spectrum of information like interviews, news, column sources are provided on this website.
- SCC Online : Eastern Book Company, an internationally renowned publishing house, has its own reliable and comprehensive law reporting of the Supreme court of India through SCC Online. It has been providing its legal services across India. However, if you want to access SCC, you would have to purchase the subscription plan to avail the benefits.
- Legally India : It was founded by Kian Ganz in 2009. It is one of the leading blog pages whose primary function is to report news and information that pertains to Indian law firms, Indian lawyers, international law firms and business lawyers in India.
- Law Times Journal : Founded in 2014, law times journal is one of the leading online education portals devoted to the law. It believes in promoting free education in the legal sector. Besides this, it also provides resume services that help students in obtaining internships.
Henceforth, legal research is fundamental. To understand the intricacies of complex laws, it becomes essential for us to know the process of simplifying them. One should always start with secondary sources such as commentaries, textbooks, articles, journals, etc. From secondary, one should move on to primary sources, i.e. statutes, constitution, etc. After having a better grasp of these sources, one should analyze and look for relevant information.
There are various kinds of research, any of which can be employed to conduct research. It is a systematic understanding of the law to advance it. Research is essential both for the law and society since they both have an impact on each other. Every method has its value in research. Hurdles that come while conducting research can be best avoided by proper planning by the researcher.
- https://chilot.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/legal-research-methods.pdf
- https://www.mylawman.co.in/2020/05/law-notes-legal-research-types-and.html
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How to do legal research in 3 steps
Knowing where to start a difficult legal research project can be a challenge. But if you already understand the basics of legal research, the process can be significantly easier — not to mention quicker.
Solid research skills are crucial to crafting a winning argument. So, whether you are a law school student or a seasoned attorney with years of experience, knowing how to perform legal research is important — including where to start and the steps to follow.
What is legal research, and where do I start?
Black's Law Dictionary defines legal research as “[t]he finding and assembling of authorities that bear on a question of law." But what does that actually mean? It means that legal research is the process you use to identify and find the laws — including statutes, regulations, and court opinions — that apply to the facts of your case.
In most instances, the purpose of legal research is to find support for a specific legal issue or decision. For example, attorneys must conduct legal research if they need court opinions — that is, case law — to back up a legal argument they are making in a motion or brief filed with the court.
Alternatively, lawyers may need legal research to provide clients with accurate legal guidance . In the case of law students, they often use legal research to complete memos and briefs for class. But these are just a few situations in which legal research is necessary.
Why is legal research hard?
Each step — from defining research questions to synthesizing findings — demands critical thinking and rigorous analysis.
1. Identifying the legal issue is not so straightforward. Legal research involves interpreting many legal precedents and theories to justify your questions. Finding the right issue takes time and patience.
2. There's too much to research. Attorneys now face a great deal of case law and statutory material. The sheer volume forces the researcher to be efficient by following a methodology based on a solid foundation of legal knowledge and principles.
3. The law is a fluid doctrine. It changes with time, and staying updated with the latest legal codes, precedents, and statutes means the most resourceful lawyer needs to assess the relevance and importance of new decisions.
Legal research can pose quite a challenge, but professionals can improve it at every stage of the process .
Step 1: Key questions to ask yourself when starting legal research
Before you begin looking for laws and court opinions, you first need to define the scope of your legal research project. There are several key questions you can use to help do this.
What are the facts?
Always gather the essential facts so you know the “who, what, why, when, where, and how” of your case. Take the time to write everything down, especially since you will likely need to include a statement of facts in an eventual filing or brief anyway. Even if you don't think a fact may be relevant now, write it down because it may be relevant later. These facts will also be helpful when identifying your legal issue.
What is the actual legal issue?
You will never know what to research if you don't know what your legal issue is. Does your client need help collecting money from an insurance company following a car accident involving a negligent driver? How about a criminal case involving excluding evidence found during an alleged illegal stop?
No matter the legal research project, you must identify the relevant legal problem and the outcome or relief sought. This information will guide your research so you can stay focused and on topic.
What is the relevant jurisdiction?
Don't cast your net too wide regarding legal research; you should focus on the relevant jurisdiction. For example, does your case deal with federal or state law? If it is state law, which state? You may find a case in California state court that is precisely on point, but it won't be beneficial if your legal project involves New York law.
Where to start legal research: The library, online, or even AI?
In years past, future attorneys were trained in law school to perform research in the library. But now, you can find almost everything from the library — and more — online. While you can certainly still use the library if you want, you will probably be costing yourself valuable time if you do.
When it comes to online research, some people start with free legal research options , including search engines like Google or Bing. But to ensure your legal research is comprehensive, you will want to use an online research service designed specifically for the law, such as Westlaw . Not only do online solutions like Westlaw have all the legal sources you need, but they also include artificial intelligence research features that help make quick work of your research
Step 2: How to find relevant case law and other primary sources of law
Now that you have gathered the facts and know your legal issue, the next step is knowing what to look for. After all, you will need the law to support your legal argument, whether providing guidance to a client or writing an internal memo, brief, or some other legal document.
But what type of law do you need? The answer: primary sources of law. Some of the more important types of primary law include:
- Case law, which are court opinions or decisions issued by federal or state courts
- Statutes, including legislation passed by both the U.S. Congress and state lawmakers
- Regulations, including those issued by either federal or state agencies
- Constitutions, both federal and state
Searching for primary sources of law
So, if it's primary law you want, it makes sense to begin searching there first, right? Not so fast. While you will need primary sources of law to support your case, in many instances, it is much easier — and a more efficient use of your time — to begin your search with secondary sources such as practice guides, treatises, and legal articles.
Why? Because secondary sources provide a thorough overview of legal topics, meaning you don't have to start your research from scratch. After secondary sources, you can move on to primary sources of law.
For example, while no two legal research projects are the same, the order in which you will want to search different types of sources may look something like this:
- Secondary sources . If you are researching a new legal principle or an unfamiliar area of the law, the best place to start is secondary sources, including law journals, practice guides , legal encyclopedias, and treatises. They are a good jumping-off point for legal research since they've already done the work for you. As an added bonus, they can save you additional time since they often identify and cite important statutes and seminal cases.
- Case law . If you have already found some case law in secondary sources, great, you have something to work with. But if not, don't fret. You can still search for relevant case law in a variety of ways, including running a search in a case law research tool.
Once you find a helpful case, you can use it to find others. For example, in Westlaw, most cases contain headnotes that summarize each of the case's important legal issues. These headnotes are also assigned a Key Number based on the topic associated with that legal issue. So, once you find a good case, you can use the headnotes and Key Numbers within it to quickly find more relevant case law.
- Statutes and regulations . In many instances, secondary sources and case law list the statutes and regulations relevant to your legal issue. But if you haven't found anything yet, you can still search for statutes and regs online like you do with cases.
Once you know which statute or reg is pertinent to your case, pull up the annotated version on Westlaw. Why the annotated version? Because the annotations will include vital information, such as a list of important cases that cite your statute or reg. Sometimes, these cases are even organized by topic — just one more way to find the case law you need to support your legal argument.
Keep in mind, though, that legal research isn't always a linear process. You may start out going from source to source as outlined above and then find yourself needing to go back to secondary sources once you have a better grasp of the legal issue. In other instances, you may even find the answer you are looking for in a source not listed above, like a sample brief filed with the court by another attorney. Ultimately, you need to go where the information takes you.
Step 3: Make sure you are using ‘good’ law
One of the most important steps with every legal research project is to verify that you are using “good" law — meaning a court hasn't invalidated it or struck it down in some way. After all, it probably won't look good to a judge if you cite a case that has been overruled or use a statute deemed unconstitutional. It doesn't necessarily mean you can never cite these sources; you just need to take a closer look before you do.
The simplest way to find out if something is still good law is to use a legal tool known as a citator, which will show you subsequent cases that have cited your source as well as any negative history, including if it has been overruled, reversed, questioned, or merely differentiated.
For instance, if a case, statute, or regulation has any negative history — and therefore may no longer be good law — KeyCite, the citator on Westlaw, will warn you. Specifically, KeyCite will show a flag or icon at the top of the document, along with a little blurb about the negative history. This alert system allows you to quickly know if there may be anything you need to worry about.
Some examples of these flags and icons include:
- A red flag on a case warns you it is no longer good for at least one point of law, meaning it may have been overruled or reversed on appeal.
- A yellow flag on a case warns that it has some negative history but is not expressly overruled or reversed, meaning another court may have criticized it or pointed out the holding was limited to a specific fact pattern.
- A blue-striped flag on a case warns you that it has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court or the U.S. Court of Appeals.
- The KeyCite Overruling Risk icon on a case warns you that the case may be implicitly undermined because it relies on another case that has been overruled.
Another bonus of using a citator like KeyCite is that it also provides a list of other cases that merely cite your source — it can lead to additional sources you previously didn't know about.
Perseverance is vital when it comes to legal research
Given that legal research is a complex process, it will likely come as no surprise that this guide cannot provide everything you need to know.
There is a reason why there are entire law school courses and countless books focused solely on legal research methodology. In fact, many attorneys will spend their entire careers honing their research skills — and even then, they may not have perfected the process.
So, if you are just beginning, don't get discouraged if you find legal research difficult — almost everyone does at first. With enough time, patience, and dedication, you can master the art of legal research.
Thomson Reuters originally published this article on November 10, 2020.
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Legal Practice
Types of Legal Research
What do you mean by Legal Research?
Legal Research is the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. It begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and it concludes with the results of the investigation. Legal research skills are of great importance for lawyers to solve any legal case, regardless of area or type of practice. The most basic step in legal research is to find a noteworthy case governing the issues in question. As most legal researchers know, this is far more difficult than it sounds.
Whether you are a Lawyer, a paralegal, or a law student, it is essential that Legal research is done in an effective manner. This is where the methodology comes into play. Different cases must be approached in different ways and this is why it is important to know which type of legal research methodology is suitable for your case and helpful for your client.
Read Also: Here is the Importance of Legal Research in Legal Practice
Different Types of Legal Research
1) descriptive legal research.
Descriptive Legal research is defined as a research method that describes the characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This methodology focuses more on the “what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of the research subject. In other words, descriptive legal research primarily focuses on the nature of a demographic segment, without focusing on “why” something happens. In other words, it is a description based which does not cover the “why” aspect of the research subject.
For example, a lawyer that wants to understand the crime trends among Mumbai will conduct a demographic survey of this region, gather population data and then conduct descriptive research on this demographic segment. The research will then give us the details on “what is the crime pattern of Mumbai?”, but not cover any investigative details on “why” the patterns exits. Because for the lawyer trying to understand these crimes patterns, for them, understanding the nature of their crimes is the objective of the study.
2) Quantitative research
Quantitative Legal Research is a characteristic of Descriptive Legal Research Methodology that attempts to collect quantifiable information to be used for statistical analysis of the population sample. It is a popular research tool that allows us to collect and describe the nature of the demographic segment. Quantitative Legal Research collects information from existing and potential data using sampling methods like online surveys, online polls, questionnaires, etc., the results of which can be depicted in numerical form. After careful understanding of these numbers, it is possible to predict the future and make changes to manage the situation.
An example of quantitative research is the survey conducted to understand the turnaround time of cases in the high court and how much time it takes from the time the case is filed until the judgment is passed. A complainant’s satisfaction survey template can be administered to ask questions like how much time did the process take, how often were they called to court, and other such questions.
3) Qualitative Legal Research
Qualitative Legal Research is a subjective form of research that relies on the analysis of controlled observations of the legal researcher. In qualitative research, data is obtained from a relatively small group of subjects. Data is not analyzed with statistical techniques. Usually, narrative data is collected in qualitative research.
Qualitative research can be adopted as a method to study people or systems by interacting with and observing the subjects regularly. The various methods used for collecting data in qualitative research are grounded theory practice, narratology, storytelling, and ethnography.
Grounded theory practice: It is research grounded in the observations or data from which it was developed. Various data sources used in grounded theory are quantitative data, review of records, interviews, observation, and surveys.
Narratology: It refers to the theory and study of narrative and narrative structure. It also shows the way in which the result affects the researcher’s perception.
Storytelling: This is a method by which events are recounted in the form of a story. The method is generally used in the field of organization and management studies.
Ethnography- Ethnography is used for investigating cultures by collecting and describing data intend to help the development of a theory.
4) Analytical Legal Research
Analytical Legal Research is a style of qualitative inquiry. It is a specific type of research that involves critical thinking skills and the evaluation of facts and information relative to the research being conducted. Lawyers often use an analytical approach to their legal research to find the most relevant information. From analytical research, a person finds out critical details to add new ideas to the material being produced.
For example, examining the fluctuations of Crime Rates of India between 2010-2020 is an example of descriptive research; while explaining why and how the Crime rates spiked over time is an example of analytical research.
5) Applied Legal Research
Applied Legal Research is a methodology used to find a solution to a pressing practical problem at hand. It is a straightforward practical approach to the case you are handling. It involves doing full-fledged research on a specific area of law followed by gathering information on all technical legal rules and principles applied and forming an opinion on the prospects for the client in the scenario.
For Example, if your client is an employee of an organization and is fighting against wrongful termination of contract then the practical approach to this would be by carefully evaluating the company policies and finding company policies that were violated and to suing the organization based on those arguments.
6) Pure Legal Research
Pure legal research is also known as basic Legal Research usually focuses on generalization and formulation of a theory. The aim of this type of research methodology is to broaden the understanding of a particular field of investigation. It is a more general form of approach to the case you are handling. The researcher does not focus on the practical utility
For Example, researchers might conduct basic research on illiteracy leads to unemployment. The results of these theoretical explorations might lead to further studies designed to solve specific problems of unemployment.
7) Conceptual Legal Research
Conceptual Legal Research is defined as a methodology wherein research is conducted by observing and analyzing already present information on a given topic. Conceptual research doesn’t involve conducting any practical experiments. It is related to abstract concepts or ideas.
They are generally resorted to by the philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or reinterpret the existing concepts but has also proven to be a useful methodology for legal purposes.
For example, many of our ancient laws were influenced by the British Rule. Only later did we improve upon many laws and created new and simplified laws after our Independence. So another way to think of this type of research would be to observe, come up with a concept or theories aligned with previous theories to hopefully derive new theories.
8) Empirical Legal Research
Empirical Legal Research describes how to investigate the roles of legislation, regulation, legal policies, and other legal arrangements at play in society. It acts as a guide to paralegals, lawyers, and law 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.
For example, Pharmaceutical companies use empirical research to try out a specific drug on controlled groups or random groups to study the effect and cause.
Read Also – How to Do Legal Research?
Other Major Methods of Legal Research.
1) doctrinal legal research.
The central question of inquiry here is ‘what is the law?’ on a particular issue. It is concerned with finding the law, rigorously analyzing it and coming up with logical reasoning behind it. Therefore, it immensely contributes to the continuity, consistency, and certainty of law. The basic information can be found in the statutory material i.e.
primary sources as well in the secondary sources. However, the research has its own limitations, it is subjective, that is limited to the perception of the researcher, away from the actual working of the law, devoid of factors that lie outside the boundaries of the law, and fails to focus on the actual practice of the courts.
2) Non-doctrinal Legal Research
It is also known as socio-legal research and it looks into how the law and legal institutions mold and affects society. It employs methods taken from other disciplines in order to generate empirical data to answer the questions.
3) Comparative Legal Research
This involves a comparison of legal doctrines, legislations, and foreign laws. It highlights the cultural and social character of law and how does it act in different settings. So it is useful in developing and amending, and modifying the law. But a
the cautious approach has to be taken in blindly accepting the law of another social setting as a base because it might not act in the same manner in a different setting.
Read Also – What is Doctrinal and Non-Doctrinal Legal Research?
Legal research is a systematic understanding of the law while keeping in mind it’s advancements. Law usually acts within the society and they both have an impact on each other. Each kind of research methodology has its own value. However, while undertaking research a researcher might face some hurdles but they can be avoided if he/she properly plans the research process.
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Very useful and compact information, thank you.
Very useful information 👍
I found this information to be stimulating and informative.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of legal research. It’s a great resource for law students and professionals alike!
hi very nice information in compact form
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Harvard Empirical Legal Studies Series
5005 Wasserstein Hall (WCC) 1585 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA02138
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The Harvard Empirical Legal Studies (HELS) Series explores a range of empirical methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and their application in legal scholarship in different areas of the law. It is a platform for engaging with current empirical research, hearing from leading scholars working in a variety of fields, and developing ideas and empirical projects.
HELS is open to all students and scholars with an interest in empirical research. No prior background in empirical legal research is necessary. If you would like to join HELS and receive information about our sessions, please subscribe to our mailing list by completing the HELS mailing list form .
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the current HELS coordinator, Tiran Bajgiran.
All times are provided in U.S. Eastern Time (UTC/GMT-0400).
Spring 2024 Sessions
Empire and the shaping of american constitutional law.
Aziz Rana, BC Law
Monday, Mar. 25, 12:15 PM Lewis 202
This talk will explore how US imperial practice has influenced the methods and boundaries of American constitutional study.
Historical Approaches to Neoliberal Legality
Quinn Slobodian, Boston University
Thursday, Mar. 28, 12:15 PM Lewis 202
Fall 2023 Sessions
On critical quantitative methods.
Hendrik Theine , WU, Vienna/Univ. of Pennsylvania Monday, Nov. 6, 12:30 PM Lewis 202
Economic inequality is a profound challenge in the United States. Both income and wealth inequality increased remarkably since the 1980s. This growing concentration of economic inequality creates real-world political and societal problems which are increasingly reflected by social science scholarship. Among those detriments is for instance the increasing economic and political power of the super-rich. The research at hand takes a new radical look at media discourses of economic inequality over four decades in various elite US newspapers by way of quantitative critical discourse analysis. It shows that up until recently, there was minimal media coverage of economic inequality, but interest has steadily increased since then. Initially, the focus was primarily on income inequality, but over time, it has expanded to encompass broader issues of inequality. Notably, the discourse on economic inequality is significantly influenced by party politics and elections. The study also highlights certain limitations in the discourse. Critiques of inequality tend to remain at a general level, discussing concepts like capitalist and racial inequality. There is relatively less focus on policy-related discussions, such as tax reform, or discussions centered around specific actors, like the wealthy and their charitable contributions.
Spring 2023 Sessions
How to conduct qualitative empirical legal scholarship.
Jessica Silbey , Professor of Law at Boston University Yanakakis Faculty Research Scholar
Friday, March 31, 12:30 PM WCC 3034
This session explores the benefits and some limitations of qualitative research methods to study intellectual property law. It compares quantitative research methods and the economic analysis of law in the same field as other kinds of empirical inquiry that are helpful in collaboration but limited in isolation. Creativity and innovation, the practices intellectual property law purports to regulate, are not amenable to quantification without identifying qualitative variables. The lessons from this session apply across fields of legal research.
Fall 2022 Sessions
How to read quantitative empirical legal scholarship.
Holger Spamann , Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law
Friday, September 13, 12:30 PM WCC 3007
As legal scholars, what tools do we need to read critically and engage productively with quantitative empirical scholarship? In the first session of the 2022-2023 Harvard Empirical Legal Studies Series, Harvard Law School Professor Holger Spamann will compare and discuss different quantitative studies. This session will be a first approximation to be able to understand and eventually produce empirical legal scholarship. All students and scholars interested in empirical research are welcome and encouraged to attend.
How do People Learn from Not Being Caught? An Experimental Investigation of a “Non-Occurrence Bias”
Tom Zur , John M. Olin Fellow and SJD candidate, HLS
Friday, November 4, 2:00 PM WCC 3007
The law and economics literature on specific deterrence has long theorized that offenders rationally learn from being caught and sanctioned. This paper presents evidence from a randomized controlled trial showing that offenders learn differently when not being caught as compared to being caught, which we call a “non-occurrence bias.” This implies that the socially optimal level of investment in law enforcement should be lower than stipulated by rational choice theory, even on grounds of deterrence alone.
Empirical Legal Research: Using Data and Methodology to Craft a Research Agenda
Florencia Marotta-Wurgler , NYU Boxer Family Professor of Law Faculty Director, NYU Law in Buenos Aires
Monday, November 14, 12:30 PM Lewis 202
Using a series of examples, this discussion will focus on strategies to conduct empirical legal research and develop a robust research agenda. Topics will include creating a data set and leveraging to answer unexplored questions, developing meaningful methodologies to address legal questions, building on existing work to develop a robust research agenda, and engaging the process of automation and scaling up to develop large scale data sets using machine learning approaches.
Resources for Empirical Research
- HLS Library Empirical Research Service
- Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Research (IQSS)
- Harvard Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
- Qualtrics Harvard
- Harvard Kennedy School Behavioral Insights Group
Past HELS Sessions
Holger Spamann (Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law) – How to Read Quantitative Empirical Legal Scholarship?
Katerina Linos (Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law) – Qualitative Methods for Law Review Writing
Aziza Ahmed (Professor of Law at UC Irvine School of Law) – Risk and Rage: How Feminists Transformed the Law and Science of AIDS
Amy Kapczynski and Yochai Benkler –(Professor of Law at Yale; Professor of Law at Harvard) Law & Political Economy and the Question of Method
Jessica Silbey – (Boston University School of Law) Ethnography in Legal Scholarship
Roberto Tallarita – (Lecturer on Law, and Associate Director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard) The Limits of Portfolio Primacy
Susan S. Silbey – (Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Sociology and Anthropology at MIT) HELS with Susan Silbey: Analyzing Ethnographic Data and Producting New Theory
Cass R. Sunstein (University Professor at Harvard) – Optimal Sludge? The Price of Program Integrity
Scott L. Cummings (Professor of Legal Ethics and Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law) – The Making of Public Interest Lawyers
Elliot Ash (Assistant Professor of Law, Economics, and Data Science at ETH Zürich) – Gender Attitudes in the Judiciary: Evidence from U.S. Circuit Courts
Kathleen Thelen (Ford Professor of Political Science at MIT) – Employer Organization in the United States: Historical Legacies and the Long Shadow of the American Courts
Omer Kimhi (Associate Professor at Haifa University Law School) – Caught In a Circle of Debt – Consumer Bankruptcy Discharge and Its Aftereffects
Suresh Naidu (Professor in Economics and International and Public Affairs, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs) – Ideas Have Consequences: The Impact of Law and Economics on American Justice
Vardit Ravitsky (Full Professor at the Bioethics Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal) – Empirical Bioethics: The Example of Research on Prenatal Testing
Johnnie Lotesta (Postdoctoral Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School) – Opinion Crafting and the Making of U.S. Labor Law in the States
David Hagmann (Harvard Kennedy School) – The Agent-Selection Dilemma in Distributive Bargaining
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) – Rear Visibility and Some Problems for Economic Analysis (with Particular Reference to Experience Goods)
Talia Gillis (Ph.D. Candidate and S.J.D. Candidate, Harvard Business School and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Law School) – False Dreams of Algorithmic Fairness: The Case of Credit Pricing
Tzachi Raz (Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Harvard University) – There’s No Such Thing as Free Land: The Homestead Act and Economic Development
Crystal Yang (Harvard Law School) – Fear and the Safety Net: Evidence from Secure Communities
Adaner Usmani (Harvard Sociology) – The Origins of Mass Incarceration
Jim Greiner (Harvard Law School) – Randomized Control Trials in the Legal Profession
Talia Shiff (Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Department of Sociology, Harvard University) – Legal Standards and Moral Worth in Frontline Decision-Making: Evaluations of Victimization in US Asylum Determinations
Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) – Rebel Talent
Joscha Legewie (Department of Sociology, Harvard University) – The Effects of Policing on Educational Outcomes and Health of Minority Youth
Ryan D. Enos (Department of Government, Harvard University) – The Space Between Us: Social Geography and Politics
Katerina Linos (Berkeley Law, University of California) – How Technology Transforms Refugee Law
Roie Hauser (Visiting Researcher at the Program on Corporate Governance, Harvard Law School) – Term Length and the Role of Independent Directors in Acquisitions
Anina Schwarzenbach (Fellow, National Security Program, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School) – A Challenge to Legitimacy: Effects of Stop-and-Search Police Contacts on Young People’s Relations with the Police
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) – Willingness to Pay to Use Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, and More: A National Survey
Netta Barak-Corren (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) – The War Within
James Greiner & Holger Spamann (Harvard Law School) – Panel: Why Does the Legal Profession Resist Rigorous Empiricism?
Mila Versteeg (University of Virginia School of Law) (with Adam Chilton) – Do Constitutional Rights Make a Difference?
Susan S. Silbey (MIT Department of Anthropology) (with Patricia Ewick) – The Common Place of Law
Holger Spamann (Harvard Law School) – Empirical Legal Studies: What They Are and How NOT to Do Them
Arevik Avedian (Harvard Law School) – How to Read an Empirical Paper in Law
James Greiner (Harvard Law School) – Randomized Experiments in the Law
Robert MacCoun (Stanford Law School) – Coping with Rapidly Changing Standards and Practices in the Empirical Sciences (including ELS)
Mario Small (Harvard Department of Sociology) – Qualitative Research in the Big Data Era
Adam Chilton (University of Chicago Law School) – Trade Openness and Antitrust Law
Jennifer Lerner (Harvard Kennedy School and Department of Psychology) – Anger in Legal Decision Making
Sarah Dryden-Peterson (Harvard Graduate School of Education) – Respect, Reciprocity, and Relationships in Interview-Based Research
Charles Wang (Harvard Business School) – Natural Experiments and Court Rulings
Guhan Subramanian (Harvard Law School) – Determining Fair Value
James Greiner (Harvard Law School) – Randomized Control Trials and the Impact of Legal Aid
Maya Sen (Harvard Kennedy School) – The Political Ideologies of Law Clerks and their Judges
Daria Roithmayr (University of Southern California Law School) – The Dynamics of Police Violence
Crystal Yang (Harvard Law School) – Empiricism in the Service of Criminal Law and Theory
Oren Bar-Gill (Harvard Law School) – Is Empirical Legal Studies Changing Law and Economics?
Elizabeth Linos (Harvard Kennedy School; VP, Head of Research and Evaluation, North America, Behavioral Insights Team) – Behavioral Law and Economics in Action: BIT, BIG, and the policymaking of choice architecture
Meira Levinson (Harvard School of Education) – Justice in Schools: Qualitative Sociological Research and Normative Ethics in Schools
Howell Jackson (HLS) – Cost-Benefit Analysis
Michael Heise (Cornell Law School) – Quantitative Research in Law: An Introductory Workshop
Susan Silbey (MIT) – Interviews: An Introductory Workshop
Kevin Quinn (UC Berkeley) – Quantifying Judicial Decisions
Holger Spamman (Harvard Law School) – Comparative Empirical Research
James Greiner (Harvard Law School) – Randomized Controlled Trials in the Research of Legal Problems
Michael Heise (Cornell Law School) – Quantitative Research in Law
James Greiner (Harvard Law School) – A Typology of Empirical Methods in Law
David Wilkins (Harvard Law School) – Mixed Methods Work and the Legal Profession
Tom Tyler (Yale Law School) – Fairness and Policing
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Research Articles
The value of systematic content analysis in legal research.
- Maryam Salehijam
In ignoring the overall debate regarding the need to incorporate empirical research methods in legal scholarship, this article explores the utility of applying a particular method, namely, systematic content analysis (SCA), as a complementary tool in legal research. A research method commonly utilized by social scientists, SCA is a replicable technique that can be applied in the analysis of a variety of texts, ranging from interview transcripts to legal texts such as case law, legislation and contracts. To further support the incorporation of SCA in legal research, this article, in its second section, provides an overview of SCA, as well as its various stages. Subsequently, the third section assesses the suitability and necessity of SCA by considering its limitations and benefits. In addition, the fourth section reflects on the issues, ranging from emotional to practical, that might be faced by legal scholars when attempting to conduct SCA. This article concludes by emphasizing the need to familiarize not only legal scholars, but also law students to the world of SCA.
- Legal Research
- Systematic Content Analysis
- Legal Education
- Empirical Research
1 Introduction
The need to incorporate empirical research methods in legal scholarship remains a debated topic. 1 Nevertheless, it is clear that ‘[…] empirical legal scholarship has expanded dramatically in the past decade.’ 2 Law schools increasingly hire empirically oriented researchers, while nearly half of the legal articles in the law reviews analyzed by Diamond and Mueller refer to empirical data. 3 Legal researchers, however, rarely conduct their own empirical research. 4 Hence, the most common approach to answering legal questions involves the reading and interpretation of legal material without a specific approach as to the selection of materials and the method used to draw conclusions. 5
This article does not delve into the discussion of whether legal scholars ought to conduct empirical research. Instead, it focuses on when and how a particular research method, 6 commonly utilized by empirical researchers, namely “systematic content analysis” (SCA), could be highly beneficial to legal scholarship. SCA is a systematic and replicable technique applied to analyze variety of texts, ranging from interview transcripts to legal texts such as case law and legislation. 7 To be precise, SCA is a research technique and therefore its application does not necessarily result in an empirically oriented paper. Therefore, it can be used by scholars to enhance traditional legal research without producing an empirical study.
Support for SCA was already voiced in 2008 by Hall and Wright, who claimed that SCA provides a valuable alternative to analyze the content of judicial opinions. 8 Moreover, in 2012, Oldfather and others argued that SCA should be incorporated in legal research. They stated that ‘[…] systematic content analysis reflects both traditional legal scholarship’s attention to texts and empirical legal studies’ systematization.’ 9 Hall and Wright further proposed that SCA could provide the basis for a unique legal empirical methodology. 10 One of their main arguments was that SCA ‘[…] comes naturally to legal scholars because it resembles the classic scholarly exercise of reading a collection of cases, finding common threads that link the opinions, and commenting on their significance.’ 11 They further noted that SCA enables not only the better reading of cases, but also a deeper understanding of the case law. 12 Their work, however, is solely focused on the utility of SCA in analyzing judicial opinions.
This article has a broader scope and discusses other possible uses of SCA in legal scholarship. Furthermore, as Hall and Wright’s article is almost a decade old, this article provides a current overview of the existing arguments for and against applying to SCA in legal research. In shedding light on the utility of SCA in legal research, the aim is not to discredit other research methods originating from social sciences. Rather, the choice to focus on SCA was influenced by the author’s positive experience with this method in the author’s ongoing PhD research.
Moreover, in advocating for the need to apply SCA in legal research, this article does not aim to present SCA as a replacement for traditional legal research. It simply argues that SCA is a beneficial supplement as it enables legal scholars to gain fresh insights into their sources. 13 To further support this claim, the second section provides an in-depth overview of SCA, as well as its various stages. Subsequently, the third section assesses the suitability and necessity of SCA by considering its limitations and benefits. In addition, the fourth section reflects on the issues, ranging from emotional to practical, that may be faced by legal scholars when attempting to conduct SCA. This article concludes by emphasizing the need to familiarize not only researchers, but also law students to the world of SCA.
2 Systematic Content Analysis
SCA is frequently utilized by social scientists as well as researchers in communication studies to analyze interview transcripts, literature, and field notes amongst other sources. The advantage of SCA is that it can produce both qualitative and quantitative results by enabling the researcher to compress ‘[…] many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding.’ 14 Furthermore, this method empowers the researcher to analyze large volumes of data ‘[…] with relative ease and in a systematic fashion.’ 15 It is considered by some as ‘a sophisticated form of accounting.’ 16 Thereby, the researcher can detect words and concepts in the data in order to draw inferences and find patterns. The feature that distinguishes SCA from traditional legal research is that the data collection and its subsequent analysis must follow a specific path. The sections below provide a detailed overview of the various stages that legal scholars must journey through to conduct a SCA. 17
2.1 Stages of Systematic Content Analysis
Hall and Wright claim that SCA of judicial opinions can be divided into three stages: ‘(1) selecting cases; (2) coding cases; and (3) analyzing the case coding, often through statistical methods.’ 18 In my opinion, it is more accurate to divide the various stages of SCA in legal research into five steps: (1) determination of a suitable research question or hypothesis for SCA; (2) identification and collection of sufficient data for analysis; (3) coding of the data, which has its own stages; (4) drawing of conclusions/observations; and (5) reporting the findings in a manner comprehensible to the legal community.
The first stage of SCA is the same as the initial stage of most legal research; it involves the determination of the research question or hypothesis. When a legal researcher opts for SCA, she must not only ensure that the questions/hypotheses posed are an interesting topic for research, but that they are also suitable for SCA. Although it is impossible to list all scenarios where SCA would be suitable, there are several successful instances where SCA has been successfully used in legal research. The most reoccurring use of SCA in law involves the analyses of large volumes of data such as case law with equal weight/value. 19 For instance, Van Harten utilized SCA to analyze all publicly available arbitral awards (140 awards) addressing jurisdictional matters under investment treaties until May 2010 to study arbitrators’ behavior in asymmetrical adjudication. 20 In addition, SCA can be used to answer questions for which there is no answer in legal scholarship, judicial opinions or legislative texts. In my research, I employed SCA to study the content of 172 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) agreements in order to answer the question ‘what are the parties’ obligations under an ADR agreement?’ Amongst other aspects, I coded the agreements for the obligation to refrain from litigating and/or arbitrating, participation obligations and the obligation to produce information. The coding enabled me to draw conclusions about the agreements under analysis.
The second stage of SCA requires the identification and collection of data for analysis. Here, the researcher must determine whether her study aims at covering an entire population or a (representative) sample. 21 Legal scholars employing SCA tend to limit the scope of their research based on subject matter, geography, language and/or time. Diamond and Muller limited their study to law journals written in English published from 1998 to 2008. 22 The scope can also be very limited. Manderson and others, in their article ‘Building Information Modelling and Standardised Construction Contracts: a Content Analysis of the GC21 Contract’, limited their scope to the GC21 2 nd edition, an Australian standardized construction contract, to identify possible changes to facilitate the implementation of a Building Information Modelling in a collaborative environment. 23
Moreover, a researcher may decide to set rather open parameters for sample selection, such as ‘all Alternative Dispute Resolution agreements provided by surveyed respondents’. 24 Parameters differing from the traditional time and geographical components are needed when it is impossible to estimate the population. For example, it is impossible to know how many commercial contracts have been concluded with a mediation clause in a given time range and geographical scope. This is because these agreements are not publicly recorded. Lastly, even with a clear scope, the total population may be too large to analyze. In these situations, the researcher must resort to sampling techniques including true random systematic sampling, such as every tenth case; quota sampling, such as all cases up to 100 cases per year per jurisdiction; or purposive sampling, such as cases cited by arbitrators in investment disputes. 25
The third stage of a SCA requires the researcher to code the data. The codes are assigned by the researcher to words or concepts in the material. They can be used to track for example the subject-matter, reasoning, arguments as well as superficial aspects of data such as length, author, language. There are multiple approaches to coding that reflect the aim of the researcher. The varying approaches are extensively discussed by Saldaña in The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers . 26 Coding also must be distinguished into stages. Hall and Wright observe four stages of coding: (1) […] create a tentative set of coding categories a priori. Refine these categories after thorough evaluation, including feedback from colleagues, study team members, or expert consultants. (2) Write a coding sheet and set of coding instructions (called a “codebook”), and train coders to apply these to a sample of the material to be coded. Pilot test the reliability (consistency) among coders by having multiple people code some of the material. (3) Add, delete, or revise coding categories based on this pilot experience, and repeat reliability testing and coder training as required. (4) When the codebook is finalized, apply it to all the material. 27
This article agrees with the steps discussed by Hall and Wright. The start list can be created following a preliminary examination of the data ( emergent coding) or on the basis of a specific theory ( a priori coding). 28 It is advisable that the start list includes several non-duplicative categories and sub-categories to fine-tune the analysis. For instance, parties’ participation obligations under an ADR agreement can be divided to the following sub-categories: obligation to set up the mediation, obligation to attended, obligation to behave in good faith during the mediation and obligations as to confidentiality and privacy. There is no limitation regarding the number of categories and sub-categories as long as the researcher explains her need to code these aspects.
Regarding the application of the codes to the data, it is expected that the researcher or a second researcher (co-coder) ensures the objectivity and reliability of the codes assigned through repeated the coding. 29 Reliability can be affected when there is ambiguity regarding the meaning of the codes and the strategy used to apply them. Accordingly, it is essential that the researcher develops explicit written instructions regarding how the codes are to be assigned. Although it is not mandatory to apply formal reliability testing, researchers may conduct stability 30 and reproducibility 31 tests. 32 Hall and Wright, however, found that it was not common for legal studies utilizing SCA to address reliability: ‘65% (87/134) of projects we reviewed had no discussion of coding reliability.’ 33 This is not surprising, as legal scholars in general tend not to be versed in statistics. Section four further discusses the issues that can arise from the lack of familiarity with reliability testing.
The fourth stage of SCA requires the researcher to draw conclusions and make observations on the basis of the coding. There is a tendency amongst users of SCA to count and document the reoccurrence of codes. Here, the researchers that rely on software for data analysis can utilize the built-in features. As describing the various features of these software would be too time-consuming, this study provides a simplified overview of a popular software Nvivo. Software such as Nvivo supports qualitative and mixed methods research. The purpose of Nvivo is to aid the researcher in organizing, analyzing and finding insights in unstructured or qualitative data ranging from articles, interviews, survey responses, legislation and case law. Software meant for the analysis of qualitative data enables the research to organize and manage her material to gain insights to the data and to delve deeper into the various aspects of the data. The features of Nvivo are numerous, ranging from the creation of charts, word clouds, comparison diagrams to coding queries. The most efficient way to understand the functionality of Nvivo is to watch the training videos that are freely available on the web.
To demonstrate, in a study of 172 ADR agreements, the author sought to assess how many of these agreements required the parties to utilize the rules of dispute resolution providers. Following the coding of the agreements for this condition, I conducted a query of all of the agreements that contained the specified code. According to the query, 71 percent of the agreements required the application of procedural rules of designated dispute resolution providers. To reiterate, SCA does not necessarily require the researcher to apply sophisticated statistics. 34 Results of simple count frequencies are still valuable and provide insights into the material under analysis. Therefore, quantitative findings as such can have qualitative value if they are used to draw inferences.
The final stage of SCA relates to the reporting of the various links and themes as well as the conclusions drawn. The researcher must first and foremost ensure that the conclusions reached are not presented as reflective of aspects or data not analyzed. Furthermore, as emphasized by Epstein and Maritn, it is of the essence to clearly report on the above stages in a manner comprehensible by the legal community. This is an indispensable aspect to a successful application of SCA in legal research as the relative newness of this method might raise more questions than praise. In particular, questions might arise as to the validity of a SCA conducted by a junior legal scholar, as we often have very little to no non-law research experience. 35 Section four further discusses this challenge.
3 Suitability and Necessity of Systematic Content Analysis
The 2008 study by Hall and Wright found that the application of SCA by legal scholars was increasing annually. 36 There has been no further research into the frequency of the use of SCA in law ever since. This begs the question of whether the absence of recourse to this method is because legal research must follow traditional methods or if it is because legal researchers are unaware of the utility of SCA. Perhaps the lack of use of SCA is due to its functional difference to traditional legal research. SCA provides objective and scientifically verifiable findings. Legal researchers, however, often seek to analyze leading decisions or legislation:
[I]n a subjective, interpretative, or advocacy mode akin to the way a literary critic interprets poetry […] These rhetorical goals are not advanced meaningfully by systematic, objective verification of claims about the content of a collection of judicial opinions. 37
Therefore, SCA is limited in its utility, as it cannot be used to evaluate the correctness of judicial opinions or legislation. 38 According to Hall and Wright, SCA ‘[…] does not fully capture the strength of a particular judge’s rhetoric, the level of generality used to describe the issue, and other subtle clues about the precedential value of the opinion. To some extent, the method trades depth for breadth.’ 39 SCA is also limited to acting as a tool for observation: ‘more broadly, content analysis involves a compromise between, on one hand, the benefits of systematized review and analysis and, on the other hand, the costs of reducing complex qualitative phenomena to quantitative indicators.’ 40 Evidently, SCA would be suitable in cases where the researcher seeks to analyze legal material in a replicable manner and from an objective stance. 41 This is not always the aim in legal scholarship, as in times, an influential scholar’s specific insights are sought about a particular case. In such a situation, the reader relies on the author’s judgement to select the cases worthy of discussion. 42
Due to the limitations of SCA, this article only promotes SCA as a supplement to traditional legal research and not as a replacement. When used properly, SCA can strengthen the study of law. Moreover, according to Siems and Síthigh, the shift in legal scholarship towards the inclusion of social science methods ‘[…] may prove an eventual disciplinary consensus, turning law into a mature science.’ 43 The section below further discusses when and how the incorporation of SCA in legal scholarship can enhance legal research.
First, traditional legal research, while effective in addressing legal questions, does not enable the in-depth analysis of the content of legal material, as it does not contain a specific approach to studying legal material. Furthermore, it does not provide sufficient answers to questions regarding the frequency of certain practice as well as the relationship between multiple aspects of the sources under study. As Hall has stated, ‘content analysis can identify previously-unnoticed patterns that warrant deeper study, or sometimes correct misimpressions based on more ad hoc surveys of atypical cases.’ 44 There have been several instances of legal researchers relying on SCA to disprove previous claims based on a conventional view. For instance, Henderson and Eisenberg employed SCA to disprove critics who argued that product liability litigation was rapidly increasing. 45
SCA hence enhances the existing approach to the analysis of legal texts, as it requires the researcher to record the consistent features in the data by applying codes. To illustrate, Matheson conducted a SCA of piercing the corporate veil in the parent-subsidiary context. By statistically explaining the propensities of modern courts for piercing the corporate veil in the parent-subsidiary situation, his aim was ‘[…] that courts, commentators, and practitioners may be better equipped to understand and predict under what circumstances a court is likely to exercise its equitable discretion and hold a parent company liable.’ 46
Second, SCA provides researchers with an alternative route when traditional legal research does not provide answers. As discussed above, there are no judicial opinions and legislative texts. Moreover, there are few scholarly works that address the parties’ obligations under ADR agreements. This means that the author would be the first legal scholar to attempt to answer these questions in a systematic manner. The choice of SCA was fitting, as the parties’ agreement to resort to ADR is the basis of their rights and obligations under the contract.
Third, as mentioned above, various coding software, some of which are freely available, enable the organized and at times automatic analysis of large volumes of data. As Chaib notes, Nvivo helped her ‘[…] process the large amount of cases in a structured way’. 47 The benefit of having the ability to organize and analyze larger volumes of data is threefold. First, the research method enables the researcher to produce more representative findings. For example, Vandaele used content coding software to analyze 976 cases of the Belgian Council of State from 1996 to 2012. 48 Her aim in studying this representative sample was to assess ‘[…] if the interpretation of the interest to sue by the Council of States is indeed as eccentric as often claimed.’ 49 The software enabled her to keep better track of the codes she used to qualify the content of the cases. Her reliance on SCA and the accompanying software meant she was the first researcher to answer her research question in a systematic manner. The ability to analyze and organize large datasets liberate the researcher from the limitations of the human mind in organizing and remembering numerous points. The analysis of vast datasets ‘[…] promise[s] to lead us to a greatly enhanced understanding of the workings of the judiciary and the legal system more generally.’ 50
Lastly, according to Hall and Wright, studies that rely on SCA are more likely to be cited on average than those that do not:
[U]sing the number of citations as a crude but widely accepted proxy for the influence of a scholarly work, content analysis projects published during the 1990s generated an average of seventy-seven citations per article, with a mean of thirty citations per project. Considering projects from all decades, 87% received at least one citation and 71% generated at least five citations. These citation patterns compare favorably to the general trends in legal scholarship. According to Thomas Smith’s ongoing research on the citation patterns in legal scholarship, 40% of articles receive no citations at all. 51
Their finding is not surprising, as SCA empowers the researcher to justify a claim numerically, which is easy to comprehend, refer to and reproduce.
4 Remaining Challenges for Legal Scholars
Overall, utilizing SCA when appropriate is beneficial to legal scholarship but it can be rather challenging without adequate knowledge. Although SCA is a suitable method to test research hypothesis, answer legal questions, several practical obstacles remain. This section provides a non-exhaustive overview of the most prominent challenges that legal researchers, unfamiliar with non-legal research, may face in utilizing SCA. The various challenges can be summarized to four categories: (1) lack of familiarity and training; (2) time-consuming; (3) demanding data collection and (4) fear of criticism.
If a legal scholar wishes to conduct empirical research including SCA, the first challenge faced is the unfamiliarity with this method and lack of training. 52 In learning about conducting a valid SCA, one is limited to materials that are intended for social scientists and empirical researchers. 53 The problem with these sources is that they describe the practicality of this method for non-legal purposes, such as analyzing interviews, media messages or understanding society as such. Unsurprisingly, legal scholars who have embarked on the journey to conduct a SCA have a tendency to design their research without referring to previous studies, learning to conduct SCA “on the fly”. 54
The inability to justify one’s approach on the basis of prior proven strategies may affect the reliability of legal research utilizing SCA. Consequently, legal studies utilizing SCA have to extensively explain their choices. As a result, ‘articles [based on SCA] commonly approach or exceed one hundred pages, laboriously detailing how the author devised techniques and resolved quandaries.’ 55 The ensuing insecurity regarding the validity of the findings of a researcher new to the world of empirical research is one that might prevent recourse to such methods. Thus, there is a need for specialized courses for law students and researchers to learn how to incorporate SCA in legal research. 56 However, there is considerable work needed to create a guide or a course for the members of the legal community interested in the use of SCA.
The second challenge faced in conducting SCA is one that cannot be remedied with courses nor skills training, as it relates to the time required to conduct such analysis. Already in 1982, Gupta found that ‘content analysis, though a very useful technique, is time consuming.’ 57 The reasons as to why such method is time-consuming are twofold. First, as discussed in the second section, SCA must be reliable, which means that the study must be reproducible with similar results. To achieve reliability, a researcher must at a minimum code the data several times and, when needed, apply a formal reliability test. 58 Reliability testing is a time-consuming exercise that must be undertaken for a valid utilization of SCA. Second, SCA may be a time-strenuous exercise if the researcher opts to analyze a large data set, which was often the case in previous applications of SCA. This is because larger volumes of data enable the more nuanced results.
Although the time required to code larger data sets can be slightly mitigated if the researcher utilizes specialized coding software, 59 the utility of these software can only be accessed if the researcher is familiar with the functioning thereof. The software, while user friendly, is not similar to the software most commonly known in the legal world, such as Microsoft Word and EndNote. Moreover, the data entered in any software must be formatted (e.g. from Pdf to Word) and at times translated in order to be readable by the software. The readability of the material is key if a researcher opts for automatic coding. Nevertheless, such software are tools that, in addition to aiding in the coding of the text, aid the researcher in quantifying her workload and results. This can have a motivating affect, as it provides the researcher with tangible proof of her progress.
The third challenge to conduct a valid SCA relates to data collection. Here again, the challenge is twofold. First, the researcher must ensure that the data selection is scientifically justifiable. As discussed in section two, such justification is not problematic if the researcher is referring to an entire population. Nevertheless, it is necessary that the researcher can explain her sampling plan if the findings are meant to be representative. 60 To remedy the gaps in legal researchers’ knowledge regarding data collection, specialized training courses are highly beneficial. While there are generalized courses on empirical research, a review of legal studies curricula in Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg indicated a lack of any specialized courses designed for legal researchers interested in SCA. This is not to say that one cannot conduct a SCA without specialized social science and statistic training. To the contrary, many legal researchers employing such method have a tendency to rely on a certain logic to justify their data collection. 61
Second, when the researcher has identified the data to be analyzed, she must then collect the data, which can be problematic if the data is not available or easily accessible. For instance, although many court cases and legislative texts are available online, serious gaps remain. This is especially evident in the field of dispute resolution research. Arbitral awards in commercial disputes are rarely made public, which makes research into the content of such awards highly problematic. Thus, a researcher cannot conduct SCA regarding arbitral awards unless she gains access to the awards. 62
A potential and final challenge to a legal researcher considering the application of SCA is the fear of the adverse attitude of others to unorthodox legal research methods. To shift the views of those skeptical to SCA, a slight cultural shift in the legal community is required. Perhaps the skeptics must be reminded that the introduction of a new method is in no way meant as a criticism of traditional methods, but simply as a new avenue to enrich our work. Therefore, it is important to note that SCA will not replace traditional legal research, but merely supplement and thereby enhance it in situations where its use would be beneficial. 63 In absence of a shift, however, a researcher embarking on SCA must ensure that they properly justify the reasons for supplementing traditional legal research in order to limit the possibility of criticism.
5 Concluding Thoughts
The primary aim of this article was to demonstrate the utility of SCA in legal research. To achieve this goal, the first section provided an overview of the concept of SCA including its various stages. Second, this article assessed both the suitability and necessity of including SCA in legal scholarship. Subsequently, the third section reflected on the impact of the limitations legal scholars might face when attempting to employ SCA. Undoubtedly, it is argued that SCA is a research technique that can strengthen the study of law. However, its utility is limited to instances where the researcher’s goal correlates with the functionality of SCA. Moreover, legal scholars interested in SCA must ensure that they are prepared to face the challenges that arise when using a non-legal research method.
Law schools can play a prominent role in integrating SCA in legal research. Among other things, law schools can provide researchers with the confidence to employ new methods. Today, however, the utility of SCA is not emphasized in legal education. Consequently, many young legal researchers and students remain oblivious to the added benefits of SCA. It is thus of the essence that law schools take on the task to introduce their students to enriching research methods that fall outside traditional legal research. The first task of law schools in introducing SCA to their students would be establishing a task force for the creation of a handbook on the application of this method in law. Perhaps, the work of Hall and Wright, as well as this article, can serve as starting points for such a handbook.
See also Jeffrey J Rachlinski, ‘Does Empirical Legal Studies Shed More Heat than Light? The case of Civil Damage Awards’ (2016) 29 Ratio Juris 556; Fras L Leeuw and Hans Schmeets, Empirical Legal Research: A Guidance for Lawyers, Legislators and Regulators (Edward Elgar Publishing Limited 2016).
Rachlinski (n 1) 638. See also Felicity Bel, ‘Empirical Research in Law’ (2016) 25 Griffith Law Review 262.
For instance, ‘[i]n the past ten years, Yale has tripled the number of scholars who primarily conduct empirical work’. (Rachlinski (n 2) 556). See also Shari Seidman Diamond and Pam Mueller, ‘Empirical Legal Scholarship in Law Reviews’ (2010) 6 Annual Review of Law and Social Science 581, 587.
Diamond and Mueller (n 3) 587.
Regarding comparative legal research, Professor van Hoecke eloquently remarks: ‘there is no agreement on the kind of methodology to be followed, nor even on the methodologies that could be followed’ (Mark Van Hoecke, ‘Methodology of Comparative Legal Research’ (2015) Law and Method 1, 1). Moreover, Hervé Tijssen in his study of 90 Dutch law PhD theses, found that ‘legal doctoral theses do little in the way of explaining and justifying the sources selected and the methods used, yet an increasing number of doctoral thesis include an explanation and justification of the research problem’ (Herve Tijssen, ‘De Juridische Dissertatie Onder de Loep: De Verantwoording van Methodologische Keuzes in Juridische Dissertaties’ (PhD thesis, University of Tilburg 2009) 206). Furthermore, Tracey E George argues that ‘while other academic fields increasingly adopted the scientific method during the twentieth century, law did not. Non-law academic research in the physical and social sciences focused on formulating hypotheses and testing them against relevant data collected through observation and experiment. Most academic law writings, by contrast, concentrated on legal issues and evaluated them in the same way as judges writing opinions’. See Tracey E Georg, ‘An Empirical Study of Empirical Legal Scholarship: The Top Law Schools’ (2006) 81 Indiana Law Journal 141, 144.
This article uses the terms “method” and “technique” interchangeably.
Steve Stemler, ‘An Overview of Content Analysis’ (2001) 7 Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation 1, 1; Gus Van Harten, ‘Arbitrator Behaviour in Asymmetrical Adjudication: An Empirical Study of Investment Treaty Arbitration’ (2012) Osgood Comparative Research in Law and Political Economy Research report no. 41/2012, 15 < http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1314&context=clpe > accessed 07 January 2018; Mark A Hall, ‘Coding Case Law for Public Health Law Evaluation’ (2011) Public Health Law Research, 3.
See in general Mark A Hall and Roland F Wright, ‘Systematic Content Analysis of Judicial Opinions’ (2008) 96 California Law Review 63.
Chad M Oldfather, Joseph P Bockhorst and Brian P Dimmer, ‘Triangulating Judicial Responsiveness: Automated Content Analysis, Judicial Opinions, and the Methodology of Legal Scholarship’ (2012) 64 Florida Law Review 1189, 1198.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 64.
This is in line with Hall (n 7) 4.
Terry C Hutchinson and Kylie Burns, ‘The Impact of “Empirical Facts” on Legal Scholarship and Legal Research Training’ (2009) 43 The Law Teacher 1, 30.
GAO, Content Analysis: A Methodology for Structuring and Analysing Written Material (US General Accounting Office 1996).
Law Review, ‘Content Analysis: A New Evidentiary Technique’ (1948) 15 University of Chicago Law Review 910, 910.
The description of the stages should not be treated as a guide to conducting such analysis, as they represent a simplified overview.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 79.
See also Hall (n 7) 4.
Hartenn (n 7) 3.
See generally Mike Allen (ed), The Sage Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods (Sage Publications 2017).
Diamond and Mueller (n 3) 581.
Read more in Aaron Manderson, Marcus Jefferies and Graham Brewer, ‘Building Information Modelling and Standardised Construction Contracts: a Content Analysis of the GC21 Contract’ (2015) 15 School of Architecture and Built Environment.
This parameter reflects the author’s ongoing SCA.
Hall (n 7) 15.
Johnny Saldaña, The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (SAGE publishing 2015).
Hall and Wright (n 8) 107. See also Hall (n 7) 19.
For more information, see Stemler (n 7) 3.
Marta Cominetti and Peter Seele, ‘Hard Soft law or Soft Hard Law? A Content Analysis of CSR Guidelines Typologized Along Hybrid Legal Status’ (2016) Schwerpunkthema 127, 134. See also Lee Epstein and Andrew Martin, An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research (Oxford University Press 2014).
The same coder achieving the same results.
The coding instructions achieve the same results.
For more discussion of reliability see Stemler (n 7) 5. See also Hall and Wright (n 8) 209.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 112–113.
ibid 117–118.
Bel (n 2) 262.
‘[U]ntil the 1990s no more than one new project per year was published. The rate of publication jumped to 5.7 per year in the 1990s and stands at eight per year through the middle of 2006’ (Hall and Wright (n 8) 122).
Hall and Wright (n 8) 78.
ibid 88–89.
Hartenn (n 7) 27.
Mathias Siems and Daithi Sithigh, ‘Mapping Legal Research’ (2012) 71 The Cambridge Law Journal 651, 674.
Hall (n 7) 2.
James Henderson and Theodore Eisenberg, ‘The Quite Revolution in Products Liability’ (1991) 20 Anglo-American Law Review.
John H Matheson, ‘The Modern Law of Corporate Groups: An Empirical Study of Piercing the Corporate Veil in the Parent-Subsidiary Context’ (2009) 87 North Carolina Law Review 1091.
Saila Ouald Chaib, ‘Research Methodology for Case Law Analysis: An Appeal for Ppenness’ ( Strasbourg Observer , 10 September 2015) < https://strasbourgobservers.com/2015/09/10/research-methodology-for-case-law-analysis-an-appeal-for-openness/ > accessed 07 January 2018.
Ann-Sophie Vandaele, ‘The Interest to Sue Before the Belgian Council of State and the Right of Access to a Court’ in Jan De Bruyne, Michael de Potter de ten Broeck and Isabelle Van Hiel (eds), Policy Within And Through Law: Proceedings Of the 2014 ACCA-Conference 2014 (MAKLU 2015) 181.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 182.
Oldfather, Bockhorst and Dimmer (n 9) 1241.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 74.
Bel (n 2) 267.
For instance, Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (3 rd edn, Sage Publications 2013); Daniel Riff, Stephen Lacy and Frederick Fico, Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research (3 rd edn, Routledge Publishing 2014); Kimberly A. Neuendorf, The Content Analysis Guidebook (2 nd edn, Sage 2017).
Hall and Wright (n 8) 65.
Bel has stated that ‘With the current trend toward interdisciplinarity, it is more important than ever that undergraduate and particularly [higher degree researcher] students be provided with opportunities to train in, and undertake, empirical legal research.’ See Bel (n 2) 262.
Surendra K Gupta, ‘Applicability of Content Analysis in Legal Research’ (1982) 24 Journal of the Indian Law Institute 751, 752.
However, as discussed in Section 2.1, it is not common for legal studies utilizing SCA to address reliability. See also Epstein and Martin (n 29) 114.
Software utilized for content analysis can be found online.
Examples of sampling techniques include, but are not limited to: random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling and varying probability sampling. See Krippendorff (n 53) 114.
Stemler (n 7) 2.
Hall and Wright (n 8) 66; Hutchinson and Burns (n 14) 30.
Competing Interests
The author has no competing interests to declare.
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Methodology
- What Is Quantitative Research? | Definition, Uses & Methods
What Is Quantitative Research? | Definition, Uses & Methods
Published on June 12, 2020 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on June 22, 2023.
Quantitative research is the process of collecting and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to wider populations.
Quantitative research is the opposite of qualitative research , which involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio).
Quantitative research is widely used in the natural and social sciences: biology, chemistry, psychology, economics, sociology, marketing, etc.
- What is the demographic makeup of Singapore in 2020?
- How has the average temperature changed globally over the last century?
- Does environmental pollution affect the prevalence of honey bees?
- Does working from home increase productivity for people with long commutes?
Table of contents
Quantitative research methods, quantitative data analysis, advantages of quantitative research, disadvantages of quantitative research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quantitative research.
You can use quantitative research methods for descriptive, correlational or experimental research.
- In descriptive research , you simply seek an overall summary of your study variables.
- In correlational research , you investigate relationships between your study variables.
- In experimental research , you systematically examine whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
Correlational and experimental research can both be used to formally test hypotheses , or predictions, using statistics. The results may be generalized to broader populations based on the sampling method used.
To collect quantitative data, you will often need to use operational definitions that translate abstract concepts (e.g., mood) into observable and quantifiable measures (e.g., self-ratings of feelings and energy levels).
Research method | How to use | Example |
---|---|---|
Control or manipulate an to measure its effect on a dependent variable. | To test whether an intervention can reduce procrastination in college students, you give equal-sized groups either a procrastination intervention or a comparable task. You compare self-ratings of procrastination behaviors between the groups after the intervention. | |
Ask questions of a group of people in-person, over-the-phone or online. | You distribute with rating scales to first-year international college students to investigate their experiences of culture shock. | |
(Systematic) observation | Identify a behavior or occurrence of interest and monitor it in its natural setting. | To study college classroom participation, you sit in on classes to observe them, counting and recording the prevalence of active and passive behaviors by students from different backgrounds. |
Secondary research | Collect data that has been gathered for other purposes e.g., national surveys or historical records. | To assess whether attitudes towards climate change have changed since the 1980s, you collect relevant questionnaire data from widely available . |
Note that quantitative research is at risk for certain research biases , including information bias , omitted variable bias , sampling bias , or selection bias . Be sure that you’re aware of potential biases as you collect and analyze your data to prevent them from impacting your work too much.
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Once data is collected, you may need to process it before it can be analyzed. For example, survey and test data may need to be transformed from words to numbers. Then, you can use statistical analysis to answer your research questions .
Descriptive statistics will give you a summary of your data and include measures of averages and variability. You can also use graphs, scatter plots and frequency tables to visualize your data and check for any trends or outliers.
Using inferential statistics , you can make predictions or generalizations based on your data. You can test your hypothesis or use your sample data to estimate the population parameter .
First, you use descriptive statistics to get a summary of the data. You find the mean (average) and the mode (most frequent rating) of procrastination of the two groups, and plot the data to see if there are any outliers.
You can also assess the reliability and validity of your data collection methods to indicate how consistently and accurately your methods actually measured what you wanted them to.
Quantitative research is often used to standardize data collection and generalize findings . Strengths of this approach include:
- Replication
Repeating the study is possible because of standardized data collection protocols and tangible definitions of abstract concepts.
- Direct comparisons of results
The study can be reproduced in other cultural settings, times or with different groups of participants. Results can be compared statistically.
- Large samples
Data from large samples can be processed and analyzed using reliable and consistent procedures through quantitative data analysis.
- Hypothesis testing
Using formalized and established hypothesis testing procedures means that you have to carefully consider and report your research variables, predictions, data collection and testing methods before coming to a conclusion.
Despite the benefits of quantitative research, it is sometimes inadequate in explaining complex research topics. Its limitations include:
- Superficiality
Using precise and restrictive operational definitions may inadequately represent complex concepts. For example, the concept of mood may be represented with just a number in quantitative research, but explained with elaboration in qualitative research.
- Narrow focus
Predetermined variables and measurement procedures can mean that you ignore other relevant observations.
- Structural bias
Despite standardized procedures, structural biases can still affect quantitative research. Missing data , imprecise measurements or inappropriate sampling methods are biases that can lead to the wrong conclusions.
- Lack of context
Quantitative research often uses unnatural settings like laboratories or fails to consider historical and cultural contexts that may affect data collection and results.
If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
- Chi square goodness of fit test
- Degrees of freedom
- Null hypothesis
- Discourse analysis
- Control groups
- Mixed methods research
- Non-probability sampling
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Research bias
- Rosenthal effect
- Implicit bias
- Cognitive bias
- Selection bias
- Negativity bias
- Status quo bias
Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.
Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.
In mixed methods research , you use both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods to answer your research question .
Data collection is the systematic process by which observations or measurements are gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts by academics, governments, businesses, and other organizations.
Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.
For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.
Before collecting data , it’s important to consider how you will operationalize the variables that you want to measure.
Reliability and validity are both about how well a method measures something:
- Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure (whether the results can be reproduced under the same conditions).
- Validity refers to the accuracy of a measure (whether the results really do represent what they are supposed to measure).
If you are doing experimental research, you also have to consider the internal and external validity of your experiment.
Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses , by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.
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Legal Research Methodology – Types & Approaches
Legal research methodology is the process of gathering and analyzing legal information to answer a legal question. In this article, we'll explore the power of Law Websites and how they have revolutionized Legal Research Methodology
Table of Contents
What is Legal Research Methodology?
Legal research methodology is the process of gathering and analyzing legal information to answer a legal question. It is a systematic approach to finding, understanding, and applying the law.
Types of Legal Research
There are two main types of legal research methodologies: qualitative research and quantitative research.
Qualitative research is based on the analysis of text and other non-numerical data. It is often used to understand the meaning of the law and how it is applied in practice. Quantitative research is based on the analysis of numerical data. It is often used to test hypotheses about the law and to measure its impact.
Qualitative Research for Legal Research
Qualitative research methods can be used to answer a wide range of legal research questions. Some common examples include:
- Interpreting the meaning of a legal statute
- Understanding the application of the law in a particular case
- Identifying the underlying principles of a legal doctrine
- Exploring the impact of the law on a particular group of people
Qualitative research methods typically involve the following steps:
- Identifying the research question
- Gathering data
- Analyzing the data
- Presenting the findings
Quantitative Research for Legal Research
Quantitative research methods can also be used to answer a wide range of legal research questions. Some common examples include:
- Testing the hypothesis that a particular law has a particular effect
- Measuring the impact of a legal change on a particular group of people
- Determining the relationship between two or more legal variables
Quantitative research methods typically involve the following steps:
- Formulating a hypothesis
Which One is Better – Quantitative or Qualitative Legal Research Methods?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best research method for a particular project will depend on the specific research question being asked.
In general, qualitative research methods are better suited for research questions that seek to understand the meaning of the law or how it is applied in practice. Quantitative research methods are better suited for research questions that seek to test hypotheses about the law or to measure its impact.
Advantages of the Quantitative Legal Research Methods
The advantages of quantitative legal research methods include:
- They can be used to test hypotheses about the law
- They can be used to measure the impact of the law
- They can be used to compare different legal systems
- They can be used to identify trends in the law
Legal research methodology is a complex and challenging field. However, it is an essential skill for anyone who wants to understand and apply the law. By understanding the different types of legal research and the different research methods, you can choose the right approach for your specific research project.
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- An overview of resources for data, methods & analysis
- Popular quantitative software options
- Information on how to find quantitative studies
Research involving the collection of data in numerical form for quantitative analysis. The numerical data can be durations, scores, counts of incidents, ratings, or scales. Quantitative data can be collected in either controlled or naturalistic environments, in laboratories or field studies, from special populations or from samples of the general population. The defining factor is that numbers result from the process, whether the initial data collection produced numerical values, or whether non-numerical values were subsequently converted to numbers as part of the analysis process, as in content analysis.
Citation: Garwood, J. (2006). Quantitative research. In V. Jupp (Ed.), The SAGE dictionary of social research methods. (pp. 251-252). London, England: SAGE Publications. doi:10.4135/9780857020116
Watch the following video to learn more about Quantitative Research:
(Video best viewed in Edge and Chrome browsers, or click here to view in the Sage Research Methods Database)
Correlational
Researchers will compare two sets of numbers to try and identify a relationship (if any) between two things.
Descriptive
Researchers will attempt to quantify a variety of factors at play as they study a particular type of phenomenon or action. For example, researchers might use a descriptive methodology to understand the effects of climate change on the life cycle of a plant or animal.
Experimental
To understand the effects of a variable, researchers will design an experiment where they can control as many factors as possible. This can involve creating control and experimental groups. The experimental group will be exposed to the variable to study its effects. The control group provides data about what happens when the variable is absent. For example, in a study about online teaching, the control group might receive traditional face-to-face instruction while the experimental group would receive their instruction virtually.
Quasi-Experimental/Quasi-Comparative
Researchers will attempt to determine what (if any) effect a variable can have. These studies may have multiple independent variables (causes) and multiple dependent variables (effects), but this can complicate researchers' efforts to find out if A can cause B or if X, Y, and Z are also playing a role.
Surveys can be considered a quantitative methodology if the researchers require their respondents to choose from pre-determined responses.
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- Last Updated: Aug 20, 2024 5:29 PM
- URL: https://library.thechicagoschool.edu/quantitative
An Insight Into Qualitative v/s Quantitative Methods
- Find primary sources of law or central authority in a given jurisdiction (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.)
- Searching secondary authority (for example, law reviews, legal dictionaries, legal treatises, and legal encyclopaedias such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum) for background information about a legal topic; and
- Searching non-legal sources for investigative or supporting information.
- What percentage of India's population has patients suffering from Hypertension, this is a quantitative question since it seeks to identify the percentage of individuals who are on treatment for hypertension?
- Hypertension is easy to diagnose and can be treated with low-cost generic drugs: This statement would be an outcome of qualitative research as this would entail a qualitative comparison with other ailments with respect to ease of diagnosis and treatment in the available spectrum of medical facilities
- What were the achievements of the IHCI This is a question that employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to answer One of the outcomes is in terms of number of patients who received treatment and no. of districts and states that benefitted from the initiative- which is inferred quantitatively? The other findings related to the conclusion that it was possible for blood pressure treatment and control in primary health care setting is an example of qualitative research method since it would have involved observing patient behaviour (focus group) and understanding the difficulties faced earlier in terms of availing treatment.
- The data available on the success of the initiative that led to blood pressure control is quantitative in nature, such as what percentage of identified patient population benefitted from the initiative? What percentage of population benefitted in the primary health care setting? What was the success rate as compared to the no. of patients that went to hospitals for the same treatment?
- The study of the IHCI strategies appears to be qualitative in nature. If the question is framed as "what were the strategies that resulted in the success of the ICHI?" - then the five strategies outlined in the article come across as qualitative since instead of just dealing with the no. of patients benefitted- the study tries to put down objective steps and strategies that ensured success. As outlined above this research is taking into account a situation and trying to generalise or describe the study rather than given quantifiable outcome analysis.
- However, one of the strategies in itself (Data Driven approach employed for providing care and follow-up) this strategy can be further studied in terms of a quantitative approach. For instance- How many patients were identified to prepare the data-base? How many patients that received the initial treatment did not return for follow-up? How man patients were called and requested for a come-back?" While these questions are not expressly answered in this article, this could be an avenue to understand how qualitative and quantitative research are often interlinked and inference from quantitative research can help foster understanding for the conclusion of qualitative research
- The article also provides an answer to the question, "What is the cost of treatment of generic anti-hypertensive drug treatment when procured at scale?" This would be a completely quantitative approach where data from various sources need to be evaluated to ascertain the cost of various drugs available for anti-hypertensive treatment and what is the cost of acquisition at personal level and at-scale. The findings can help conclude if in fact the cost is lower for the community health centres.
- Another question that has been answered with the qualitative approach is "What are the challenges that the initiative has encountered and how they can be addressed?" While similar to the strategies- the answer is largely qualitative here a further understanding of each of the challenges can be done by employing quantitative methods.
- Legal research methodology: Textbook by Dr T. Padma and K. P.C Rao published by Asia law house 1st Edition 2011
- https://law.indiana.libguides.com
- Strengths and Limitations of Quantitative Research methods, Andre Querios et al, European Journal of Education Studies, Volume 3, Issue 9, 2017
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research, How To Choose the Best Design, Greg L. Lowhorn, Regent University, May 2007
- Creswell, J.W. (2003); de Vaus, D. (2001).
- Zikmund, W.G. (2001)
- European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: (8)www.oapub.org/edu
- https://www.iedunote.com › legal-re...
- https://www.wssu.edu
- http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in › lawPDF
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research: How to Choose the Best Design Greg L. Lowhorn Regent
- Nalin Choudhary PhD scholar - Gitam School Of Law, Gitam University, Andhra Pradesh, India.
- Ritu Gupta Associate Professor - Gitam School Of Law, Gitam University, Andhra Pradesh, India. Email: [email protected]
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Quantitative Legal Prediction – or – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Preparing for the Data Driven Future of the Legal Services Industry
Emory Law Journal, Vol. 62, 2013
58 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2012 Last revised: 3 Jun 2013
Daniel Martin Katz
Illinois Tech - Chicago Kent College of Law; Bucerius Center for Legal Technology & Data Science; Stanford CodeX - The Center for Legal Informatics; 273 Ventures
Date Written: December 11, 2012
Do I have a case? What is our likely exposure? How much is this going to cost? What will happen if we leave this particular provision out of this contract? How can we best staff this particular legal matter? These are core questions asked by sophisticated clients such as general counsels as well as consumers at the retail level. Whether generated by a mental model or a sophisticated algorithm, prediction is a core component of the guidance that lawyers offer. Indeed, it is by generating informed answers to these types of questions that many lawyers earn their respective wage. Every single day lawyers and law firms are providing predictions to their clients regarding their prospects in litigation and the cost associated with its pursuit (defense). How are these predictions being generated? Precisely what data or model is being leveraged? Could a subset of these predictions be improved by access to outcome data in a large number of 'similar' cases. Simply put, the answer is yes. Quantitative legal prediction already plays a significant role in certain practice areas and this role is likely increase as greater access to appropriate legal data becomes available. This article is dedicated to highlighting the coming age of Quantitative Legal Prediction with hopes that practicing lawyers, law students and law schools will take heed and prepare to survive (thrive) in this new ordering. Simply put, most lawyers, law schools and law students are going to have to do more to prepare for the data driven future of this industry. In other words, welcome to Law's Information Revolution and yeah - there is going to be math on the exam.
Keywords: big data, law, prediction, quantitative legal prediction, legal services, machine learning, algorithmic justice, legal prediction
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Daniel Martin Katz (Contact Author)
Illinois tech - chicago kent college of law ( email ).
565 W. Adams St. Chicago, IL 60661-3691 United States
HOME PAGE: http://www.danielmartinkatz.com/
Bucerius Center for Legal Technology & Data Science ( email )
Jungiusstr. 6 Hamburg, 20355 Germany
HOME PAGE: http://legaltechcenter.de/
Stanford CodeX - The Center for Legal Informatics ( email )
559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305-8610 United States
HOME PAGE: http://law.stanford.edu/directory/daniel-katz/
273 Ventures ( email )
HOME PAGE: http://273ventures.com
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Qualitative vs Quantitative Research Methods & Data Analysis
Saul McLeod, PhD
Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
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Associate Editor for Simply Psychology
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Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
The main difference between quantitative and qualitative research is the type of data they collect and analyze.
Quantitative data is information about quantities, and therefore numbers, and qualitative data is descriptive, and regards phenomenon which can be observed but not measured, such as language.
- Quantitative research collects numerical data and analyzes it using statistical methods. The aim is to produce objective, empirical data that can be measured and expressed numerically. Quantitative research is often used to test hypotheses, identify patterns, and make predictions.
- Qualitative research gathers non-numerical data (words, images, sounds) to explore subjective experiences and attitudes, often via observation and interviews. It aims to produce detailed descriptions and uncover new insights about the studied phenomenon.
On This Page:
What Is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting non-numerical data, such as language. Qualitative research can be used to understand how an individual subjectively perceives and gives meaning to their social reality.
Qualitative data is non-numerical data, such as text, video, photographs, or audio recordings. This type of data can be collected using diary accounts or in-depth interviews and analyzed using grounded theory or thematic analysis.
Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 2)
Interest in qualitative data came about as the result of the dissatisfaction of some psychologists (e.g., Carl Rogers) with the scientific study of psychologists such as behaviorists (e.g., Skinner ).
Since psychologists study people, the traditional approach to science is not seen as an appropriate way of carrying out research since it fails to capture the totality of human experience and the essence of being human. Exploring participants’ experiences is known as a phenomenological approach (re: Humanism ).
Qualitative research is primarily concerned with meaning, subjectivity, and lived experience. The goal is to understand the quality and texture of people’s experiences, how they make sense of them, and the implications for their lives.
Qualitative research aims to understand the social reality of individuals, groups, and cultures as nearly as possible as participants feel or live it. Thus, people and groups are studied in their natural setting.
Some examples of qualitative research questions are provided, such as what an experience feels like, how people talk about something, how they make sense of an experience, and how events unfold for people.
Research following a qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a particular context. It can be used to generate hypotheses and theories from the data.
Qualitative Methods
There are different types of qualitative research methods, including diary accounts, in-depth interviews , documents, focus groups , case study research , and ethnography .
The results of qualitative methods provide a deep understanding of how people perceive their social realities and in consequence, how they act within the social world.
The researcher has several methods for collecting empirical materials, ranging from the interview to direct observation, to the analysis of artifacts, documents, and cultural records, to the use of visual materials or personal experience. Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 14)
Here are some examples of qualitative data:
Interview transcripts : Verbatim records of what participants said during an interview or focus group. They allow researchers to identify common themes and patterns, and draw conclusions based on the data. Interview transcripts can also be useful in providing direct quotes and examples to support research findings.
Observations : The researcher typically takes detailed notes on what they observe, including any contextual information, nonverbal cues, or other relevant details. The resulting observational data can be analyzed to gain insights into social phenomena, such as human behavior, social interactions, and cultural practices.
Unstructured interviews : generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation.
Diaries or journals : Written accounts of personal experiences or reflections.
Notice that qualitative data could be much more than just words or text. Photographs, videos, sound recordings, and so on, can be considered qualitative data. Visual data can be used to understand behaviors, environments, and social interactions.
Qualitative Data Analysis
Qualitative research is endlessly creative and interpretive. The researcher does not just leave the field with mountains of empirical data and then easily write up his or her findings.
Qualitative interpretations are constructed, and various techniques can be used to make sense of the data, such as content analysis, grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), or discourse analysis .
For example, thematic analysis is a qualitative approach that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. Themes will often emerge once the data has been coded .
Key Features
- Events can be understood adequately only if they are seen in context. Therefore, a qualitative researcher immerses her/himself in the field, in natural surroundings. The contexts of inquiry are not contrived; they are natural. Nothing is predefined or taken for granted.
- Qualitative researchers want those who are studied to speak for themselves, to provide their perspectives in words and other actions. Therefore, qualitative research is an interactive process in which the persons studied teach the researcher about their lives.
- The qualitative researcher is an integral part of the data; without the active participation of the researcher, no data exists.
- The study’s design evolves during the research and can be adjusted or changed as it progresses. For the qualitative researcher, there is no single reality. It is subjective and exists only in reference to the observer.
- The theory is data-driven and emerges as part of the research process, evolving from the data as they are collected.
Limitations of Qualitative Research
- Because of the time and costs involved, qualitative designs do not generally draw samples from large-scale data sets.
- The problem of adequate validity or reliability is a major criticism. Because of the subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is difficult to apply conventional standards of reliability and validity. For example, because of the central role played by the researcher in the generation of data, it is not possible to replicate qualitative studies.
- Also, contexts, situations, events, conditions, and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent, nor can generalizations be made to a wider context than the one studied with confidence.
- The time required for data collection, analysis, and interpretation is lengthy. Analysis of qualitative data is difficult, and expert knowledge of an area is necessary to interpret qualitative data. Great care must be taken when doing so, for example, looking for mental illness symptoms.
Advantages of Qualitative Research
- Because of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider’s view of the field. This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic inquiries.
- Qualitative descriptions can be important in suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects, and dynamic processes.
- Qualitative analysis allows for ambiguities/contradictions in the data, which reflect social reality (Denscombe, 2010).
- Qualitative research uses a descriptive, narrative style; this research might be of particular benefit to the practitioner as she or he could turn to qualitative reports to examine forms of knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable, thereby gaining new insight.
What Is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative research involves the process of objectively collecting and analyzing numerical data to describe, predict, or control variables of interest.
The goals of quantitative research are to test causal relationships between variables , make predictions, and generalize results to wider populations.
Quantitative researchers aim to establish general laws of behavior and phenomenon across different settings/contexts. Research is used to test a theory and ultimately support or reject it.
Quantitative Methods
Experiments typically yield quantitative data, as they are concerned with measuring things. However, other research methods, such as controlled observations and questionnaires , can produce both quantitative information.
For example, a rating scale or closed questions on a questionnaire would generate quantitative data as these produce either numerical data or data that can be put into categories (e.g., “yes,” “no” answers).
Experimental methods limit how research participants react to and express appropriate social behavior.
Findings are, therefore, likely to be context-bound and simply a reflection of the assumptions that the researcher brings to the investigation.
There are numerous examples of quantitative data in psychological research, including mental health. Here are a few examples:
Another example is the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), a self-report questionnaire widely used to assess adult attachment styles .
The ECR provides quantitative data that can be used to assess attachment styles and predict relationship outcomes.
Neuroimaging data : Neuroimaging techniques, such as MRI and fMRI, provide quantitative data on brain structure and function.
This data can be analyzed to identify brain regions involved in specific mental processes or disorders.
For example, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a clinician-administered questionnaire widely used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms in individuals.
The BDI consists of 21 questions, each scored on a scale of 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Statistics help us turn quantitative data into useful information to help with decision-making. We can use statistics to summarize our data, describing patterns, relationships, and connections. Statistics can be descriptive or inferential.
Descriptive statistics help us to summarize our data. In contrast, inferential statistics are used to identify statistically significant differences between groups of data (such as intervention and control groups in a randomized control study).
- Quantitative researchers try to control extraneous variables by conducting their studies in the lab.
- The research aims for objectivity (i.e., without bias) and is separated from the data.
- The design of the study is determined before it begins.
- For the quantitative researcher, the reality is objective, exists separately from the researcher, and can be seen by anyone.
- Research is used to test a theory and ultimately support or reject it.
Limitations of Quantitative Research
- Context: Quantitative experiments do not take place in natural settings. In addition, they do not allow participants to explain their choices or the meaning of the questions they may have for those participants (Carr, 1994).
- Researcher expertise: Poor knowledge of the application of statistical analysis may negatively affect analysis and subsequent interpretation (Black, 1999).
- Variability of data quantity: Large sample sizes are needed for more accurate analysis. Small-scale quantitative studies may be less reliable because of the low quantity of data (Denscombe, 2010). This also affects the ability to generalize study findings to wider populations.
- Confirmation bias: The researcher might miss observing phenomena because of focus on theory or hypothesis testing rather than on the theory of hypothesis generation.
Advantages of Quantitative Research
- Scientific objectivity: Quantitative data can be interpreted with statistical analysis, and since statistics are based on the principles of mathematics, the quantitative approach is viewed as scientifically objective and rational (Carr, 1994; Denscombe, 2010).
- Useful for testing and validating already constructed theories.
- Rapid analysis: Sophisticated software removes much of the need for prolonged data analysis, especially with large volumes of data involved (Antonius, 2003).
- Replication: Quantitative data is based on measured values and can be checked by others because numerical data is less open to ambiguities of interpretation.
- Hypotheses can also be tested because of statistical analysis (Antonius, 2003).
Antonius, R. (2003). Interpreting quantitative data with SPSS . Sage.
Black, T. R. (1999). Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to research design, measurement and statistics . Sage.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology . Qualitative Research in Psychology , 3, 77–101.
Carr, L. T. (1994). The strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research : what method for nursing? Journal of advanced nursing, 20(4) , 716-721.
Denscombe, M. (2010). The Good Research Guide: for small-scale social research. McGraw Hill.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln. Y. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications Inc.
Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Strutzel, E. (1968). The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative research. Nursing research, 17(4) , 364.
Minichiello, V. (1990). In-Depth Interviewing: Researching People. Longman Cheshire.
Punch, K. (1998). Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage
Further Information
- Mixed methods research
- Designing qualitative research
- Methods of data collection and analysis
- Introduction to quantitative and qualitative research
- Checklists for improving rigour in qualitative research: a case of the tail wagging the dog?
- Qualitative research in health care: Analysing qualitative data
- Qualitative data analysis: the framework approach
- Using the framework method for the analysis of
- Qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research
- Content Analysis
- Grounded Theory
- Thematic Analysis
- MS in the Learning Sciences
- Tuition & Financial Aid
Qualitative vs. quantitative data analysis: How do they differ?
Learning analytics have become the cornerstone for personalizing student experiences and enhancing learning outcomes. In this data-informed approach to education there are two distinct methodologies: qualitative and quantitative analytics. These methods, which are typical to data analytics in general, are crucial to the interpretation of learning behaviors and outcomes. This blog will explore the nuances that distinguish qualitative and quantitative research, while uncovering their shared roles in learning analytics, program design and instruction.
What is qualitative data?
Qualitative data is descriptive and includes information that is non numerical. Qualitative research is used to gather in-depth insights that can't be easily measured on a scale like opinions, anecdotes and emotions. In learning analytics qualitative data could include in depth interviews, text responses to a prompt, or a video of a class period. 1
What is quantitative data?
Quantitative data is information that has a numerical value. Quantitative research is conducted to gather measurable data used in statistical analysis. Researchers can use quantitative studies to identify patterns and trends. In learning analytics quantitative data could include test scores, student demographics, or amount of time spent in a lesson. 2
Key difference between qualitative and quantitative data
It's important to understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative data to both determine the appropriate research methods for studies and to gain insights that you can be confident in sharing.
Data Types and Nature
Examples of qualitative data types in learning analytics:
- Observational data of human behavior from classroom settings such as student engagement, teacher-student interactions, and classroom dynamics
- Textual data from open-ended survey responses, reflective journals, and written assignments
- Feedback and discussions from focus groups or interviews
- Content analysis from various media
Examples of quantitative data types:
- Standardized test, assessment, and quiz scores
- Grades and grade point averages
- Attendance records
- Time spent on learning tasks
- Data gathered from learning management systems (LMS), including login frequency, online participation, and completion rates of assignments
Methods of Collection
Qualitative and quantitative research methods for data collection can occasionally seem similar so it's important to note the differences to make sure you're creating a consistent data set and will be able to reliably draw conclusions from your data.
Qualitative research methods
Because of the nature of qualitative data (complex, detailed information), the research methods used to collect it are more involved. Qualitative researchers might do the following to collect data:
- Conduct interviews to learn about subjective experiences
- Host focus groups to gather feedback and personal accounts
- Observe in-person or use audio or video recordings to record nuances of human behavior in a natural setting
- Distribute surveys with open-ended questions
Quantitative research methods
Quantitative data collection methods are more diverse and more likely to be automated because of the objective nature of the data. A quantitative researcher could employ methods such as:
- Surveys with close-ended questions that gather numerical data like birthdates or preferences
- Observational research and record measurable information like the number of students in a classroom
- Automated numerical data collection like information collected on the backend of a computer system like button clicks and page views
Analysis techniques
Qualitative and quantitative data can both be very informative. However, research studies require critical thinking for productive analysis.
Qualitative data analysis methods
Analyzing qualitative data takes a number of steps. When you first get all your data in one place you can do a review and take notes of trends you think you're seeing or your initial reactions. Next, you'll want to organize all the qualitative data you've collected by assigning it categories. Your central research question will guide your data categorization whether it's by date, location, type of collection method (interview vs focus group, etc), the specific question asked or something else. Next, you'll code your data. Whereas categorizing data is focused on the method of collection, coding is the process of identifying and labeling themes within the data collected to get closer to answering your research questions. Finally comes data interpretation. To interpret the data you'll take a look at the information gathered including your coding labels and see what results are occurring frequently or what other conclusions you can make. 3
Quantitative analysis techniques
The process to analyze quantitative data can be time-consuming due to the large volume of data possible to collect. When approaching a quantitative data set, start by focusing in on the purpose of your evaluation. Without making a conclusion, determine how you will use the information gained from analysis; for example: The answers of this survey about study habits will help determine what type of exam review session will be most useful to a class. 4
Next, you need to decide who is analyzing the data and set parameters for analysis. For example, if two different researchers are evaluating survey responses that rank preferences on a scale from 1 to 5, they need to be operating with the same understanding of the rankings. You wouldn't want one researcher to classify the value of 3 to be a positive preference while the other considers it a negative preference. It's also ideal to have some type of data management system to store and organize your data, such as a spreadsheet or database. Within the database, or via an export to data analysis software, the collected data needs to be cleaned of things like responses left blank, duplicate answers from respondents, and questions that are no longer considered relevant. Finally, you can use statistical software to analyze data (or complete a manual analysis) to find patterns and summarize your findings. 4
Qualitative and quantitative research tools
From the nuanced, thematic exploration enabled by tools like NVivo and ATLAS.ti, to the statistical precision of SPSS and R for quantitative analysis, each suite of data analysis tools offers tailored functionalities that cater to the distinct natures of different data types.
Qualitative research software:
NVivo: NVivo is qualitative data analysis software that can do everything from transcribe recordings to create word clouds and evaluate uploads for different sentiments and themes. NVivo is just one tool from the company Lumivero, which offers whole suites of data processing software. 5
ATLAS.ti: Similar to NVivo, ATLAS.ti allows researchers to upload and import data from a variety of sources to be tagged and refined using machine learning and presented with visualizations and ready for insert into reports. 6
SPSS: SPSS is a statistical analysis tool for quantitative research, appreciated for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive statistical tests, which makes it ideal for educators and researchers. With SPSS researchers can manage and analyze large quantitative data sets, use advanced statistical procedures and modeling techniques, predict customer behaviors, forecast market trends and more. 7
R: R is a versatile and dynamic open-source tool for quantitative analysis. With a vast repository of packages tailored to specific statistical methods, researchers can perform anything from basic descriptive statistics to complex predictive modeling. R is especially useful for its ability to handle large datasets, making it ideal for educational institutions that generate substantial amounts of data. The programming language offers flexibility in customizing analysis and creating publication-quality visualizations to effectively communicate results. 8
Applications in Educational Research
Both quantitative and qualitative data can be employed in learning analytics to drive informed decision-making and pedagogical enhancements. In the classroom, quantitative data like standardized test scores and online course analytics create a foundation for assessing and benchmarking student performance and engagement. Qualitative insights gathered from surveys, focus group discussions, and reflective student journals offer a more nuanced understanding of learners' experiences and contextual factors influencing their education. Additionally feedback and practical engagement metrics blend these data types, providing a holistic view that informs curriculum development, instructional strategies, and personalized learning pathways. Through these varied data sets and uses, educators can piece together a more complete narrative of student success and the impacts of educational interventions.
Master Data Analysis with an M.S. in Learning Sciences From SMU
Whether it is the detailed narratives unearthed through qualitative data or the informative patterns derived from quantitative analysis, both qualitative and quantitative data can provide crucial information for educators and researchers to better understand and improve learning. Dive deeper into the art and science of learning analytics with SMU's online Master of Science in the Learning Sciences program . At SMU, innovation and inquiry converge to empower the next generation of educators and researchers. Choose the Learning Analytics Specialization to learn how to harness the power of data science to illuminate learning trends, devise impactful strategies, and drive educational innovation. You could also find out how advanced technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize education, and develop the insight to apply embodied cognition principles to enhance learning experiences in the Learning and Technology Design Specialization , or choose your own electives to build a specialization unique to your interests and career goals.
For more information on our curriculum and to become part of a community where data drives discovery, visit SMU's MSLS program website or schedule a call with our admissions outreach advisors for any queries or further discussion. Take the first step towards transforming education with data today.
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from nnlm.gov/guides/data-glossary/qualitative-data
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from nnlm.gov/guides/data-glossary/quantitative-data
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief19.pdf
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief20.pdf
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from lumivero.com/solutions/
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from atlasti.com/
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from ibm.com/products/spss-statistics
- Retrieved on August 8, 2024, from cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.html#Introduction-and-preliminaries
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Nursing Research (NURS 3321/4325/5366)
- Introduction
- Understand What Quantitative Research Is
- Understand What Qualitative Research Is
- Sage Methods Map
- Step 1: Accessing CINAHL
- Step 2: Create a Keyword Search
- Step 3: Create a Subject Heading Search
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What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative methodology is the dominant research framework in the social sciences. it refers to a set of strategies, techniques and assumptions used to study psychological, social and economic processes through the exploration of numeric patterns . quantitative research gathers a range of numeric data. some of the numeric data is intrinsically quantitative (e.g. personal income), while in other cases the numeric structure is imposed (e.g. ‘on a scale from 1 to 10, how depressed did you feel last week’). the collection of quantitative information allows researchers to conduct simple to extremely sophisticated statistical analyses that aggregate the data (e.g. averages, percentages), show relationships among the data (e.g. ‘students with lower grade point averages tend to score lower on a depression scale’) or compare across aggregated data (e.g. the usa has a higher gross domestic product than spain). quantitative research includes methodologies such as questionnaires, structured observations or experiments and stands in contrast to qualitative research. qualitative research involves the collection and analysis of narratives and/or open-ended observations through methodologies such as interviews, focus groups or ethnographies..
Coghlan, D., Brydon-Miller, M. (2014). The SAGE encyclopedia of action research (Vols. 1-2). London, : SAGE Publications Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781446294406
What is the purpose of quantitative research?
The purpose of quantitative research is to generate knowledge and create understanding about the social world. Quantitative research is used by social scientists, including communication researchers, to observe phenomena or occurrences affecting individuals. Social scientists are concerned with the study of people. Quantitative research is a way to learn about a particular group of people, known as a sample population. Using scientific inquiry, quantitative research relies on data that are observed or measured to examine questions about the sample population.
Allen, M. (2017). The SAGE encyclopedia of communication research methods (Vols. 1-4). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc doi: 10.4135/9781483381411
How do I know if the study is a quantitative design? What type of quantitative study is it?
Quantitative Research Designs: Descriptive non-experimental, Quasi-experimental or Experimental?
Studies do not always explicitly state what kind of research design is being used. You will need to know how to decipher which design type is used. The following video will help you determine the quantitative design type.
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Unit 6: Qual vs Quant.
27 Quantitative Methods in Communication Research
Quantitative methods in communication research.
In communication research, both quantitative and qualitative methods are essential for understanding different aspects of communication processes and effects. Here’s how quant methods can be applied:
- Collecting data on communication patterns, relationship satisfaction, or conflict resolution strategies among different groups.
- Collecting numerical data on audience demographics, media consumption habits, or attitudes towards specific communication messages.
- Testing hypotheses about the effects of specific communication behaviors (e.g., eye contact, tone of voice) on relationship outcomes.
- Testing the effects of different communication strategies or messages on audience behavior or perception.
- Quantifying the frequency and types of communication behaviors in recorded interactions (e.g., supportive vs. critical comments)
- Quantifying the frequency of certain themes, words, or images in media content to identify patterns or trends.
- Statistical Analysis : Using statistical tools to analyze data from surveys or experiments, such as correlation or regression analysis to explore relationships between variables.
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Quantitative Research Questionnaire – Types & Examples
Published by Alvin Nicolas at August 20th, 2024 , Revised On August 21, 2024
Research is usually done to provide solutions to an ongoing problem. Wherever the researchers see a gap, they tend to launch research to enhance their knowledge and to provide solutions to the needs of others. If they want to research from a subjective point of view, they consider qualitative research. On the other hand, when they research from an objective point of view, they tend to consider quantitative research.
There’s a fine line between subjectivity and objectivity. Qualitative research, related to subjectivity, assesses individuals’ personal opinions and experiences, while quantitative research, associated with objectivity, collects numerical data to derive results. However, the best medium to collect data in quantitative research is a questionnaire.
Let’s discuss what a quantitative research questionnaire is, its types, methods of writing questions, and types of survey questions. By thoroughly understanding these key essential terms, you can efficiently create a professional and well-organised quantitative research questionnaire.
What is a Quantitative Research Questionnaire?
Quantitative research questionnaires are preferably used during quantitative research. They are a well-structured set of questions designed specifically to gather specific, close-ended participant responses. This allows the researchers to gather numerical data and obtain a deep understanding of a particular event or problem.
As you know, qualitative research questionnaires contain open-ended questions that allow the participants to express themselves freely, while quantitative research questionnaires contain close-ended and specific questions, such as multiple-choice and Likert scales, to assess individuals’ behaviour.
Quantitative research questionnaires are usually used in research in various fields, such as psychology, medicine, chemistry, and economics.
Let’s see how you can write quantitative research questions by going through some examples:
- How much do British people consume fast food per week?
- What is the percentage of students living in hostels in London?
Types of Quantitative Research Questions With Examples
After learning what a quantitative research questionnaire is and what quantitative research questions look like, it’s time to thoroughly discuss the different types of quantitative research questions to explore this topic more.
Dichotomous Questions
Dichotomous questions are those with a margin for only two possible answers. They are usually used when the answers are “Yes/No” or “True/False.” These questions significantly simplify the research process and help collect simple responses.
Example: Have you ever visited Istanbul?
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple-choice questions have a list of possible answers for the participants to choose from. They help assess people’s general knowledge, and the data gathered by multiple-choice questions can be easily analysed.
Example: Which of the following is the capital of France?
Multiple Answer Questions
Multiple-answer questions are similar to multiple-choice questions. However, there are multiple answers for participants to choose from. They are used when the questions can’t have a single, specific answer.
Example: Which of the following movie genres are your favourite?
Likert Scale Questions
Likert scale questions are used when the preferences and emotions of the participants are measured from one extreme to another. The scales are usually applied to measure likelihood, frequency, satisfaction, and agreement. The Likert scale has only five options to choose from.
Example: How satisfied are you with your job?
Semantic Differential Questions
Similar to Likert scales, semantic differential questions are also used to measure the emotions and attitudes of participants. The only difference is that instead of using extreme options such as strongly agree and strongly disagree, opposites of a particular choice are given to reduce bias.
Example: Please rate the services of our company.
Rank Order Questions
Rank-order questions are usually used to measure the preferences and choices of the participants efficiently. In this, multiple choices are given, and participants are asked to rank them according to their perspective. This helps to create a good participant profile.
Example: Rank the given books according to your interest.
Matrix Questions
Matrix questions are similar to Likert scales. In Likert scales, participants’ responses are measured through separate questions, while in matrix questions, multiple questions are compiled in a single row to simplify the data collection method efficiently.
Example: Rate the following activities that you do in daily life.
How To Write Quantitative Research Questions?
Quantitative research questions allow researchers to gather empirical data to answer their research problems. As we have discussed the different types of quantitative research questions above, it’s time to learn how to write the perfect quantitative research questions for a questionnaire and streamline your research process.
Here are the steps to follow to write quantitative research questions efficiently.
Step 1: Determine the Research Goals
The first step in writing quantitative research questions is to determine your research goals. Determining and confirming your research goals significantly helps you understand what kind of questions you need to create and for what grade. Efficiently determining the research goals also reduces the need for further modifications in the questionnaire.
Step 2: Be Mindful About the Variables
There are two variables in the questions: independent and dependent. It is essential to decide what would be the dependent variable in your questions and what would be the independent. It significantly helps to understand where to emphasise and where not. It also reduces the probability of additional and vague questions.
Step 3: Choose the Right Type of Question
It is also important to determine the right type of questions to add to your questionnaire. Whether you want Likert scales, rank-order questions, or multiple-answer questions, choosing the right type of questions will help you measure individuals’ responses efficiently and accurately.
Step 4: Use Easy and Clear Language
Another thing to keep in mind while writing questions for a quantitative research questionnaire is to use easy and clear language. As you know, quantitative research is done to measure specific and simple responses in empirical form, and using easy and understandable language in questions makes a huge difference.
Step 5: Be Specific About The Topic
Always be mindful and specific about your topic. Avoid writing questions that divert from your topic because they can cause participants to lose interest. Use the basic terms of your selected topic and gradually go deep. Also, remember to align your topic and questions with your research objectives and goals.
Step 6: Appropriately Write Your Questions
When you have considered all the above-discussed things, it’s time to write your questions appropriately. Don’t just haste in writing. Think twice about the result of a question and then consider writing it in the questionnaire. Remember to be precise while writing. Avoid overwriting.
Step 7: Gather Feedback From Peers
When you have finished writing questions, gather feedback from your researcher peers. Write down all the suggestions and feedback given by your peers. Don’t panic over the criticism of your questions. Remember that it’s still time to make necessary changes to the questionnaire before launching your campaign.
Step 8: Refine and Finalise the Questions
After gathering peer feedback, make necessary and appropriate changes to your questions. Be mindful of your research goals and topic. Try to modify your questions according to them. Also, be mindful of the theme and colour scheme of the questionnaire that you decided on. After refining the questions, finalise your questionnaire.
Types of Survey Questionnaires in Quantitative Research
Quantitative research questionnaires have close-ended questions that allow the researchers to measure accurate and specific responses from the participants. They don’t contain open-ended questions like qualitative research, where the response is measured by interviews and focus groups. Good combinations of questions are used in the quantitative research survey .
However, here are the types of surveys in quantitative research:
Descriptive Survey
The descriptive survey is used to obtain information about a particular variable. It is used to associate a quantity and quantify research variables. The questions associated with descriptive surveys mostly start with “What is” and “How much”.
Example: A descriptive survey to measure how much money children spend to buy toys.
Comparative Survey
A comparative survey is used to establish a comparison between one or more dependable variables and two or more comparison groups. This survey aims to form a comparative relation between the variables under study. The structure of the question in a comparative survey is, “What is the difference in [dependable variable] between [two or more groups]?”.
Example: A comparative survey on the difference in political awareness between Eastern and Western citizens.
Relationship-Based Survey
Relationship-based survey is used to understand the relationship or association between two or more independent and dependent variables. Cause and effect between two or more variables is measured in the relationship-based survey. The structure of questions in a relationship-based survey is, “What is the relation [between or among] [independent variable] and [dependable variable]?”.
Example: What is the relationship between education and lifestyle in America?
Advantages & Disadvantages of Questionnaires in Quantitative Research
Quantitative research questionnaires are an excellent tool to collect data and information about the responses of individuals. Quantitative research comes with various advantages, but along with advantages, it also has its disadvantages. Check the table below to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of a quantitative research questionnaire.
It is an efficient source for quickly collecting data. | It restricts the depth of the topic during collection. |
There is less risk of subjectivity and research bias. | There is a high risk of artificial and unreal expectations of research questions. |
It significantly helps to collect extensive insights into the population. | It overemphasises empirical data, avoiding personal opinions. |
It focuses on simplicity and particularity. | There is a risk of over-simplicity. |
There are clear and achievable research objectives. | There is a risk of additional amendments and modifications. |
Quantitative Research Questionnaire Example
Here is an example of a quantitative research questionnaire to help you get the idea and create an efficient and well-developed questionnaire for your research:
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Quantitative legal research (QLR) insists on scientific measurement of the phenomena and appropriate generalization based on data analysis. The growing importance of QLR can be found in the policy making and implementing function of legislature, judiciary, and administration, and in the works of the Law Commission, policy researchers, and legal ...
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Abstract. This is a simple, non-technical introduction to conducting quantitative legal research. It discusses the main tools for measuring statistical significance, some problems that occur in empirical research and how to solve them, specific tools for investigating courts, and the challenges that courts raise for quantitative research.
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Revised on June 22, 2023. Quantitative research is the process of collecting and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to wider populations. Quantitative research is the opposite of qualitative research, which involves collecting and analyzing ...
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Legal research methodology is the process of gathering and analyzing legal information to answer a legal question. It is a systematic approach to finding, understanding, and applying the law. Types of Legal Research. There are two main types of legal research methodologies: qualitative research and quantitative research.
A quantitative and qualitative data analysis was conducted for the current research based on the collected data from the questionnaires circulated within the employees of police traffic department.
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What is Quantitative Research? Quantitative methodology is the dominant research framework in the social sciences. It refers to a set of strategies, techniques and assumptions used to study psychological, social and economic processes through the exploration of numeric patterns.Quantitative research gathers a range of numeric data.
In communication research, both quantitative and qualitative methods are essential for understanding different aspects of communication processes and effects. Here's how quant methods can be applied: Surveys: Collecting data on communication patterns, relationship satisfaction, or conflict resolution strategies among different groups. ...
Types of Survey Questionnaires in Quantitative Research. Quantitative research questionnaires have close-ended questions that allow the researchers to measure accurate and specific responses from the participants. They don't contain open-ended questions like qualitative research, where the response is measured by interviews and focus groups.
Quantitative legal research data are numbers or statistical and hence hard or fixed. Qualitative legal research studies a small number of participants and is familiar with micro study. Quantitative legal research takes large samples. Quantitative legal research extrapolates the results by resorting to a sampling study.
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Finally, it catalogues diverse methods of legal research under the categories of doctrinal, non-doctrinal, and integrated methods of legal research. Reader gets a basic idea about legal research, its past, present, and future potentiality and a glimpse of its wider canvas.