The Contribution of Empirical Research to Law
Wulf, A. J. "The Contribution of Empirical Research to Law", Journal Jurisprudence, 29, 2016, 29-49.
16 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2020
Date Written: January 1, 2016
Abstract
Over the last decade empirical legal studies have become a popular subfield of legal research. Legal scholars have increasingly begun to employ social science research methods in their attempts to provide answers to research questions in the field of law. The goal of empirical legal research is to make a contribution to all subjects and phenomena that are of interest to law and for which no methods have previously been available. The use of empirical methods in legal science can lead to results that cannot be achieved by the methods of traditional law research. The ultimate aim of the approach is to contribute to a systematic understanding of our legal system based on empirical data. In this article I give an overview of the development of empirical legal studies as an independent subfield of legal research, followed by an introduction to two popular studies to illustrate the potential and limitations of this new field of research. I then discuss some controversial topics such as the widespread view that empirical research is objective and value-free, the relevance of methodological problems and the problem of over-simplification of the complexity of legal issues. I conclude with a look at future prospects for empirical legal research.
Keywords: Law and Economics, Empirical Legal Studies
JEL Classification: K
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