096373

SoSe 21: Introduction to Methods in Empirical Legal Studies

Sven Hoeppner

Information for students

Diese Lehrveranstaltung ist keine Pflichtveranstaltung. Für einen Modulabschluss ist jedoch eine regelmäßige Teilnahme notwendig. close

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Course Description

Empirical Legal Studies uses data to inform legal and policy debates. Traditional empirical legal scholarship uses techniques (typical of economics, psychology, and sociology) to examine the causal effects of various policies or legal decisions. More recently, advancements in technology have given rise to a new strand of research that uses tools such as machine learning and natural language processing to study legally relevant, text-based datasets at a large scale. To date quantitative methods still lead a quite shadowy existence in legal discourse, legal scholarship, and legal eduction. Yet, we live in a data-driven world. In the social context where the law lives data and data literacy have become indispensable. Therefore, also lawyers better develop skills for reasoning about and with data. This traditionally timid treatment of data will be challenged in this course. We will illustrate how legal discourse can profit from quantitative elements. We will also intuitively introduce common methods of empirical research and, by doing so, convey data awareness and data literacy, which may become invaluable in legal practice and the collaboration with specialists from other disciplines. For discussion, we will use examples from a broad spectrum of the law. Note: This is not a hands-on course. There is no requirement to code, program, or calculate yourselves (although that would be great). close