Legal Studies Research Methods (207-0-20)
Instructors
Robert L Nelson
Robert L. Nelson is Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University and theMacCrate Research Chair in the Legal Profession at the American Bar Foundation (where hewas Director 2004-2015). He holds a J.D. and Ph.D. in sociology, both from Northwestern.He is a leading scholar in the fields of the legal profession and discrimination law. He hasauthored or edited 10 books and numerous articles, including The Making of Lawyers'Careers: Inequality and Opportunity in the American Legal Profession (U Chicago Press2023), Legalizing Gender Inequality, Cambridge University Press 1999, which won the prizefor best book in sociology in 2001, Urban Lawyers: The New Social Structure of the Bar,University of Chicago Press 2005, and Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination LawPerpetuates Inequality, University of Chicago Press 2017. His current research is a socio-legal analysis of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
Meeting Info
University Hall 101: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
Legal Studies Research Methods introduces students to research methods used ininterdisciplinary legal studies, including jurisprudence and legal reasoning, qualitative andquantitative social science methods, and historical and textual analysis. The course is aprerequisite for the Advanced Research Seminar in Legal Studies, 398-1,- 2, and is intendedto prepare students for the design of their own research project to be conducted in 398-1, -2.Through exposure to and engagement with interdisciplinary research methods on law andlegal processes, the course will provide students with a deeper understanding of law in itshistorical and social context. The course will provide students with a set of research toolswith which to conduct research on legal institutions. The course builds on content from LegalStudies 206/Sociology 206, a prerequisite for this course. While part of the Legal Studiesmajor sequence, the course will enrich the analytic skills of students from many fields whoare interested in law or in interdisciplinary research methods.
Prerequisite: LEGAL_ST206/SOCIOL 206.
Taught with LEGAL_ST 207; may not receive credit for both courses. Thetopical focus of the course will be violence by the police and capital punishment in the UnitedStates. These topics will be explored with interdisciplinary readings and relevant legal cases.Students will be exposed to several research tools and research processes, as they alsoengage with material on police violence and capital punishment. In addition to shorterassignments, students will develop a research proposal on a topic of their choosing.
Learning Objectives
Once you complete Legal Studies Research Methods, you should be able to: o Read andanalyze diverse primary legal and political sources carefully and accurately, with attention tothe author's perspective, position, and credibility, and to the source's general context. o Befamiliar with research methods and best practices regarding qualitative and quantitative data,written materials, and electronic databases. o Read, evaluate, summarize, and engage withscholarly works by others, and be able to analyze authors' arguments for evidence, context,strength, and credibility. o Generate original research questions regarding the relationship oflaw and society and devise research strategies for answering research questions. o Makeclearly written and organized arguments that are well supported by primary sources. oCritically assess how courts and other authorities use social science in their decisions andpolicymaking
Teaching Method
Two classroom meetings a week, with discussions led by students on a rotating basis,several written assignments, a final research proposal, and a class presentation on theresearch proposal.
Evaluation Method
Assignments [total: 138 points not counting extra credit opportunities—subject tomodification] • Active and informed participation in class discussions - 10 points • Attendance- 2 points per (actual) class up to maximum of 28 points • Assignment One - Case Brief - 10points • Assignment Two - Research Questions and Bibliography - 10 points • AssignmentThree - Lexis/Nexis Uni-Zotero exercise - 10 points •Assignment Four through Ten - Choosefour out of six - 10 points each, subtotal 40 points •Assignment Eleven - Film AnalysisReflection Paper (one page) - 10 points •Assignment Twelve - Research Proposal on topicof Student's choice - 20 points •Assignment Thirteen - Class Presentation on ResearchProposal - 10 points
Class Materials (Required)
We will read one book and selections from another book, several articles, and a fewSupreme Court opinions. Although all required chapters will be available online, the booksare available for purchase through Amazon.com or your favorite online vendor. Otherreadings will be available through Canvas or e-reserve. You can print them all at once, printthem each day, or read them in electronic format. But you must keep up with these readingsand we require you to bring the scheduled readings, in some format, to each class. Someadditional short texts (e.g., timely news articles) may be added to Canvas during the course.
Sarat, When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition (2002,Princeton University Press), isbn 0-691-10261-9. Available through NU Library at
https://search.library.northwestern.edu/permalink/01NWU_INST/h04e76/alma99816096666024
Epp, Maynard-Moody, and Haider-Markel, Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race andCitizenship (University of Chicago Press, 2014), isbn-13:978-0-226-11399-9;. We will readtwo chapters that will be available through course reserves. The underlying study maintains awebsite:
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/8544
. We will read some elements of thewebsite. The following recommended readings will be available via Canvas and various NUlibrary databases. Other Requirements/Recommendations - • also recommend the followingbooks (available through NU library or on reserve at the library): o Luker, Salsa Dancing intothe Social Sciences: Research in an Age of Info-Glut (2008, Harvard University Press) isbn978-0-674-04821. Available through NU Library at
https://web-s-ebscohost-com.turing.library.northwestern.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYm
o Kitty Calavita, Invitation to Law and Society: An Introduction to the Study of Real Law(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010) - A great introduction to law and societyquestions o Loreen Wolfer, Real Research: Conducting and Evaluating Research in theSocial Sciences (New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2006) - A useful guide to different kinds ofresearch techniques (crafting surveys, designing interviews, etc.). o Earl Babbie, ThePractice of Social Research (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth 2013) - Similar to above, perhapsleading text on methods in sociology. Most recent edition contains material on web-surveysand web-based experiments.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area