Where are the numbers? Challenging the barriers to quantitative socio-legal scholarship in the UK

Cahill-O'Callaghan, Rachel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-4578 and Mulcahy, Linda 2022. Where are the numbers? Challenging the barriers to quantitative socio-legal scholarship in the UK. Journal of Law and Society 49 (s1) , s105-s118. 10.1111/jols.12376

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Abstract

UK legal scholars rarely adopt a quantitative approach to address socio-legal questions. Reasons for this are typically grounded in the nature of general education, legal education, and research training. In this paper, we argue that an intellectual debate on capacity building needs to consider the conditions which have limited the production of quantitative work both within and beyond our discipline. This paper draws on an empirical analysis of published socio-legal papers to understand the nature of quantitative scholarship and evidence a burgeoning of work which reflects a flexible approach to data collection and analysis. Moving beyond the tribalism often associated with the qualitative-quantitative divide, we draw attention to the shift away from understandings of quantitative work as hypothesis testing to those that are accepting of the importance of critical reflection and exploration of nuance. It is hoped that the paper will prompt further discussion about capacity building to develop and sustain good quality quantitative socio-legal scholarship in the UK.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1467-6478
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 May 2022
Date of Acceptance:	29 April 2022
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2024 02:08
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/149811

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