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Faith Mullen The Catholic University of America

The Plural of Anecdote is not Data: Teaching Law Students to Conduct Empirical Research on Behalf of Community Partners. Faith Mullen The Catholic University of America. It would be dreadful . . . if it were true. The request The rebuttal The research* *see note pages.

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Faith Mullen The Catholic University of America

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  1. The Plural of Anecdote is not Data: Teaching Law Students to Conduct Empirical Research on Behalf of Community Partners Faith Mullen The Catholic University of America

  2. It would be dreadful . . . if it were true • The request • The rebuttal • The research* *see note pages

  3. Good reasons to teach research to law students: • Give students new tools for problem solving • Help students become better consumers of data • Strengthen community partnerships • Good class, clinic, independent study, or pro bono project • Promote change • Teach policy* *see note

  4. Right now: Select a topicIt would be dreadful, if it were true • A law, regulation, or policy is not followed • A rule has a harsh effect on one person or group • Someone fails to meet an obligation • A need goes unmet

  5. The Most Important Thing • Find the “right-sized” research project

  6. Questions to ask: • Who knows what? • Statutes and regulations • Published reports • Literature reviews • Informational interviews

  7. Questions to ask: • Can you get your hands on the data? • Does it exist? • Can you have it? • Is there an easier way to get it?

  8. Questions to ask: • Are there any hoops to jump through? Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Institutional Review Board (IRB)* *see note pages

  9. Questions to ask: • How many students will work on the project? • What background do they need to have? • Will they all have the same role? • Should you name a student as project manager?

  10. Questions to ask: • How much time do you have? • Academic calendar • How long it will take • The needs of community partners • The shelf-life of the topic

  11. Things to think about: • Choose your methodology • Quantitative or Qualitative?* • Can it be counted? • “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” - William Bruce Cameron (sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein • * see notes *see notes

  12. Things to think about: • Two key concepts • Reliability (reproducibility) • Validity (measure reflects the underlying concept)

  13. Things to think about: • Surveys will be trouble • Don’t use surveys when “revealed preferences” are available • Craft questions carefully • How you ask question is as important as what you ask • Think about tomorrow when you draft questions today • Limit the number of questions • Limit open-ended questions • Ask for help

  14. Things to think about: • Reporting your results • Formal or informal? • Find a format • Brand your product • Create an executive summary

  15. Things to think about: • Research is dynamic • Not like baking • Make explicit choices • If data not adding up, stop and reevaluate

  16. Things to think about: • Keep moving parts to a minimum • Variables • Sources of data • Scope of research • Stakeholders

  17. Things to think about: • Learn from my mistakes • Write up methodology as you go • Conduct a pre-test (but exclude results) • Be at peace with making choices (just be transparent) • Practice with students how to conduct research • Realize it will take longer than you think

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