How to carry out interdisciplinary legal research<br>Some experiences with an interdisciplinary research method

Authors

  • Wendy Schrama Utrecht University School of Law

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18352/ulr.152

Keywords:

interdisciplinary research, legal methodology, empirical data, family law

Abstract

Interdisciplinary legal research, in which non-legal data are combined with legal data, is a fairly new branch of legal scholarship in the Netherlands. Although it improves the possibilities to measure the effectiveness of legal instruments, it also raises numerous methodological questions, such as a lack of matching empirical data and the translation of legal concepts in socio-empirical terms. Both the pros and cons of the interdisciplinary research method will be addressed and illustrated on the basis of family law research which incorporates socio-empirical data. There are, however, no simple solutions to the pitfalls, but to create awareness of the potential problems may contribute to a better research design and, in the end, to better results.

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Published

2011-01-27

Issue

Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2011

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2011 The Author(s)

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