lecture 3 Flashcards
Sociological questions about law:
- What is the impact of law on society?
- How does society influence the law?
- How do legal institutions function?
- How do people use the law?
The empirical research cycle
- Empirical research starts with a question
(research problem). - What does the relevant literature indicate about this problem; to which theory or
conceptual framework can it be linked; elaboration of the research questions; formulation of hypotheses. - Operationalisation of the research questions; what data are needed to answer them; choice of data collection methods. -> data design
- Data collection.
- Analysis of the data: answering the research questions; theoretical interpretation of the results; comparison with earlier research.
- Reporting the results.
- Then the cycle may start again
Why is it important to have a theory in the social sciences?
It can help you find a question and hypothesis. It is usually to explain or predict etc
good theories also make predictions, not only explain known facts
- To help you decide what data you need.
- As a framework for the analysis and
- interpretation of your results.
- Scientific progress
Scientific theories are testable. If new research results are not compatible with a theory, the theory is refined or rejected
Quantitive and qualitative methods
Quantitive tend to count and qualitative tend to be about interpretation and why and how.
- doesn’t mean that one is better than the other
If you would want to do a very big survey, if you want to do it in a quantitive way, you need answering options
Difficulties in researching interest group influence in the EU
➢ how to define ‘power’ or ‘influence’
➢ how to account for different pathways to influence (access, selection, voice, structural coercion)
➢ how to measure ‘influence’
What is the central research question of Michalowitz’ paper?
How much and what kind of interest groups influence the European level.
How does Michalowitz define and measure ‘influence’ and what factors does she take into consideration?
There are different factors which determine how much influence a group has.
- Influence: is the ability to persuade decision-makers to change their initial position, rather than forcing them, shaping policy outcomes through negotiation and advocacy
Are interviews an adequate method?
They can be useful to get a general gage, but should be complemented. For this topic this would probably be difficult though.
What conclusions does Michalowitz draw?
Some actors do influence, but the influence isn’t as big as it could be. There are different factors: when conditions are favorabel, unlikely when it tries to change something fundamental rather than something small.
Which method (s) does Chalmers use to collect empirical data to answer his research question?
He used 900 letters and used that to measure conflict in the industry. He used a document analysis and he also did something else in addition to the documents. He also did 48 interviews, with financial interest group in Brussels and London.
Michalowitz on power and influence
Max Weber’s definition of power = the ability of an actor to force another actor, even against their own will, to pursue a certain course of action.
Influence = a weaker form of power. An actor is being persuaded to pursue a certain course of action, even if they initially did not wish to do so
Chalmers on power and influence -> lobbying succes
lobbying succes = the extent to which an interest group’s policy demands are reflected in policy outcomes; the degree to which the legislative outcome for an issue “matches” lobbying demands for the same issue
Data collection methods in socio-legal research: four basic methods
- Experiments ➞ where a researcher controls the settings
- Survey, interviews ➞ you are asking people questions. These can be structured or open.
- structured/ semi-structured/ open
- face-to-face/ phone/ email or online (questionnaire
filled out by respondent)
- (Participant) observation
- Secondary data analysis ➞ using existing materials and analysing them (all types of documents or files)
Data collection methods: advantages and limitations
If you’re asked to use a particular method, there is no such thing as a best method. Depends on the research. Often times people use multiple methods (triangulation)
- Each method can be applied in qualitative as well as quantitative
research
Assessing statistical data and analyses
A statistical correlation ≠ a causal relationship
- there could be another factor or variable at work
- statistics do not speak for themselves, and must be interpreted
Two studies on the influence of interest groups on European regulations
The articles are quite similar because they are on the same topic. Both of them want to explain why sometimes influence is successful and sometimes it isn’t
- they have different designes and different definitions of influence
sometimes influence is keeping something off the agenda
Michalowitz:She sees influence as a weaker form of power
Power = the ability of an actor to force another actor, even gaignst their own will, to pursue a certain of action
Influence = a weaker form of power. An actor is being pursuaded
Chalmers:
Lobbying is successful if organisations get what they want
What is the central research question of Chalmers’ paper?
How does industry unity impact lobbying success in the context of European Commission public consultations?
Which concepts and theoretical ideas does Chalmers use? For example, how does he define and measure ‘lobbying success’, and what factor(s) does he take into consideration?
Lobbying Success: Chalmers defines lobbying success as the ability of interest groups to have their preferences reflected in policy outcomes. It is measured as a binary variable—successful (1) or unsuccessful (0)—based on whether the lobbying demand was incorporated in the regulation.
- Industry Unity: He conceptualizes unity as the alignment of industry actors with their associations, which can be reflected through various strategies like Alignment, Delegation, and Control.
- Opposition: When firms lobby in direct conflict with their associations, which negatively correlates with success
how would you investigate the influence of the tobacco industry on rules relating to the trade, sale and promotion of tobacco products?
this is lobbying influence
which method?
- analysis of existing sources of data
- also perhaps using multiple methods, like doing interviews on top of this
