When law and data collide: the methodological challenge of conducting mixed methods research in law

Abstract

AbstractA mixed methods research methodology – one that integrates both qualitative and quantitative research methods – theoretically offers substantial advantages for empirical legal scholarship. I argue that mixed methods represent both a challenge to socio‐legal scholarship and an invitation to re‐evaluate our approach to socio‐legal research; indeed, mixed methods are well aligned with the inclusive and eclectic nature of the field. At present, though, these opportunities appear underutilized. This article considers how socio‐legal scholarship might advance mixed methods methodology through a renewed focus on qualitative methods, improved dialogue between methods, and an emphasis on the practical ‘messiness’ of quantitative data. Drawing on an empirical mixed methods study of the enforcement of age discrimination law, I illustrate how legal data pose their own challenges to the methodologies of quantitatively‐oriented mixed methods researchers.