When law and data collide: the methodological challenge of conducting mixed methods research in law
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Author | ALYSIA BLACKHAM |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12373 |
DOI: ./j ols.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
When law and data collide: the methodological
challenge of conducting mixed methods
research in law
ALYSIA BLACKHAM
Melbourne Law School, The University of
Melbourne, Victoria , Australia
Correspondence
Alysia Blackham, Melbourne Law School,
The University of Melbourne, Victoria
, Australia
Email: alysia.blackham@unimelb.edu.au
Funding information
Australian Research Council,
Grant/AwardNumber: DE
Abstract
A 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 meth-
ods 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 underuti-
lized. 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.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, providedthe original work is properly cited.
© The Authors. Journalof Law and Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cardiff University (CU).
J. Law Soc. ;(Suppl. ):S–S. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jols S87
S88 J L S
1 INTRODUCTION
Mixed methods research designs (‘mixed methods’) integrate both qualitative and quantitative
research methods to understand a research problem. Mixed methods studies seek to make use
of the different strengths and advantages of qualitative and quantitative research approaches,
arguably increasing research validityand enriching our understanding of legal phenomena.In
theory, then, mixed methods studies offer substantial advantages over single- or multi-method
studies,having the potential to enhance socio-legal scholarship and advance our knowledge of
law in practice, and enabling more nuanced understanding of complex and multifaceted issues.
As Bryman argues, ‘[b]ringing quantitative and qualitative findings together has the potential to
offer insights that could not otherwise be gleaned’.
In practice, though, these advantages are less clear cut. As developed in Part , mixed methods
methodology has been mired for years in a series of ‘paradigm wars’, cutting to the very heart of
the rationale for adopting a mixed methods research design and questioning the suitability and
appropriateness of using mixed methods. These debatesengage deep- seatedunderstandings about
the very nature of qualitative and quantitative data. While mixed methods scholars havearguably
achieved a form of paradigm ‘peace’, the legacy of years of turbulence and disagreement is the
limited methodological development of mixed methods scholarship. As a field, mixed methods
research is continuously evolving and changing; so, too, is its methodological dynamic. Socio-
legal scholarship can therefore play a key role in challenging and advancing the way in which
other disciplines think about mixed methods.
This article considers dual challenges at the interface of empirical legal scholarship and mixed
methods research methodology.First, it examines how mixed methods might offer a methodolog-
ical challenge to socio-legal scholarship, posing an invitation for legal scholars to engage with –
and meaningfully integrate – both qualitative and quantitative methods. Second, it contemplates
how the field of socio-legal scholarship might challenge or advance mixed methods methodology,
including through a renewed focus on qualitative methods, improved dialogue between methods,
and an emphasis on the practical ‘messiness’ of quantitative data.
In Part , I consider the theoretical potential and benefits of mixed methods research for
examining legal questions, before investigating how legal scholars have deployed mixed meth-
ods research designs in practice (Part ), focusing on a case study of articles published in the
Journal of Law and Society (JLS), the flagship British periodical for socio-legal studies. In Part ,
drawing on a comparative, multi-year mixed methods research study of the enforcement of age
discrimination law in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia, I tease out thepractical limits and
problems that may occur in legal mixed methods studies, to emphasize the practical messiness of
M. Q. Patton,Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (, nd edn) .
J. Kirk and M. L. Miller,Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research () .
J. C. Greene et al., ‘Toward a Conceptual Framework for Mixed-Method Evaluation Designs’ () Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis , at .
Multi-method studies combine two or more qualitative methods or two or more quantitative methods: J. W.Creswell
and V.L. Plano Clark, Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research () ; A. R. Poteete et al., Working Together:
Collective Action, the Commons, and Multiple Methods in Practice () .
L. B.Nielsen, ‘ The Need for Multi-Method Approachesin Empirical Legal Research’ in The Oxford Handbook of Empirical
Legal Research, eds P.Cane and H. M. Kritzer () .
A. Bryman, ‘Barriers to Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research’ () J.of Mixed Methods Research , at .
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