Skip to main content
Admissions Academics Faculty & Research Our Community Facilities & Resources Law Library News & Events  
Faculty
Profiles		 Faculty
Publications		 Teaching
Awards		 Faculty
Committees		 Faculty
Recruitment		 Faculty
Chairs		 Programs
and Centers		 Faculty
Conferences		   Faculty
Policies		  

Empirical Scholarship Workshop

Empirical Scholarship Workshop


Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship Workshop
May 20 - 22, 2009
Presented by Northwestern University School of Law and Washington University

The Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship workshop is for law school faculty interested in learning about empirical research. Leading empirical scholars Lee Epstein and Andrew Martin will teach the workshop, which provides the formal training necessary to design, conduct, and assess empirical studies, and to use statistical software (Stata) to analyze and manage data. Participants need no background or knowledge of statistics to enroll in the workshop.

Conference Faculty
Lee Epstein, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor at Northwestern University, is a leading empirical legal scholar and a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and American Academy of Arts and Science. She has co-organized and co-led this annual empirical scholarship workshop for the past six years. Professor Epstein has received 10 grants from the National Science Foundation for her work on judicial politics and has also authored, co-authored, or edited more than 100 articles and essays, as well as 14 books. Her empirical research focuses on U.S. Supreme Court, as well as constitutional courts abroad.

Andrew D. Martin, Professor of Law and Political Science, and Director of the Center for Empirical Research in the Law at Washington University, specializes in political methodology and has written widely on American political institutions, including the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals. He has co-organized and co-taught the empirical scholarship workshop with Professor Epstein for the last six years. Professor Martin has received grants from the National Science Foundation for his work on the U.S. Supreme Court, and his research has appeared in a number of outlets, including the Journal of Legal Studies; Journal of  Law, Economics, and Organization; California Law Review; Columbia Law Review; North Carolina Law Review; and other law reviews as well as leading social science and applied statistics journals.

Registration
Tuition for the Empirical Scholarship Workshop is $850, which includes all session materials, temporary access to statistical software (STATA), two lunches, three continental breakfasts, and one evening reception. You will need a laptop for this workshop. A check for $850 made payable to Northwestern University must be included with the registration form. Registration and payment should be received by May 8, 2009.
Download Registration Form (pdf)

Cancellation Policy
Full refunds for cancellation of attendance to the Empirical Scholarship Workshop will be made for all written cancellation received before 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15. No refunds will be given for any cancellations received after Monday, May 15.

Accommodations
Special hotel rates for workshop participants are available at the Avenue Hotel in Downtown Chicago, 160 East Huron Street, a short walk form the Law School. We have reserved a block of rooms at a rate of $155 plus tax per night. Contact the Avenue Hotel at (312) 787-2900 to make reservations. To obtain the workshop rates, identify yourself as a participant at the Northwestern University School of Law Empirical Workshop.  In order to receive this special rate you must book your room by April 20, 2009. 

If you chose to book your room online please visit:
http://reservations.ihotelier.com/crs/g_reservation.cfm?groupID=291348&hotelid=15184

Schedule
All sessions, meals, and receptions will be presented at Northwestern University School of Law, 357 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago.

Check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 20. Classes are in session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 20 and May 21 with a one-hour break for lunch (provided) and brief mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks each day. Class will end at 2 p.m. on May 22 to allow participants to head to the airport to catch flights.

WEDNESDAY, May 20
Group Discussion
Sunstein, Schkade & Ellman, Ideological Voting on Federal Courts of Appeals: A Preliminary Investigation

Lecture Topics

  • Research Design
  • Theory to Observable Implications
  • Collecting Data
  • Sampling Issues
  • Measurement
  • Database Management
  • Statistical Software (Stata)

Homework
Coding exercise

A cocktail reception will take place following class.

THURSDAY, May 21
Group Discussion
Coding exercise

Lecture Topics

  • Data Analysis
  • Sampling
  • Statistical Inference
  • Descriptive Statistics
  • Cross-Tabulations
  • Hypothesis Testing

Small Group Exercises

  • Basic Database Manipulation
  • Generating Descriptive Statistics
  • Significance Testing


FRIDAY, May 22
Lecture Topics

  • Simple Linear Regressions
  • Inference from Linear Regression
  • Statistical Control

Small Group Exercises
Bivariate Regression Analysis

Lecture Topics

  • Multiple Regressions
  • Logit/Probit
  • Displaying Data
  • Miscellaneous Statistical Topics (based on student interest)Question and Answer Session

Question and Answer Session

 

RECENT CONFERENCE
Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship Workshop • June 23-25, 2008
Presented by Northwestern University School of Law and Washington University

The Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship workshop is for law school faculty interested in learning about empirical research. Leading empirical scholars Lee Epstein and Andrew Martin will teach the workshop, which provides the formal training necessary to design, conduct, and assess empirical studies, and to use statistical software (Stata) to analyze and manage data. Participants need no background or knowledge of statistics to enroll in the workshop.

Conference Faculty
Lee Epstein, Beatrice Kuhn Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, is a leading empirical legal scholar and a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and the American Academy of Arts and Science. She has co-organized and co-led this annual empirical scholarship workshop for the past six years. Professor Epstein has received 10 grants from the National Science Foundation for her work on judicial politics and has also authored, co-authored, or edited more than 70 articles and essays, as well as 13 books. Her empirical research focuses on U.S. Supreme Court, as well as constitutional courts abroad.

Andrew D. Martin, Professor of Law and Political Science, and Director of the Center for Empirical Research in the Law at Washington University, specializes in political methodology and has written widely on American political institutions, including the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals. He has co-organized and co-taught the empirical scholarship workshop with Professor Epstein for the last six years. Professor Martin has received grants from the National Science Foundation for his work on the U.S. Supreme Court, and his research has appeared in a number of outlets, including the Journal of Legal Studies; Journal of  Law, Economics, and Organization; California Law Review; Columbia Law Review; North Carolina Law Review; and other law reviews as well as leading social science and applied statistics journals.

Registration
Tuition for the Empirical Scholarship Workshop is $850, which includes all session materials, temporary access to statistical software (STATA), two lunches, three continental breakfasts, and one evening reception. You will need a laptop for this workshop. A check for $850 made payable to Northwestern University must be included with the registration form. Registration and payment should be received by June 2, 2008.

Download Registration Form (pdf)

Cancellation Policy
Full refunds for cancellation of attendance to the Empirical Scholarship Workshop will be made for all written cancellation received before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13. No refunds will be given for any cancellations received after Monday, June 16.

Accommodations
Special hotel rates for workshop participants are available at the Hotel Cass in downtown Chicago, 640 N. Wabash Avenue, a short walk from the Law School. We have reserved a block of rooms at a rate of $259 + tax per night. Partcipants must make reservations by Wednesday, June 4 to receive the special rate. They can make reservations one of two ways:

By phone:

  • Call 800.799.4030 and ask to speak with a reservations agent
  • Mention group code EL6 to receive the group rate
  • State arrival and departure dates, number of rooms, and number of guests

Online:

  • Go to www.hotelcass.com and click on "Reservations"
  • On the Reservations page, click the link and a new window will open
  • Enter travel dates and traveler information
  • Click (+) sign for "Corporate, Group, and IATA Identification"
  • Enter group booking code EL6 to receive the group rate
  • Click "Check Availability"
  • A section with the group name "Empirical Legal Scholarship" with the group rate should appear. Click "reserve" and proceed with the reservation.

Schedule
All sessions, meals, and receptions will be presented at Northwestern University School of Law, 357 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago.

Check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 23. Classes are in session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 23 and 24 with a one-hour break for lunch (provided) and brief mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks each day. Classes will end at 2 p.m. on June 25 to allow participants to head to the airport to catch flights.

MONDAY, JUNE 23

Group Discussion
Sunstein, Schkade & Ellman, Ideological Voting on Federal Courts of Appeals: A Preliminary Investigation

Lecture Topics

  • Research Design
  • Theory to Observable Implications
  • Collecting Data
  • Sampling Issues
  • Measurement
  • Database Management
  • Statistical Software (Stata)

Homework
Coding exercise

A cocktail reception will take place following class.

TUESDAY, JUNE 24

Group Discussion
Coding exercise

Lecture Topics

  • Data Analysis
  • Sampling
  • Statistical Inference
  • Descriptive Statistics
  • Cross-Tabulations
  • Hypothesis Testing

Small Group Exercises

  • Basic Database Manipulation
  • Generating Descriptive Statistics
  • Significance Testing

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25

Lecture Topics

  • Simple Linear Regressions
  • Inference from Linear Regression
  • Statistical Control

Small Group Exercises
Bivariate Regression Analysis

Lecture Topics

  • Multiple Regressions
  • Logit/Probit
  • Displaying Data
  • Miscellaneous Statistical Topics (based on student interest)

Question and Answer Session

 

 
Esqwire EsqwireStudent Blackboard Registration Webmail Jobs at Northwestern Law Directories Contact Us Site Map Law Home