Darla Jackson, Head of Reference and Access Services at the OCU Law Library, will coordinate and moderate a program titled: Understanding the Mean: How the Average Law Librarian Can Encourage Empirical Research Initiatives. The program will be presented at the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Annual Meeting. The program description is included below:
The U.S. Supreme Court has long acknowledged the usefulness of information produced by social science research methods. In 2003, the Supreme Court cited statistical evidence in two cases. Recognizing the persuasive power of research concluded through empirical methods, court, firm and academic librarians are now contemplating how they can add value to the empirical research process. This program will provide an introduction to empirical research methods and assist librarians in understanding how two academic law libraries and a law and legal studies librarian at an academic library have supported empirical legal research initiatives. Speakers will discuss their experiences in supporting empirical legal research initiatives and provide advice on the types of support “average” law librarians can provide. Speakers will also suggest avenues for law librarians to develop a greater familiarity with
empirical research methods.
