The Empirical Research Law Librarian. Part 1: Making the Case and Filling the Role

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade, the Reference Department of the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School has seen an increase in requests for assistance with data collection and empirical analysis. These requests have become progressively more sophisticated and technical while our patrons have become more knowledgeable and skilled. Until recently, when a student or faculty member expressed interest in gathering data and engaging in empirical research, the reference librarians would guide the researcher to appropriate places, such as the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics or TracFed or ICPSR data portal, and then send the researcher to the Yale University StatLab' for additional research assistance and support. Alternatively, members of our faculty who were trained and experienced empiricists often hired a team of research assistants capable of working with the data once they had found it.