Politics of coding: on systematic content analysis of legal text

Book section

Legal scholarship and practice are predominately based on the case analysis method. The law is articulated based on limited "leading" cases, identified by judges or researchers having a bound of authority. This chapter presents a different approach, known as systematic content analysis of legal text (SCA). Shifting the focus away from leading cases towards the day-to-day application of the law, SCA attempts to brings the rigour of social science to the study of law. It represents a sought for transformation from an authority - to a scientific-based methodology and invites investigations into underreported legal, economic, and political effects of rules and the decision-making process. The chapter explores the epistemological roots of SCA, points to its power in exposing politics, as well as the limitation placed on it by politics. It draws attention to the role it may play in the future of legal research and practice, especially in Europe.

Authors: Brook, OB

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Host title: The Politics of European Legal: Research Behind the Method
• Pages: 109-123
• Chapter number: 8
• Series: Elgar Studies in Legal Research Methods
• Place of publication: Cheltenham
• Publication date: 2022-04-12
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.4337/9781802201192.00015
• EISBN: 9781802201192
• ISBN: 9781802201185
• Language: English
• Keywords: systematic content analysis; empirical legal studies; case analysis method; legal realism; quantitative research methods; qualitative research methods