DOTPV_EMP2 DTPV_EMP2 Emipirical Legal Studies II

Faculty of Law
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
JUDr. Bc. Terezie Smejkalová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
JUDr. Bc. Terezie Smejkalová, Ph.D.
Contact Person: Tereza Buchalová
Prerequisites
DTPV_EMP1 Emipirical Legal Studies I
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The aim of this course is twofold:
1. Students should familiarise themselves with current trends in empirical jurisprudence; consequently, they will
2. study the relevant methodological approaches to be used in their doctoral theses.

This course is not meant to double up as a methodological course; we shall focus on the study and critical analysis of various interdisciplinary approaches in law that make use of empirical research. Nevertheless, this course is directed at helping the students think through the design of an empirical research project.
Learning outcomes
After finishing this course, students will
- have basic knowledge of the current trends in empirical legal research,
- be able to critically read the methodology sections of relevant texts,
- be able to either choose a suitable methodological approach to their own doctoral theses, or explain why would such an approach be inappropriate.
Syllabus
  • This part of the Empirical Legal Studies course will focus on quantitative research. Current trends in so-called experimental jurisprudence are predominantly quantitative and begin to address oft-repeated clichés in the law: whether it is, for example, the question of judicial lawyering, decision-making, or conceptualization.
  • We will look at what is currently happening in the world as well as in the  Czech legal academic environment.
  • 1. Research based on big data (network analysis)
  • 2. Attitudes, representations, conceptualizations
  • 3. Decision making, bias, intuition Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Literature
  • Další literatura bude zadávána dle dohody se studenty.
  • Metody výzkumu ve společenských vědách. Edited by Hedvika Novotná - Ondřej Špaček - Magdaléna Šťovíčková. Vydání první. Praha: FHS UK, 2019, 495 stran. ISBN 9788075710253. info
  • The Oxford handbook of empirical legal research. Edited by Peter Cane - Herbert M. Kritzer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, xv, 1094. ISBN 9780199659944. info
Teaching methods
text analysis, class discussions
Assessment methods
- active class participation,
- written essay
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/spring2025/DOTPV_EMP2