Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
9-2025
ISBN
9781035316465
DOI
10.4337/9781035316472.00013
Abstract
Researchers employ various empirical methods to provide insights into contractual legal issues. For instance, systematic content analysis has been used to examine the terms of contracts or court judgments in contractual disputes. This approach, though different from doctrinal methods, enhances our understanding of legal content. Surveys and experimental methods, on the other hand, provide evidence on people's perceptions of contract terms or contractual behavior such as consent, misrepresentation, or breach. The findings from these studies inform contract law theories, which are based on assumptions about behavior in contractual relationships. Empirical studies also strengthen arguments in normative research by providing evidence on the effectiveness of contract law. This chapter provides an overview of these empirical methods, including both traditional as well as the most recent approaches. It not only introduces these methods but also discusses their limitations and advantages.
First Page
136
Last Page
157
Num Pages
22
Series
Elgar Studies in Legal Research Methods
Publisher
Edward Elgar Publishing
Rights
This is an open access work distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Editor
Yuliya Chernykh & Joshua Karton
Book Title
Research Methods for Contract Law and Scholarship
Recommended Citation
Monika Leszczynska,
Empirical methods in contract law,
in
Research Methods for Contract Law and Scholarship
136
(Yuliya Chernykh & Joshua Karton eds., 2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/2307