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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Institute for Social Research (ISR) - University of Michigan @umisr.bsky.social · Jul 16

Now on Bluesky: University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR)! We’re a leading social science research institution, with studies on politics, health, inequality, and economic behavior. Follow for research highlights, behind-the-scenes looks, and insights from our scholars!

#Science

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 25

The research provides important insights into criminal adjudications in the U.S. and includes "expanding, testing, and disseminating novel plea-simulation software designed for both research and educational purposes."
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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 25

File this under "cool research" . . . In 2019, the NSF funded Wilford's CAREER grant "A system of pleas: Using a role-playing simulation to test plea decision models."
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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 20

Current SCDB flat data files (along with lots more info on the SCDB) are here: scdb.la.psu.edu

Online queryable data--one of my personal favorite features of the modern SCBD--are available through 2023 here: scdb.wustl.edu/analysis.php

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Home | Supreme Court Database

The Supreme Court Database is the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of informat...

scdb.la.psu.edu

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 20

The SCDB contains 247 pieces of info across 6 categories of variables: identifiers, background, chronological, substantive, outcome, and voting/opinion.

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 20

The database "is a comprehensive, public, multi-user data resource containing information about every case decided by the United States Supreme Court from its first decision in 1791 to today."

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 20

After a little STL tornado delay...let's get back to highlighting some great NSF-sponsored projects.

Today's highlight has significant STL connections and has made multiple generations of scholarship (and journalism and teaching) better: The U.S. Supreme Court Database (SCDB)

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 15

Today's NSF Funding Highlight: The many dissertation improvement grants (and equivalents) funded by the NSF. These grants are small in size but help launch research agendas & careers. These awards=a better dissertation in scope and design. #LowCostHighImpact

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 15

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 14

The really great news? Avraham continues to update the database today! See papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... and links within.

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Database of State Tort Law Reforms (7.1)

This manuscript of the DSTLR (7th) updates the DSTLR (6th) and contains the most detailed, complete and comprehensive legal dataset of the most prevalent tort r

papers.ssrn.com

Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 14

The data have been frequently used and cited, with an impact that extends from scholars to policymakers to journalists. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 14

The data record things like details on the reform, whether juries are allowed to be informed of it, how state courts responded to the reform, and whether it was amended by the state legislature. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 14

Today's NSF Funding Highlight: In 2006, state tort reform was hugely salient, and that continues to endure. Avraham's "Database of State Tort Law Reforms" yielded a state-by-state database tracking state and DC laws. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

Users of the manual include judges (federal and state) but also attorneys, legal scholars, and law students (and likely many more). 4/4 #LowCostHighImpact

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

Coverage includes important but highly technical topics like DNA identification and genetic testing, expert testimony, statistical models, survey research, economic damages calculation, toxicology, and more. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

This project brings together a "committee of 10-12 members representing...legal and scientific/ engineering/ medical communities" to partner with the Federal Judicial Center to develop an updated "science for judges" manual. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

Today's NSF Funded Research Highlight: 2021's "Science for Judges-Development of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 4th Ed." by Mazza. Scientific evidence is everywhere in courts today. NSF funding of scientific evidence evaluation improves court processes & outcomes. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

The project uses jury simulations to "examine jurors' and juries' sensitivity to strong versus weak scientific information presented in court" and whether safeguards can improve jurors' inferences from scientific information. 3/3

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

As the investigators note, jurors are "non-experts who do not possess the necessary tools to differentiate between weak and strong scientific information when making decisions." 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

NSF Funded Research Highlight of the Day: 2017's "Jurors' Use of Scientific Information" by Neal, Gervais, & Schweitzer. The project "addresses fundamental Qs about how humans reason w/ & make inferences & decisions based on the quality of relevant scientific data" w/ jurors. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

I'll feature recent & older grants. Some by people I know, some by folks I have never met. I will start in the law & science area but over time may veer beyond that. I'll use data on grants archived by the NSF, w/ titles, names, and abstracts sourced from there. 4/4

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

The projects yield publicly-available datasets that go on to serve as the backbone for books & articles & introduce students & policymakers to powerful new ways to think in depth about judges, lawyers, litigants, defendants, policies, & more. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

These funded projects are/were often low cost & high impact, tackling significant legal research Qs that help to better society, shape future practices & processes in courts, inform us on public opinion & policy effectiveness, & impact litigants. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · May 12

In the small way that I can--via posts on here in the coming weeks--I want to highlight/celebrate some important NSF-funded projects (& resulting societal knowledge) over the years. 1/

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Valerie Hans @jurygirl.bsky.social · May 10

Useful thread about the restructuring of NSF. Expertise out. Political priorities in. Our science will suffer.

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · May 10

1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.

NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring

Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff

www.science.org

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