Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T08:38:22.217Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Humility is a Virtue: On the Publicization of Policy-Relevant Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Richard Lempert
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In their paper in this issue Sherman and Cohn (1989) respond to arguments I made in this journal about when research is ripe for publicity. This paper continues the conversation by pointing out that policy-relevant research may be publicized at three levels: (1) in professional journals, (2) directly to those practitioners whose practice decisions might be informed by the research results, and (3) through the mass media. I then argue that the reliability of the results, the ability to communicate main findings precisely, and the likely effects of publicity are keys to responsible publicization at all levels. In weighing these factors researchers must regulate themselves, but to guide them the law and society community should seek to develop professional norms. I comment on some of the considerations that should guide such norms, using the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment and the publicity it received as an example.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , 1989 , pp. 145 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 The Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

I would like to thank Shari Diamond for her editorial suggestions.

References

BLACK, Donald (1972) “The Boundaries of Legal Sociology,” 81 Yale Law Journal 1086.Google Scholar
GOODMAN, Ellen (1983) “Using ‘Muscle’ Against Wife Beaters,” Washington Post (April 19).Google Scholar
LEMPERT, Richard O. (1984) “From the Editor,” 18 Law & Society Review 505.Google Scholar
LEMPERT, Richard O. (1987) in Lempert, R. O. and Visher, C. A. (eds.), “Randomized Field Experiments in Criminal Justice Agencies: Workshop Proceedings,” Presented to the National Institute of Justice, National Research Council, (August) pp. 174–187.Google Scholar
SHERMAN, Lawrence W., and Richard A., BERK (1984a) “The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment,” April, Police Foundation Reports.Google Scholar
SHERMAN, Lawrence W. (1984b) “The Specific Deterrent Effects of Arrest for Domestic Assault,” 49 American Sociological Review 261.Google Scholar
SHERMAN, Lawrence W., and Ellen G., COHN (1989) “The Impact of Research on Legal Policy: The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment,” 23 Law & Society Review 117.Google Scholar
SHERMAN, Lawrence W., with Earl, HAMILTON (1984) “The Impact of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment: Wave I Findings;” Presented to the Police Foundation (April).Google Scholar