The Mathematical Analysis of Supreme Court Decisions
The Use and Abuse of Quantitative Methods
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3231857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Franklin M Fisher (Harvard University Press, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1958 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 321-338 |
| Publication date | 1958-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1952319 |
| OpenAlex | W2172245559 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 6 |
In the last decade, more and more political scientists have speculated on the possible applications of mathematical analysis to political phenomena. It is the position of this paper that such discussion, when in the abstract, serves little purpose, for the question of whether or not quantitative techniques can fruitfully be so applied is essentially an empirical one and can only be resolved by experiment. Yet even a specifically experimental approach becomes challengeable if it can be shown to misunderstand and hence misemploy otherwise sound techniques. The claim to have solved problems whose mathematical features have not, in fact, been comprehended seems especially harmful in a field where the application of mathematics is as yet in its infancy, and this not only because minor impurities at the base of a growing framework may assume major proportions at its apex, but because exposure of error may breed unjustified disenchantment or give solace to those who prefer a casual, imprecise impressionism in the social sciences
Casual · Disenchantment · Economics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · Positive economics · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Mathematics
How Economists Entered the ‘Numbers Game’
The methodology of judicial behavior research
What's Law Got to Do with It? Judicial Behavioralists Test the “Legal Model” of Judicial Decision Making
Some Problems in Validation of Mathematical and Stochastic Models of Political Phenomena
Behavioral Research In Public Law
Predicting Supreme Court Cases Probabilistically
On the Nature of Supreme Court Decision Making
The Study of Judicial Decision-Making as an Aspect of Political Behavior
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 1958 - 2020 (63) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |