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Scaling up research on family justice using large-scale administrative data: an invitation to the socio-legal community

Karen Broadhurst, Linda Cusworth, Judith Harwin, Bachar Alrouh, Stuart Bedston, Liz Trinder, Kerina Jones Orcid Logo, David Ford Orcid Logo, Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo

Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, Volume: 43, Issue: 3, Pages: 237 - 255

Swansea University Authors: Kerina Jones Orcid Logo, David Ford Orcid Logo, Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo

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Abstract

This article outlines the value of administrative data for family justice research. Although socio-legal scholars have extended their research beyond purely theoretical or doctrinal analyses, studies using large-scale digital datasets remain few in number. As new opportunities arise to link large-sc...

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Published in: Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
ISSN: 0964-9069 1469-9621
Published: Informa UK Limited 2021
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa58142
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Abstract: This article outlines the value of administrative data for family justice research. Although socio-legal scholars have extended their research beyond purely theoretical or doctrinal analyses, studies using large-scale digital datasets remain few in number. As new opportunities arise to link large-scale administrative datasets across health, education, welfare and justice, it is vital that the community of family justice researchers and analysts are supported to deliver research based on entire service or family court populations. In this context, this article provides a definition of administrative data, before outlining the potential of single, linked or blended administrative data sets for family justice research. The remaining sections of the article speak to questions that are pertinent to this particular academic community, including the distinctive contribution of the socio-legal scholar to interdisciplinary teams and the place of data providers in collaborative research. Drawing on the sociological concept of ‘publics’, the final section considers the multiple interest groups whose social licence must be secured, when personal records are used to understand the relationship between law and family life.
Keywords: Administrative data; justice; socio-legal; theory; digital records
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Funders: Nuffield Foundation: grant number FJO/43,766
Issue: 3
Start Page: 237
End Page: 255