Research Methods in Labour Law

Hardback

Research Methods in Labour Law

A Handbook

9781803925240 Edward Elgar Publishing
Edited by Alysia Blackham and Sean Cooney, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Publication Date: August 2024 ISBN: 978 1 80392 524 0 Extent: c 444 pp
This Handbook provides an accessible overview of the different methods, approaches and theories which can be used to enrich labour law research. Drawing on cutting-edge research projects, leading scholars present insights and reflections on the past, present and future of labour law scholarship.

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This Handbook provides an accessible overview of the different methods, approaches and theories which can be used to enrich labour law research. Drawing on cutting-edge research projects, leading scholars present insights and reflections on the past, present and future of labour law scholarship.

Canvassing theory, as well as legal, qualitative and quantitative methods, this engaging Handbook draws on international perspectives to explore how labour law research methods vary across jurisdictions. The Handbook considers the use of ethnography, multilingual research with EU migrant workers, Indigenous research methodologies and surveys to accumulate data. Featuring chapters on feminist critique, vulnerability theory, industrial relations, economic analysis, anthropology and socialist labour law, it puts forward an integrated approach to framing and developing labour law research projects.

Research Methods in Labour Law is an essential resource for postgraduate and PhD students, early career academics and senior scholars looking for legal methodological inspiration. It is particularly useful for those in the fields of labour and employment law, research methods in law, and socio-legal research.
Critical Acclaim
‘This impressive volume foregrounds methodological issues that are often left in the background, if not wholly neglected, in labor law scholarship. It should be mandatory reading for young labor law scholars, and is sure to help the whole labor law field to sharpen the varied tools in our collective scholarly toolbox.’
– Cynthia Estlund, New York University, US

‘This impressive Handbook compiles and systematizes a comprehensive taxonomy of research methodologies appropriate to the study of labour law and industrial relations. The contributors, all internationally acknowledged experts in their fields, offer perspectives on a wide spectrum of approaches – theoretical, empirical, and interdisciplinary. It will prove a valuable resource, not only for students, but for all serious scholars in the discipline.’
– Joellen Riley Munton, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney, Australia

‘A diverse group of scholars examine an important topic of interest to anyone working in labour law: the question of methods in addressing different research questions. This is a very rich volume that tests, stretches and enriches our understanding of what labour law and labour law scholarship is and how we could and should think about it. The contributions are thoughtful, thought-provoking and engaging, and challenge us to think in new ways about the subject we study. A must read.’
– Virginia Mantouvalou, University College London, UK
Contents
Contents

1 Introduction to Research Methods in Labour Law: A Handbook 1
Alysia Blackham and Sean Cooney

PART I THE RESEARCH METHODS CONTEXT
2 The relevance and importance to labour law researchers of ontology,
epistemology, methodology and methods 12
Richard Johnstone

PART II THEORY
3 Doing feminist critique: Methods of feminist labour law research 28
Ania Zbyszewska
4 Capability approaches 44
Brian Langille
5 Vulnerability theory 57
Lisa Rodgers
6 Reflexive regulation of labour law 70
Ralf Rogowski

PART III INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
7 Industrial relations 85
Mia Rönnmar
8 Economic and empirical methods in labour and employment law 100
Joni Hersch
9 Labour law and climate change 114
Joo-Cheong Tham
10 Labour law and time 136
Emily Rose
11 Anthropology and labour law 150
Petra Mahy
12 Historical methods 166
Rebecca Zahn

PART IV METHODS
SECTION A METHOD AND LEGAL TRADITIONS
13 Doctrinal method in labour law in common law systems: potential,
problems, prospects 186
Alan Bogg
14 Socialist labour law 219
Yan Tian 阎天 (translation by Sean Cooney)
15 Labour law and civil law 234
Ryoko Sakuraba
16 Evolving themes and approaches in comparative labour law 255
Ingrid Landau
17 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: a catalyst for international
labour standards 270
Mauro Pucheta and Renan Kalil
18 Labour law and informality: researching the invisibles 284
Olívia de Quintana Figueiredo Pasqualeto

SECTION B QUALITATIVE METHODS
19 Ethnography 298
Alvin Hoi-Chun Hung
20 (Facilitated) conversations from the frontline: qualitative multilingual
research with EU Migrant Workers 312
Catherine Barnard and Fiona Costello
21 Participatory action research methods for labour law research and reform 330
Shelley Marshall and Ema Moolchand
22 Yarning about employment: Indigenous research methodology
application in the employment sector 348
Nareen Young and Joshua Gilbert with Fiona Allison
23 Utopia as a method for labour law research 364
Miriam Kullmann and Andrea Iossa

SECTION C QUANTITATIVE METHODS
24 Surveys and administrative data 381
Andrea M Noack, Leah F Vosko, Eric Tucker and Rebecca Casey
25 Mixed methods research 398
Alysia Blackham
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