Understanding the Relationship between Research Use and Amicus Briefs in Fisher v. University of Texas

• In Event: 66.079 - Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 66.079-9 - Legal Issues in Education

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the role, if any, that researchers played in the acquisition, interpretation, and use of research in the briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the recent affirmative action case: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013). The study includes findings from a survey of researchers who had their work cited in amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs. The survey results, informed by research use theory, provide insights into how research was used, and misused, from the perspective of educational researchers. Researchers’ perspectives on how to improve research use in education cases, as well as implications for practice, are mined to further understand how research can be used to promote justice.

Authors

• Catherine L. Horn, University of Houston

• Karen L. Miksch, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Liliana M. Garces, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park

• John T. Yun, Michigan State University

• Patricia Marin, Michigan State University