State Supreme Court Data Project

The State Supreme Court Data Project is currently constructing a data base containing information on State Supreme Court decisions in all fifty states. We are in the process of assembling data on the courts of last resort in all fifty states during their 1995 through 1998 sessions. By late 2002, when our current project ends, we will have gathered data for approximately 21,000 decisions reached by over 400 state supreme court justices seated during those years.
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We have developed a coding scheme using Microsoft ACCESS that allows us to enter information directly into computers with a remarkable degree of reliability. The coding rules, the template, and the reliability scores achieved in test runs of the data entry process are documented and can be read by clicking on the links above. The high levels of reliability exhibited in the data collection process indicates that we will be able to provide the academic community with valid, reliable
data that is highly comprehensive.<br /><br />
In addition to the data on the decisions themselves, we have assembled biographical data from published sources for all justices sitting in 1995 through 1998. We have also included basic institutional features and selected contextual variables in the data base. Our hope is that these variables will allow researchers to examine the role individual and contextual characteristics play in state supreme court decisions.<br /><br />
With the release of
the data, we hope to stimulate interest in the politics of state courts and to promote efforts to move our theories forward by providing a laboratory through which the extraordinarily complex relationships that affect the politics of the judiciary can be unraveled. We expect the data base to be attractive not only to scholars just entering the field but also to more established scholars who wish to expand their scholarly interests.

州最高法院数据集项目（State Supreme Court Data Project）目前正在构建一个数据库，收录全美50个州的州最高法院判决相关信息。我们正着手收集全美50个州终审法院在1995至1998年间的案件数据。截至2002年末本项目收官之际，我们将累计收集到上述任期内400余名州最高法院大法官作出的约21000份判决数据。

我们采用微软ACCESS（Microsoft ACCESS）开发了一套编码方案，可将信息直接录入计算机，且具备极高的录入可靠性。编码规则、录入模板以及数据录入流程试运行阶段取得的信度评分均已归档，可通过点击上方链接查阅。数据收集过程中展现出的高信度水平，表明我们能够为学术界提供兼具效度、信度且覆盖范围极广的高质量数据。

除判决本身的相关数据外，我们还从公开出版物中收集了1995至1998年间所有在职州最高法院大法官的生平资料。本数据库同时收录了法院基础制度特征与部分情境变量数据。我们期望通过这些变量，帮助研究者探讨个体特征与情境因素在州最高法院判决中所发挥的作用。

本数据集正式发布后，我们期望激发学界对州法院政治维度的研究兴趣，并通过搭建可供研究的“实验室”，助力研究者厘清影响司法政治的各类极端复杂的关联关系，推动相关理论研究的进阶。我们相信，本数据库不仅会吸引刚踏入该领域的青年学者，也能为希望拓展研究方向的资深学者提供助力。