2026-11-25 –, Holme Room
General population legal needs surveys are one of few ways to measure the legal problems of diverse groups of people, including those who don’t ever reach out for legal help or recognise their problem as a legal one. But while such surveys are key to identifying prevalence and patterns, they cannot tell us why or how different groups of people experience particular types of problems. Mixed methods can help to measure otherwise hidden needs through quantitative data and understand the meaning of those needs through qualitative data.
This presentation will draw on examples of the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW’s current research to explore the value of mixed methods research in understanding the breadth and complexity of legal problems experienced by Australians. It will discuss how we have adapted international legal needs survey methods to the current Australian context, via our Legal needs Australia Wide (LAW+) Survey of at least 20,000 people. It will explore the process of balancing the interests of practice and policymakers who will be the end users of the research, with design decisions about feasibility, robustness and maximising response rates. The innovations to legal needs survey design adopted in this project include quadri-modal data collection methods that connect with diverse respondents via mail-out, online, panel and in-person options, and, for the first time, questions on the use of AI to address legal problems.
However, there are intrinsic limitations to what we can learn from this type of quantitative study, and qualitative methods are being used to add depth of understanding to the patterns of inequality identified by the legal needs survey. The presentation will also describe how we are collaborating with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit to understand the legal needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in NSW through qualitative, community-based case studies. It will consider the importance of spending time in communities, to provide space and safety for people to share their stories and make meaning of how they experience the justice system.
Finally, the presentation will consider what it means to use authentically ‘mixed methods’ that go beyond the presentation of disparate quantitative and qualitative data. It will draw on these examples of legal needs studies to illustrate how this type of research can be designed and positioned to shape real world policy and practice reform, and the challenges implicit in bringing legal needs research to life.
Kate is the Research Director at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. Kate is passionate about the power of rigorous and robust research to shape more socially just and equitable systems. She holds a PhD in sociology, Master of Public Policy and Management, and Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Other Drugs. Her research has explored topics related to homelessness, mental health, disability, child protection and youth justice, using a range of mixed methods, participatory and creative methodologies. Kate has worked throughout the Asia Pacific region in research and community development roles. She is a member of the inaugural National Disability Research Partnership Research Committee and a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle.