ABSTRACT
Law is a macrosociological phenomenon—or, more precisely, an institution with concepts and doctrines that is a component of a society. The former belief is rendered implausible by the similarity of concepts and doctrines that is often the outcome of concurrent multi-jurisdiction change in law on important societal activities. The chapter discusses some independent variables that may benefit future studies. In social science research on the existence and magnitude of a causal connection between an independent variable and a dependent variable, data of two general types have been employed—cross-sectional data and longitudinal data. Change occurs in a doctrine of law of a jurisdiction when an existing doctrine is partially modified or entirely replaced by the action of a government body that is authorized to promulgate law in the jurisdiction.
