Abstract

The endgame for much academic and scientific research is to guide law and policy. Metascience provides insights into how to improve that process. For example – given the vast amount of research being reported every day – how can that research be selected, summarized, and presented to policymakers in a transparent and reliable way? How do we elicit trustworthy expert judgments on policy issues? And more fundamentally, do scientists, lawmakers, lawyers, and judges think about proof and truth-seeking differently, and how do we bridge that gap? To address these issues, we will draw upon research in a variety of fields, including law, criminology, and research synthesis – as well as notable controversies on the roads towards reliable evidence-based law and policy.