Legal Research Methodology

Title and Credit

 Course Code: DEV 4103

 Course Title: Legal Research Methodology

 Credit: 1.5

 Contact Hour: 21
Learning Outcome

It is expected that on completion of the course the

students shall be able to:

 Design, implement and complete research works

 Write research proposal

 Write research report

 Defend thesis
Course Contents
 Introduction to research and Thesis

 Research design

 Data Source, collection, analysis & Presentation

 Research findings and analysis

 Report Writing Technique

 Thesis Defence

 Research Ethics
Sequence
 General Introduction

 Report Writing Technique

 Preliminary Pages

 Supplementary Documents

 Thesis Defence

 Oral Presentation

 Research Ethics
What is Research ?

The systematic investigation into

and
study of materials and sources
in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions
What does Research involve?

Research involves:

 The collection

 Organization

 Analysis of information

To increase our understanding of a topic or issue.

Steps of Research

Pose a
Question

Collect Data
to Answer
the Question

Present an
Answer to
the Question
Types of Research

• Basic Research
Application • Applied Research

• Prob Oriented
Objective • Problem Solving

Information • Quantitive
Sought • Qualitative
Types of Research

• Exploratory
• Descriptive

• Correlation
• Explanatory
Field of Research

 Social

 Scientific

 Legal

 Business
Legal Research
Legal Research
 Legal research is defined as ‘systematic’ finding law on a
particular point and making advancement in the science of
law.

 It involves a systematic search of legal materials, statutory,

subsidiary and judicial pronouncements.

 For making advancement in the science of law, one needs to

go into the ‘underlying principles or reasons of the law’.

 These activities warrant a systematic approach.

Steps of Legal Research

Understanding the
nature of problem
to be studied

Drawing Identifying the

conclusions and related area of
generalizing. knowledge.

Reviewing
literature to
Analysing data understand how
appropriate to the others have
problem. approached or
dealt with the
problem.

Collecting data in
an organized and
controlled manner
so as to arrive at
valid decisions.
Reason to Carry Out Legal Research
 To ascertain laws on a given topic or subject.

 To identify ‘gaps’ and ‘ambiguities’ in law.

 To critically examine consistency, coherence and stability of

law and legal propositions.

 To undertake ‘social auditing of law’ [i.e. auditing pre-

Legislative ‘forces’ and post-Legislative‘ impacts’ of law].

 To suggest reforms/developments in law.

Types of Legal Research

Doctrinal
/Traditional
Research

Non
Doctrinal/Empirical
Research in Theory
Doctrinal Research
 A doctrinal research means a research that has been carried out
on a legal proposition by way of analyzing the existing statutory
provisions and case laws by applying logic and reasoning power.

 It involves analysis of case law, arranging, ordering and

systematizing legal propositions and study of legal institutions,
but it does more-it creates law and its major tool through legal
reasoning or rational deductions.

 Doctrinal research represents more a practical regulative ideal

of how the judicial process ought to be conceived by the
judiciary than theoretical analysis of its actual structure and
functioning.
Doctrinal Research
 If it is found to be unjust, it may be modified or changed to
meet the present requirement.

 This kind of research is carried on by all the Judges, Lawyers and

law teachers.

 The two most important examples of doctrinal research are the

law of torts and administrative law.

 These two areas of law have been developed by the Judges

rather than the theoretical researchers.
Empirical Research
 Conducting empirical research in law is of recent origin.

 Empiric means “relying solely on observation and experiment

not theory.” The empirical research is carried out by collecting
and gathering data or information by a firsthand study into the
universe.

 The empirical research technique is also called as “fact

research”.
 By fact research in law, we mean the systematic search in to the
social, political and the other fact conditions which give rise to
individual rules and examination of the social, political and
other effects of these rules.”.
Empirical Research
 Empirical research is an enquiry that attempts to discover and
verify general rules allowing understanding.

 The methods like observation, interview, questionnaire, survey

and case study are used to discover the human conduct.

 The empirical research is carried on by collecting or gathering

information by first hand study of the subject, it relies on
experience or observation without due regard to any theory or
system and hence it is also called as experimental type of
research.
Empirical Research
 In this type of research, the researcher attempts to investigate
effect or impact by actual examination or observation of the
functioning of law legal institutions in the society.

 It also concerns with the identification and creating an

awareness of the new problems which need to be tackled
through law conducting empirical research.

 This kind of research is not very popular among the researchers

especially lawyers and judges
Tools of Legal Research

Library

Internet Books

Legislative and
Constitutional
Law Report
Assembly
Report
Law Commission
Report
Law Reform
 Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining
existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in
a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or
efficiency.

 Law reform bodies or law commissions are organizations set up

to facilitate law reform. Law reform bodies carry out research
and recommend ways to simplify and modernize the law.

 Many law reform bodies are statutory corporations set up by

governments, although they are usually independent from
government control, providing intellectual independence to
accurately reflect and report on how the law should progress.
Law Reform
Law reform activities can include:

 Preparation and presentation of cases in court in order to

change the common law;

 Lobbying of government officials in order to

change legislation; and

 Research or writing that helps to establish an empirical basis

for other law reform activities.

.
Characteristics of Legal Research
 The legal research deals with the social and behavioral
phenomena.

 It studies behavior of human beings as members of society

and their feeling responses, attitudes under different
circumstances.

 The legal research is carried on both for discovering new legal

facts and verification of the old ones.

 The legal research tries to establish causal connection

between various human activities.

 The legal research tries to give solutions of legal problems.

Purpose of Legal Research
 The Academic purpose of legal research is acquisition of
knowledge.

 The objects of legal research is to get true and intimate

knowledge of human society and legal matters and
understand the laws that are operating behind various social
activities of man.

 The other purpose of research is utilitarian in nature.

 Human society suffers from a number of social evils like

murders, suicides, thefts, robberies, quarrels and trespass. It is
now conclusively proved all these evils in the organization
human society
Objective of Legal Research
 To discover new facts

 To test and verify old facts

 To analyze the facts in new theoretical framework

 To examine the consequences of new facts or new principles

of law or judicial decisions

 To develop new legal research tools

 To propound a new legal concept

 To analyze law and legal institutions from the point of view of

history
Objective of Legal Research
 To examine the nature and scope of new law or legal
institution

 To ascertain the merits and demerits of old law or institution

and give suggestion for a new law or institution in place of an
old one

 To ascertain the relationship between legislature and judiciary

and to give suggestion as to how one can assist the other in
the discharge of one’s duties and responsibilities;

 To develop the principles of interpretation for critical

examination of statutes.
Scope of Legal Research
 It helps the Government in formulating suitable laws in pursue
its economic and social policies.

 It helps in solving various operational and planning problems

pertaining to business and industry and tax.

 It helps the Courts in solving the problem without much delay

and in such a way that the problem may not require at all or at
least in near future.

 It helps the legal practitioner in taking a decision as to how he

should tackle the problem in hand.
Legal Research Design
Research design must at least, contain:

 A clear statement of the research problem.

 Object of the research.

 Procedures and techniques to be used for gathering

information.

 The population to be studied.

 Methods to be used in processing and analyzing data.

Research Variables

Dependent
Variable (DV)

Independent
Variable (IV)
Dependent Variables
 The dependent variable is the variable being tested and
measured in an experiment

 It is ‘dependent’ on the independent variable.

 This variable measures the impact of introducing or altering

the independent variables.

 For example, if the independent variable is a new type of

teaching pedagogy introduced, the resulting dependent
variable will be student’s performance in a test designed to
check the content taught using the pedagogy.
Dependent Variables

Resulting dependent
Independent variable: Student’s
variable: New type performance in a
of teaching test designed to
pedagogy check the content
introduced taught using the
pedagogy.
Independent Variables
 These variables are controlled, introduced or manipulated by
the researcher.

 They are the cause’ factors to which the ‘effect’ is the

dependent variable.

 In an experiment, the researcher is looking for a possible effect

on the dependent variable that might be caused by changing
the independent variable.

 For example, the independent variable is the new teaching

pedagogy, the impact of which is being measured by the test
on content understanding.
Research Outcome

A research outcome is a particular dissemination,

publication, presentation, communication or pathway
in which research is made available to people other
than the author.
Research Output

 Seminar Paper

 Conference Paper

 Strategic / Policy Paper

 Thesis / Dissertation Paper

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