Legal Research Methodology

1. R E S E A R C H
W R I T I N G
P R I M E R
D R . R I S H A M G A R G
C T C L - N L U D

2. R E S E A R C H
O U T L I N E -
O V E R V I E W
Describe the intended or planned
approach to answer research
question (“RQ”).
This includes:
Methods used to answer RQ
and achieve research aims?
Listing the sources
How will these sources assist in
answering RQ?
Are they appropriate, the most
relevant, up to date, relevant
academic sources?
Which approach to adopt
towards analysing and
evaluating materials? Example:
Comparative analysis?

3. A D D R E S S T H E F O L L O W I N G I N
Y O U R R E S E A R C H PA P E R
• Introduction and aim (what am I writing about and why?) A description of the research problem and an
indication as to relevance/importance/motivation of the problem
• Research problem – set out the most important concepts (What)
• Research question(s) that need to be answered – try to produce one over-arching research question
and a corresponding hypothesis (a proposition on how to approach the research question – a theory to
test).
• Methodology – what methods are you going to use to answer your RQ.
• Limitations – The things that you are not doing and why not.
• Literature review – A review of relevant literature (be realistic and make sure you read the literature
before reviewing it).
• Bibliography – divided into source read and sources to be read.

4. S U G G E S T E D H E A D I N G S F O R
R E S E A R C H PA P E R
Introduction Research problem
Research question
and research
hypothesis
Methodology Limitations Literature review
Provisional
bibliography

5. I N T R O D U C T I O N
• Briefly discusses the background to research.
• Introduction of paper discusses the research problem and
research aims that have been identified (the what and the
why).
• What is the problem? Set out the most important concepts
(ideas/theories)
• The primary purpose of an introduction is not to summarise
the content of research paper.
• The purpose of an introduction is simply to explain what you
are writing about as well as the legal context within which
the discussion takes place.

6. R E S E A R C H Q U E S T I O N
• What is the particular overarching
question that the research will
address? This may lead to a sub-
question (or two).
• Some questions may be to the point,
some may need to be narrowed down.

7. H Y P O T H E S I S
• Hypothesis = assumption or a theory “a
supposition or proposed explanation
made on the basis of limited evidence as
a starting point for further investigation.”
• Based on your research so far, what is
your theory on your research topic?

8. M E T H O D O LO GY
• What methods to use to respond to research
question and to achieve your aims (one paragraph of
3-6 sentences)
• What sources are you going to consult?
• How are these sources going to assist you to
answer your research question?
• Are they the most appropriate, up to date and
academic sources relevant to your topic?
• What approach are you going to adopt to analyse
and evaluate your materials?

9. L I M I T A T I O N S
The things that you are not doing (and why you have chosen not
to do them).
For example: .

10. L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W
The literature review should be a page or so which means 2-3 paragraphs 500-600 words.
The aim is to find a few relevant, comparable sources, if that is 3 or 5 sources depends on
the topic but the sources has to be authoritative, comparable and relevant”
Essentially a literature review tells your reader what specific part of a specific source is
going to assist you to answers a specific question or address a specific research aim.
It is important that your literature review is more than just a list of references with a
short summary of each one.

11. B I B L I O G R A P H Y
• Sources read
• Sourced that you are planning to read
Consists of two sections:
• Case law (Authoritative; foreign law; international law)
• Legislation
• Journal articles
• Books and chapters in edited collections
• International instruments (e.g. Declarations, conventions, general comments etc.)
• Other documents (e.g., newspaper articles, internet sources)
Sub-categories:

12. C O N D U C T I N G L E G A L
R E S E A R C H
• Points to remember:
• Ensure your research is authoritative, comparable
and relevant.
• For example:
• Peer reviewed journal articles;
• Books, chapters in books etc.;
• Legislation and case law.
• The aim is to extract key points by comparing and
contrasting across studies, instead of reading one
paper after another.

13. T H A N K Y O U
Q & A