Professional Documents
Culture Documents
POSTGRADUATE STUDIES:
We would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Professor E M Stack, of the Department of
Accounting, in the preparation of this document.
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1. INTRODUCTION
The first formal part of the process is the preparation and writing of the research
proposal, where you will have to show, in micro-format, your potential and ability to
do the work required of a full thesis, and that you can demonstrate the following skills:
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2. RELEVANT RESEARCH
To decide whether the research is relevant you need to understand what is meant
by research. P D Leedy & J E Ormrod Practical Research: Planning and Design
(2001) 3–4 describe research as follows:
and:
Stage 2: Is there South African law dealing with female genital mutilation? I have not
yet identified a topic, but I am narrowing down the area of interest. If I proceeded to
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carry out the research at this stage, I would simply be gathering information (data).
Stage 3: Why does South African law not have any specific law relating to female
genital mutilation? Now I have a research topic, but not yet a research question. If I
were to carry out the research at this stage, it will yield no new insights or
knowledge.
Stage 4: What legal changes are required to develop South African law to allow for
the recognition of a crime of female genital mutilation? This is a research question
and is a combination of stages 1, 2 and 3, but takes it further:
I could identify how another country (or countries) has articulated a crime of female
genital mutilation;
and
adapt the model to suit the South African criminal-law system;
and
draft proposed legislation to deal with the issue.
3. ACHIEVABLE RESEARCH
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Aspects which relate to the achievability of your research, and which you need to
consider very carefully, include the following:
Some research students are in the lucky position that they come to the research
process with a clear idea of the topic that they want to research. For some, this is
not so easy.
How do you find a topic to research? There are various ways in which this can be
done:
you may identify a problem from your engagement with your LLB
courses which has piqued your interest;
you may identify a problem from practical experience in the workplace;
you may have a specific area of research that you are interested in
because of some personal experience – for example, one student whose
parents had been through a traumatic divorce wrote a thesis on the
problems with unbundling trusts of which his parents were members; or
by reading research carried out by others – this is a common way in
which research ideas are generated, as research reported in journal
articles and theses generally identifies areas for potential future research
or you may identify gaps in the existing research that you can focus on for
your research.
At the end of the day, especially in legal research, a very real passion for and
excitement for the topic is essential. Those who enroll for legal research degrees
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for reasons other than a passion for the topic (eg “I want another year at university
before I face the real world” or “I want to represent the province at sport” or “My
girlfriend has a year left of her degree, and I can’t be without her” and suchlike)
tend to be doomed to failure.
As you would have realised by now, you need to narrow the broad research topic
down to a more focused research problem. The way that this is done is by
reading the literature around the topic. This is referred to as a literature survey.
Every article, paper or thesis must be positioned within the body of knowledge
relating to the research topic. In order to do this, the existing literature must be
surveyed.
A literature survey is simply what the name infers: a survey of what has been
written on your particular topic. It will be essential that you develop a clear idea
of the “body of knowledge” on your research topic. By reading primary sources
(eg legislation, case law, government policy documents and regulations),
secondary texts, journal articles and theses, you identify the gap in existing
knowledge or the niche into which you can position your research.
Using published literature to identify a research topic has been discussed above,
as has using the literature to narrow down the research topic to a specific research
problem. We also need to find out what research has been done in the field for
another reason: we must make sure that we are not duplicating the work of
others, as an important requirement of research is that we add (however
modestly) to the existing body of knowledge. Another important reason why we
carry out a literature survey is to identify a possible theoretical framework or model
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on which to base our research. Finally, when we write our research proposal, we
need to justify the importance of our research – WHY we are doing the research –
and the literature survey will assist us to do this.
How do we perform a literature survey? Where do we start? There are two basic
approaches to performing a literature survey:
The first method involves searching all the relevant data bases at your university
library and through them, other libraries. Nowadays these data bases are usually
searchable as electronic data bases, but of course textual searching of physical
sources is also possible. By using key words relating to your topic (either through
engines or indices), you would be able to identify relevant literature. The problem is
that you often find so many possible data items, that it becomes extremely time
consuming to weed them out. This is particularly the case if you use popular search
engines, such as “Google Scholar”. The academic value of some of this material is
also questionable, so you have to be cautious. However, after about 5 years of
engagement with searching law databases, by now you should have developed
decent skills in this area.
The second method entails scanning recent editions of relevant texts or journals to
find further reading (primary or secondary sources) relating to your research topic,
either in the text or the references. One source leads to others. Continuing in this
fashion, you will soon find that authors are citing the same important sources and
you will start to get a good grip on the relevant (and important) literature. The
advantage of this method is that you are able to identify the most authoritative
sources/writers in your field of interest, as they will be the most frequently cited.
The process is completed by carrying out the last two steps:
IMPORTANT TIP
During the literature survey phase, be systematic, and develop a method of recording
both the information relating to the material (bibliographical details, citations etc), and
keep records of the literature itself. This will be enormously valuable with the
research going forward – all-too-often students bewail that they just jumped around in
their reading, and weeks or months later can’t find or remember where they found
something they thought at the time was significant. Start drawing up your bibliography
on day one!
Introduction
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All LLM and PhD candidates must submit a detailed research proposal, which will
initially be scrutinised and approved by their supervisors. Supervisors may require
candidates to redraft their proposals until the requisite detail and depth have been
achieved. Candidates are then required to submit their research proposals for
consideration by the Law Faculty Higher Degrees Committee, which will recommend
acceptance or otherwise of the proposal to the relevant Faculty Board.
Candidates who intend to conduct surveys as part of their research must familiarise
themselves with the University’s Ethical Standards Policy and obtain the necessary
clearance from the Law Faculty’s Ethical Standards Committee. See
http://www.ru.ac.za/research/research/ethics for the policy and the application form.
Details regarding the survey should be provided in the research proposal.
The four core purposes of a research proposal
Simply put, the exercise of doing a research proposal has four core purposes:
In so far as the first two requirements are concerned, you should be aiming to do
the following to be successful:
demonstrate your familiarity with the most important research in the field;
indicate the gap or niche in existing research that your research aims to fill,
and how; and
justify your research by demonstrating the importance/value of your
research.
Please understand that the Higher Degrees Committee scrutinises proposals very,
very rigorously and carefully, in terms of structure, content and form, so it is in your
interests to pay careful attention to what is required. The first submission will also be
subjected to pre-screening to assess its readiness for submission to the Committee
at all.
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Submission date
The due date for submission of proposals for consideration at the first Higher
Degrees Committee meeting of the year is around 25 March of each year. Where a
candidate does not submit his or her proposal timeously, the Higher Degrees
Committee will require the candidate and supervisor to give reasons for the failure to
meet the deadline and thereafter it may recommend to Faculty either that the
deadline be extended or that the candidate’s registration be terminated. Where the
deadline is extended, or a student registers later in the year, the proposal must be
submitted 4 weeks before the date of subsequent Higher Degrees Committee
meetings. This is to allow time for the pre-screening process (and any need for
amendments that may come from that). Meeting dates are contained in each year’s
University Calendar, which is accessible from the University’s website home page.
Style
Do:
Do not:
use words when you are not absolutely certain of their meaning
use difficult words to impress your reader
use overly simplistic language
repeat yourself
digress.
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subject or specific field in which research is to be carried out. Where there
are co-supervisors from two Faculties, the name of the other Department or
Faculty involved must be stated.
4. The title of the thesis or the field of research.
5. The type of thesis (whether a full thesis or thesis in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree).
6. Full-time or part-time.
7. The name(s) of the supervisor(s), if known.
8. Estimated date of completion.
The proposal that follows must be structured in the manner indicated below.
Section 1: The provisional title of the research project, with a brief description of
the field of research, which should be stated fairly broadly.
Section 2: Description and context of the research. This section provides the
general information regarding the research that will be undertaken and
should make it clear why there is a problem/topic is worth addressing. It
sketches the background and, where appropriate, should provide a
brief theoretical framework within which the problem is to be
addressed. This section demonstrates that you are familiar with the key
literature in the field that traverses the problem, and should contain an
integrated, critical assessment of the background to the legal problem
you have identified. The Key Question in this section is: WHY?
(Why is there a legal problem worth investigating?) Note that the
goals of the research (what you intend to do in your thesis) should not
appear in this section.
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extensive, unmanageable, or may suggest there is insufficient focus to
the work. Generally, the goals should be limited to 4 to 5 at the most.
The Key Question in this section is: WHAT? (What am I intending
to achieve with my research?)
8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It will be important for you to consider what methodology you intend to adopt in
engaging your research question.
Particularly in the sciences and social sciences, the theory that underpins research
methodology is extensive and complex, and a student in those disciplines must show
a deep engagement with methodology. In law, the expectations are traditionally not
as great; the various methodological approaches to legal research are not generally
as highly theorised or as fundamentally important for fine engagement as in other
disciplines. But there must, from a scientific perspective, be at least some
engagement by a law student with methodology, since it is required in section 4 of
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the proposal.
A word of caution …
Like any theoretical framework, there are many ways of describing or classifying the
various methodologies of legal research. What appears below is one classificatory
version. Please note that like all classifications, it is one of convenience, and a
researcher does not have to be constrained to one particular model. There is room
for flexibility – provided that the researcher understands what he or she is doing, and
can explain his or her approach coherently.
NON-EMPIRICAL EMPIRICAL
Legal-historical
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Comparative
NON-EMPIRICAL EMPIRICAL
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A. DISCIPLINARY LEGAL RESEARCH
The thrust of most qualitative legal research is that is (i) based in a close
analysis of textual or documentary sources; and (ii) it is reform-orientated, in
that the purpose of the research is to evaluate the adequacy of the existing
position, and to recommend methods of change, improvement or development.
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In so far as the method of interpretive analysis is concerned (leaving aside qualitative
case studies or surveys), there are three primary paradigms for doing this sort of
research in law. The terminology that has been used to unpack these is quite
uniquely jurisprudential in origin – other disciplines in science and social science
would classify paradigms differently, would use different terminology, or would use
some of terminology we use in law, but with a different meaning altogether. Hence
law, like any discipline, has a discipline-specific way of understanding and describing
paradigms of qualitative research methodology
(a) Doctrinal
While pure positivists do not generally engage with issues of morality or public policy
and the role of such ethical concepts on legal doctrine, as indicated above, other
constructivist philosophers (who are doctrinal but not narrowly positivist) will engage
in such investigations, believing that a legal doctrine cannot be fully understood or
improved without an engagement with morality, public policy, or other legal features
such as human-rights conventions, constitutions, and other relevant values. From a
jurisprudential perspective a constructivist approach is commonly associated with
theorists like Ronald Dworkin, Fuller and Finnis.
Those engaging in doctrinal research tend to adopt one of, or a combination of, two
classic approaches:
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the doctrine in its proper context, and to understand why it may or may not be
necessary for it to be developed in modern times. This type of research involves
tracing the origin of a legal doctrine from its original source; identifying how it
changed and developed, and why; all with a view to making recommendations for its
future.
This sort of research tended in the past to be the standard method for conducting
research into private-law doctrines. Many of these, especially in the South African
context, have ancient histories stemming back to Roman, Roman-Dutch or colonial
English origins, and where these have developed and changed for various reasons
over thousands of years. Those researchers who intend to focus their energies on
this sort of research need to be fully conversant with the sources of our law.
However, unlike in the past, it is not necessary that the researcher has an ability to
engage with sources in original Latin or Dutch – most of the sources are now
translated into English.
Of course, other, more recent legal doctrines may be the subject of legal historical
analysis too. So, for example, it is possible to trace legislation through its white and
green papers, parliamentary debates, various amendments and so forth.
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(1990), Clarendon Press.
V Palmer (ed) Mixed Jurisdictions Worldwide: The Third Legal Family (2012),
Cambridge UP.
J Smits (ed) The contribution of mixed legal systems to European private law
(2001), Intersentia.
NOTE:
A great deal of modern doctrinal legal research engages both the legal historical
and the legal comparative methods.
(b) Critical
Those who adopt a critical approach are “critical” of what they consider to be socially
constructed realities which they believe should not be accepted as “truths” and
merely described or polished (as the doctrinal researcher does), but should be
exposed for what they truly are. Such researchers generally argue that law is not
merely a science, but is heavily influenced by political considerations of a personal
and a public kind, or “inarticulate premises”. Such researchers aim to debunk or
expose “false consciousness” by a process of deconstruction, and to give an
alternative explanation for law in its various guises: one that is less orthodox or
academic, and more in tune with law as it applies in human reality. From a
jurisprudential perspective the critical approach is commonly associated in law
research with the work of the American realists from the 1930s to the 1960s. We
might indeed describe it in law specifically as a “critical realist” approach, although
scholars in the pure social sciences might not recognise this description, so it must
be used with caution! Additionally, it includes the work of revisionist Marxist scholars
like the original members of the Critical Legal Studies movement in the 1970s and
1980s, and those who do qualitative work in the socio-legal studies movement.
(c) Postmodern
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These sorts of researchers certainly adopt a “critical” approach, but one which goes
beyond the more benign version of the critical scholarship described in (b) above,
and is generally more radical and confrontational of the status quo. Those who
engage in postmodern legal research identify and analyse discourses through which
power relationships are established, and seek to challenge and subvert the “law” as
a social construct. Since research in this area requires knowledge of discourse
analysis, it should not be engaged in unless the student is trained and qualified in
such disciplinary enquiry. Broadly speaking, the modern postmodern tradition is
influenced by scholars like Jacques Derrida, Hannah Arendt and, more recently, non-
Western writers like Frantz Fanon. In legal research, postmodern analysis focuses
on important modern themes like gender, class, race and ethnicity. Prominent
postmodern scholars are those who write from feminist perspectives, LGBTI
perspectives, and who write from the perspective of critical race theory.
As in all fields of academic study, there is an increasing call for scientists and
researchers not simply to study law in a specific disciplinary silo, but to draw from
and to engage with various academic disciplines in an endeavour to discover a more
dimensioned and richer understanding of scientific phenomena. Like “pure” or
discipline-specific legal research, MIT research (as it is often described) can be done
both non-empirically (by desk-top analysis and/or qualitative survey or case study),
or empirically. However, most of this sort of research involves going beyond a pure
interpretive literature analysis. The three forms of this type of research are the
following:
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For more on this form of research in the legal context in South Africa, see I J Kroeze
“Legal research methodology and the dream of interdisciplinarity” (2013) 16
Potchefstroom Electronic LJ available at http://law.nwu.ac.za/per/2013-16-3
9. ETHICS IN RESEARCH
In any form of research, no matter the methodology, the essential ethical attributes of
any researcher are academic honesty, integrity and modesty. The research must be
done by paying scrupulous attention to these values at each phase of the research
process. It is particularly important that you are fully conversant with the academic
requirements of citing authority in law, and the nature of plagiarism. The University’s
policy on plagiarism can be found at
https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/institutionalplanning/doc
uments/Plagiarism.pdf
It is in the interests of ALL postgraduate students to read this policy, and especially
the section on plagiarism in postgraduate programmes, carefully.
Definition
Departmental responsibilities
An educational reality is that many of the current generation of students are not
familiar with the academic conventions that lecturers expect of the work that students
submit for assessment. This includes presentation conventions, referencing
conventions and the duty not to plagiarise the works of others.
Departments need to acknowledge the importance of their own role in students’
acquisition of academic discourse and are responsible for taking active steps to
provide students with an explanation as to why, as well as how, sources may be
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used and cited in building academic knowledge. It must be recognised that these
standards need to be taught to students and that students from all educational
backgrounds may need time to become familiar with them. In addition, because the
nature of referencing and plagiarism may be context specific, individual Departments
are responsible for ensuring that students fully understand the nature of legitimate
academic practice, of what constitutes a illegitimate practice, and the potential
consequences of such conduct, in that particular discipline.
In this regard, departments should ensure that:
Disciplinary procedures
The various procedures applicable to dealing with suspected cases of plagiarism are
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as follows:
There are three graded categories of plagiarism – categories A, B and C. Where a
member of staff is unsure (a) whether plagiarism has been committed at all, or (b)
into which category a case of suspected plagiarism might fall, that staff member
should consult the Head of Department (or his nominee) for assistance. It must be
remembered that many assessors of student work are students themselves, and/or
may be inexperienced and unsure of what plagiarism is, and how it should be dealt
with.
Category A offences
Category A offences constitute first time, minor infringements, and are usually
handled by the staff member who detects the offence. However, in circumstances
where the assessor is a student tutor or demonstrator, it may be appropriate for the
matter to be dealt with by the lecturer in charge of the course, or the course co-
ordinator, to provide the necessary authority. In cases where the student is new to
the University, and/or if it is apparent that the student has committed such plagiarism
because of a lack of understanding of what is required, the student should usually be
counselled by the staff member concerned: the problem should be explained, the
correct practice should be encouraged, and the student should be warned of the
serious consequences of committing plagiarism again. This practice would reflect the
importance of our educative role as far as plagiarism is concerned. In some cases it
might be appropriate to ask the student to re-do the work to demonstrate that he or
she has learnt from the experience. Additionally, if it is appropriate, a mark penalty
could be imposed. If a penalty is imposed, the relevant staff member should indicate
the amount of the penalty and the reasons for this penalty on the assignment or
assessment form.
If a student wishes to challenge the finding and the penalty for a category A offence,
the student is entitled to appeal to the Head of Department, who must refer the
matter to the Departmental Plagiarism Committee for a hearing. (For the procedures
to be followed at the hearing, see below.) The student should be informed that the
Departmental Plagiarism Committee will hear the matter afresh, and is entitled, in the
event of finding that plagiarism has been committed, to impose its own penalty,
which may be more onerous than that imposed by the lecturer.
Category B offences
Category C offences
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These refer to extremely serious offences. Plagiarism in LLM and PhD work will
usually fall squarely into this category, although may depend on whether the
plagiarism is occurring in an early draft, or in the final draft, or is identified when the
thesis has been submitted for examination. All these possibilities are covered in the
Senate Policy. See the Senate Policy for details.
Examples of Plagiarism
Copying and pasting is NOT acceptable. Copying and pasting can occur in one of
three ways:
The student copies the words of others, without any referencing, to suggest
the work is his or her own. This is classic plagiarism, and will be firmly dealt
with.
The second form of copy and paste occurs where the student (to a greater or
lesser degree) has simply cobbled together a whole lot of referenced, but
copied passages of others as the content of their work, but has not used
quotation marks to indicate what has been copied from another source. This
does amount to plagiarism. This sort of conduct is unacceptable because this
is (in significant parts, or entirely) not the student’s own work, but suggests in
a misleading way that it is. A mere reference next to the copied words of
others does not entitle a student to copy another person’s words. Quotation
marks must be used where the direct words of others are used in an essay.
The third type of copy and paste is where the work is simply comprised of an
excessive number of passages that have been correctly quoted and
referenced. This would not amount to plagiarism, but would still not be
acceptable, particularly at the postgraduate level.
The work must reflect the student’s own understanding of the issue, in the
student’s own words. Please use direct quotes sparingly.
Additionally, however, if you intend engaging in empirical research (which in law will
inevitably require engaging with human subjects), you need to be fully conversant
with the ethical obligations this imposes upon you. The University has a very full and
comprehensive Ethics Policy, which you would need to engage with. In addition, the
Faculty has its own ethics committee, and a dedicated staff member who is
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knowledgeable about such work.
You are required to speak to Ms Helen Kruuse before starting your proposal, if you
intend to engage in empirical research.
In getting to the point where they are able to submit an acceptable research
proposal, students often experience a number of problems. Some of the common
problems are discussed below.
Remember that the context section (section 2) is concerned with painting the
background to the problem you intend to research. It largely looks to the past and
present of the problem, and shows you have done a full and proper literature survey.
The goals section (section 3) then looks forward, to what you hope to achieve in your
research. Don’t mix the two up! The purpose of a proposal is NOT to write a mini-
version of the final thesis! It serves a very different purpose.
Setting out the research question and the goals and sub-goals
Because students have not surveyed and studied the literature in sufficient detail,
identified the particular research niche that their research will fill or carefully thought
through exactly what they want to achieve, the section of their research proposals
which deals with the goals of the research is often set out in vague and incoherent
terms. Typically this is exposed right at the start, if the research question is
incoherent.
Students often present only a vague idea of how they will carry out their research,
not a well thought-out and detailed plan, showing how they intend to carry out their
work. Please see the section on research methodology in this document for
guidance.
One of the most common errors that students make is to underestimate the scope
of the research that they propose to undertake.
When to stop surveying the literature
Students find difficulty in judging when they have done enough reading in order to
write the research proposal. The research proposal does not require an exhaustive
survey of the literature; that is required for the thesis itself. For the proposal you
need to do sufficient reading to be able to explain the context of the research, the
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nature of the research problem, the niche that your research occupies in the body
of knowledge and to demonstrate the contribution it will make to this body of
knowledge.
Writing skills
You are reminded that the proposal must be written in clear, accurate and coherent
English. This takes care and attention, and cannot be avoided.
Students often find difficulty in constructing a logical argument. This starts from the
internal logic of each sentence, each paragraph, etc. This often manifests as a
problem with writing, but has a deeper underlying cause – problems with logical
reasoning. It is also reflected in the inability to structure the chapters, headings and
sub-headings in a logical way to reflect the development of the research argument.
Remember that your proposal (and your thesis) is an extended argument, supported
by evidence. You must be constantly aware of possible illogicality in all aspects of
your research and make sure that every aspect of your proposal is logical. You must
be your own biggest critic to be a successful researcher and academic writer.
If a proposal does not meet the standards required by the Higher Degrees Committee,
it will be referred back, costing you time, effort and creating anxiety. A number of
common weaknesses the Higher Degrees Committee frequently identifies (and which
link to the problems mentioned above) are:
The description of the project is so nebulous and unfocused that the purpose of the
research is unclear. The problem is unimportant or unlikely to yield new
information. The research question is ill-defined, doubtful or unsound, or it rests on
insufficient evidence. The problem is more complex than the investigator realises.
The problem has limited relevance to the field as a whole.
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prevent adequate evaluation of its worth. The resources/data the investigator wishes
to use are either difficult to obtain or inappropriate for the research problem.
The researcher does not have sufficient training or experience for the proposed
research. The researcher appears to be unfamiliar with the literature relevant to the
research problem. The researcher has insufficient time to devote to the project.
The title usually has to be changed as it does not reflect the tenor of the
research, including the main key words.
Instead of allowing the reader to judge the relevance and importance of the
proposed research from the presentation of the argument leading up to the
formulation of their research problem, students often make ambitious
claims about the importance of their particular research and its contribution
to the body of knowledge.
Many students fail to recognise that they are writing the proposal to be read
by a person who is an informed reader, but not an expert in the topic. The
discussion is not sufficiently explanatory. Terms and concepts are often not
fully explained or defined.
The literature survey in the contextual discussion and the reference list
appended to the proposal often reflects the use of mainly references from the
popular press instead of reputable sources.
The section in which the goals of the research are set out is usually one of
the weakest sections of the proposal. Ideally, an overall goal or research
question should be presented, followed by the sub-goals or aims that need to
be achieved in order to achieve the main goal. If too many goals and sub-
goals are expressed, this suggests the topic is either too big or unwieldy, or
has not been sufficiently refined.
Students frequently mix the goals with the contextual discussion (particularly
the contribution to be made to the field of study) and, even more frequently,
include research methods with the goals. Often the poor articulation of goals
reflects the fact that the student has a broad idea of what he or she wants
to achieve, but has not done enough reading or thinking in order to present
clear goals for the research.
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The description of the research methodology and design is often the most
poorly written section of the research proposal. The proposal does not set out
clearly what data will be used, how the data will be obtained, how it will be
analysed and how interpreted. Frequently the student does not have any
clear plan for how he or she is going to set about doing the research, and
puts down some vague ideas.
There is often a lack of alignment between the title of the research, the goals
and the research method and design. The question arises whether in
carrying out the research in the way the student proposes, he or she will be in
a position to achieve the goals.
You may feel at this stage that you have done so much work and all that you have
to show for it is a single document. Don’t despair. The work required to write a
proposal usually involves a substantial proportion of the total time required to write
a thesis. It also usually forms the basis for chapter 1 of your thesis and is therefore
time well spent. Once you have written your research proposal, you will know
exactly what you plan to do and how you are going to set about doing it.
While we are discussing the writing of your research proposal, you may benefit from
the following hints on academic writing.
Technical aspects
Language use must be clear and correct and no slang terms or jargon should be
used. The proposal (and the thesis) should be written in “academic register”. Avoid
the use of emotive words, such as “huge”, “terrifying”, “shocking”, etc. Academic
writing appeals to the logic of the reader and not the reader’s emotions.
Use the “spell check” option, but set it on UK or South African English.
Make sure that you write full sentences. Many students start sentences with
words like “while”, “if”, “although”, “since” or “because”. These are
conjunctions which join sections of a sentence. Students often write a
sentence such as: “As research is a skill which few have mastered and there
are few textbooks relevant to lawyers.” This is not a sentence.
Students often mix singular and plural, for example: “One class of life
partnerships are . . .”
Students often use a semi-colon “;” instead of a comma “,”. If you feel tempted
to use a semi-colon, you probably need to break the sentence into two
sentences.
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returns”, you are saying “the returns of the (single) taxpayer”. In the plural
that would be: “taxpayers’ ”. “Taxpayer’s” is not the plural of “taxpayer”.
Don’t use the expression “per” – “per section 1” should simply be written as “in
terms of section 1”. The same applies to “in casu” which is meaningless.
Use the simplest possible language. Some students believe that academic
writing must use “big” words. Unfortunately they then use them incorrectly.
One student, who had a real problem, used words that sound the same, but
have a different meaning, like “confer” when he meant “infer”. Use a
dictionary.
Proofread very carefully. Placing a ruler under the line of type that you are
proofreading helps to slow the eye down. Reading your work out loud enables
you to identify the lack of clarity in logical reasoning.
If you include a “bulleted” list of items following a colon (:), each bulleted item
should begin with a lower case letter and end with a semi-colon. If the
bulleted items are complete sentences, you should start with a capital letter
and end with a full stop.
Referencing
Every statement that you make, that is not your own must have a reference, whether
it is a quotation or simply a paraphrase of something someone else has stated.
Statements such as “it is a well-known fact” or “most writers agree” must be backed
up by references as authority for these statements.
Long quotations are indented and a smaller font is used, without inverted commas.
Shorter quotations within a sentence of text should be within inverted commas.
Logical argument
27
It is important to include a sufficiently detailed explanation of the background and
important concepts. You are not writing for your lecturer or supervisor, but for other
readers (including outside examiners). You should assume that the person reading
your work is a reasonably informed, but not an expert reader. Never lose sight of the
fact that, in your research proposal, you must answer the questions: What? Why?
How?
The most important aspect of reporting on your research is maintaining the “golden
thread” of your argument. On a macro level, the goals, methodology and the
methods used in your research must be logically aligned. On a more detailed level,
each chapter must start with an introduction briefly setting out what the chapter will
cover and what it contributes to attaining the goals of the research. It must also
be linked with what was covered in the previous chapter. Each chapter must also
end with a brief summary of the findings of the chapter and must be linked with the
following chapter. The headings of sections within the chapter must also present a
logical development of the argument presented in the chapter. Each paragraph must
represent a unit of logic (not every sentence a new paragraph). Where a section
or a paragraph of the chapter has presented a lengthy and involved argument, this
should briefly be summarised and linked with the new section or paragraph. You
must lead the reader through your argument, using “sign posts” and linkages.
13. REFERENCING
(The following section is drawn from the “Law Faculty Referencing Guide”
which may be found in each year’s Law Faculty Survival Guide.)
Please note that the approach to academic referencing in the Law Faculty is different
from what one finds in other academic disciplines, and may be different to that used
by other universities. We request that you do what is necessary to familiarise
yourself with what the Rhodes Law Faculty expects. If you are uncertain about what
to do, please look at the examples given in this guide, or speak to your supervisor.
NB: The guidelines below should be adopted in drawing up both the proposal and
the thesis. Proposals in particular will be carefully scrutinised by the Higher Degrees
Committee to ensure that a candidate is on the right track with referencing
requirements. However, for the purposes of the thesis itself, candidates are entitled
to deviate from some of the standard requirements described below, provided that
the method used is: (a) recognised in legal publications, and would not be
anomalous; (b) is consistently used throughout the thesis; and (c) is approved by the
supervisor. For example, some may prefer single to double quotation marks, or may
prefer not to bracket case volume numbers, or may prefer to give case citations at all
times, rather than to abbreviate or cross-reference. The key factor is consistency of
referencing style. Candidates are encouraged to consult recently-completed LLM
and PhD theses, which are contained in the Library, to see what is expected, and to
provide guidance.
As far as layout is concerned, please follow the style that is used in this referencing
guide. Please note that the margins are justified, both in the text and the
28
footnotes.1
Footnotes
Footnotes are made by placing a number in superscript next to the relevant word in
the body of the text, and where applicable, after a full stop or comma, eg , 10 or.10 not
10
, or10. A corresponding number appears at the bottom of the page and the reference
is inserted after the number, at the bottom of the page. Remember: a full stop must
appear at the end of each footnote and the footnote must be justified. This is
the Faculty’s preferred referencing method. Postgraduate proposals and theses
must comply with this method.
Quotations
Quotation marks are used where you quote the direct words of other authors, and
indicate that the passage you have quoted is not your own words. Double quotation
marks should be used (“ ”). Single quotation marks should only be used inside a
quotation, where the original author has in turn quoted a passage. Quotations should
correspond exactly with the original. Any changes or insertions should be indicated
by using square brackets [ ]. Quotations that are three lines or longer in length
should be separated from the text by being indented, and placed in a separate
paragraph. Footnote numbers should come at the end of the quotation, after the
quotation marks. For example:
Note that the quotation marks in this instance come after the full stop (.”). The
quotation marks should be placed before the full stop (”.) only when the quotation
forms part of the sentence, eg: The reason, as others say, is “one of policy”.
If some text in a quotation is left out then three dots must be inserted in lieu of the
missing text, eg “… because there is a reason … to refrain from imposing liability….”
Note the spacing on either side of the dots, and note also that a full stop is added to
1
The only time that a footnote need not be justified is when a long Internet reference is used. Note
further that the font size of the footnotes differs from that of the main text.
29
the dots at the end. So don’t do this: “…because there is a reason…to refrain from
imposing liability…”
The following extract from Lynne Truss Eats, Shoots & Leaves (2005) 153-155
provides a useful guide to the use of quotation marks and inverted commas:
‘Since where and when to put other punctuation in direct speech is a real bother to some
people, here are some basic rules:
When a piece of dialogue is attributed at its end, conclude it with a comma inside the
inverted commas:
When the dialogue is attributed at the start, conclude with a full stop inside the inverted
commas:
Lord Fellamar replied, “Love has so totally deprived me of reason that I am scarce
accountable for my actions.”
When the dialogue stands on its own, the full stop comes inside the inverted commas:
“Upon my word, my Lord, I neither understand your words nor your behaviour.”
When only a fragment of speech is being quoted, put punctuation outside the inverted
commas:
Sophia recognised in Lord Fellamar the “effects of frenzy”, and tried to break away.
When the quotation is a question or exclamation, the terminal marks come inside the
inverted commas:
“Am I really to conceive your Lordship to be out of his senses?” cried Sophia. “Unhand
me, sir!” she demanded.
But when the question is posed by the sentence rather than by the speaker, logic
demands that the question mark goes outside the inverted commas:
Why didn’t Sophia see at once that his lordship doted on her “to the highest degree of
distraction”?
Where the quoted speech is a full sentence requiring a full stop (or other terminal mark)
of its own, and coincidentally comes at the end of the containing sentence, the mark
inside the inverted commas serves for both:
“Then fetching a deep sigh […] he ran on for some minutes in a strain which would be
little more pleasing to the reader than its was to the lady; and at last concluded with a
declaration, “That if he was master of the world, he would lay it at her fee.”
The basic rule is straightforward and logical: when the punctuation relates to the quoted
30
words it goes inside the inverted commas; when it relates to the sentence, it goes
outside.’
Words and expressions in Latin, or in any language other than English, should be
italicised, eg: culpa, bona fides, Grundnorm, ikhazi.
Capitalisation
Proper nouns and titles of books or journals must be correctly capitalised, eg: The
Law of Contract in South Africa; Die Onregmatige Daad in die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg;
Judge President; Chief Justice. Headings may either be capitalised (eg: “Basic
Issues of Style and Punctuation”) or set out, as in this referencing guide, without
capitalisation. Choose a method and apply it consistently throughout the work.
Abbreviations
Standard abbreviations should be used, eg: section (s); sections (ss); subsection
(subsec); regulation (reg); regulations (regs); paragraph (para); paragraphs (paras);
second edition (2 ed); Judge (J); Acting Judge (AJ); Chief Justice (CJ); chapter (ch);
compare (cf); following (ff). Note that full stops are not used, ie not para. or A.J.
Page numbers
“Page” “p” or “pp” should not precede page references. In references to cases, Acts,
textbooks and journals, consecutive page numbers should be referenced fully, eg:
165-169, not 165-9 or 165-69 or pp165-169.
Textbooks
When an author’s work is cited for the first time, the following information must be
supplied in full: Author’s initials and surname Title of Book edition (date of
publication) page where the information was found. No “at” or “p” or “pp” or “page” is
required. For example: AJ Kerr General Principles of the Law of Contract 6 ed (2002)
456.2
Note:
If a book is in its first edition, one not need to say so – it will be implied.
Where there are two authors cite both, eg: JC van der Walt and JR Midgley
Principles of Delict 3 ed (2005) para 46. Do not use “et al” (which means “and
others”) in such instances, ie do not cite this work as “Van der Walt et al”.
2
Note that there are no full stops after the initials, ie AJ Kerr, not A.J. Kerr.
31
Where a work has several co-authors list the main author (usually the first
author named on the spine) and write et al after his/her name.3
When one refers to a textbook for the second, or a subsequent time, one
need to rewrite all the information contained in the first reference. In such
instances, write the author’s surname, an abbreviated title of the work
(remember, it must be italicised!), and the precise page or paragraph at which
the information was obtained. For example: Kerr Contract 471; Van der
Merwe et al Contract 345; Christie LAWSA Vol 5(1) para 23. Try to avoid
using cross referencing styles like op cit, ibid, or loc cit, but for those who feel
comfortable with this technique, see the SALJ for a template.
Journal articles
When a journal article is referred to for the first time, provide the following
information: Author’s initials and surname “title of the article” year Title of journal
page where article starts, followed by the exact page from where the information was
obtained. No “p” or “pp” or “page” is required. For example: E Fagan “The Longest
Erratum Note in History” (1996) 12 SAJHR 79 at 81-83.
Note:
Article titles always appear in quotation marks (“ ”); they are NOT underlined
or italicised.
Where there is a volume and a year number, the year is placed in brackets,
followed by the journal number, eg: (2002) 119 SALJ 79. In cases where there
is no volume listed on the spine, cite only the year, eg: 1995 Acta Juridica 66.
3
The full list of names must be cited in the bibliography.
32
o A more detailed list of abbreviations is reproduced below. 4
The word “at” should be inserted between the reference to the initial page of
the article and the actual page where the information is found, eg, as in the
above example: 79 at 81-83.5
Note:
In this instance there is no need to cite the initial page, nor to use the word
“at”.
Do not use the words “op cit” or loc cit”, or similar terms. The word “ibid” is
used only when reference is made to the exact page in the footnote
immediately above.
Citation of cases
The Faculty’s preferred option is the SALJ version 1967 (2) SA 456 (N); 1996 (3) All
SA 345 (T); [1999] 11 BCLR 777 (D) 6 but whichever style is adopted, be consistent
throughout the thesis.
The names of the reports are not italicised, ie BCLR not BCLR.
Specific page references should not be preceded by an “at”: 1978 (3) SA 234 (A)
237D-G.
If paragraphs are referred to, simply say “para 34”: 1999 (2) SA 199 (CC) para 34.
When a case is referred to for the first time in the text, give it its full title in italics (eg
James v John). The words “and Another”, or “and Others” in the title of the case
4
See para 4.
5
This is the only instance in which the word “at” is inserted, the reason being to avoid confusion by
separating the numbers.
6
As a general rule of thumb, Butterworths reports (except for the Constitutional Law Reports) have
square brackets around the year [1995] and Juta reports have round brackets around the volume.
For example: Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports = 2004 (2) BCLR 102 (CC); The All South
Africa Law Reports = [2004] 2 All SA 155 (W); Butterworths Labour Law Reports = [2004] 2 BLLR
155 (LAC); Butterworths Arbitration Awards = [2004] 2 BALR 155 (CCMA); Judgments On-line =
[2004] JOL 3437 (D); Butterworths Human Rights Cases = [2004] 2 BHRC 155 (Ch); South
African Law Reports = 2004 (2) SA 155 (C); South African Constitutional Law Reports = 2004 (2)
SACLR 155 (C); South African Labour Law Reports = 2004 (2) SALLR 155 (C); South African Tax
Cases = 68 SATC 155.
33
should be omitted. The full citation, excluding the title, should then appear in a
footnote. For example: The leading case is Anglo Carpets (Pty) Ltd v Snyman.7
When a case is referred to for a second or subsequent time, simply give the title or
abbreviated title of the case, and the precise place from whence the information was
obtained. There is no need to use the words “supra” or “op cit” in such instances. For
example: In Anglo Carpets v Snyman8 Coleman J also said…
Where a case is not mentioned in the main text, include all the relevant information
(case title and case citation) in the footnote. Again, there is no need to use the words
“supra” or “op cit”. For example: A number of authorities support this proposition. 9
Citation of statutes, bills, law reform commission reports, regulations and Rules of
Court
Acts of Parliament are referred to by their name, number and year. The title of the
Act10 must not be italicised, eg: Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1944 or Criminal
Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
When an Act is mentioned for the first time, give it its full title, and cite the number
and year in the footnote. For example: According to s 23(b) of the Magistrates’
Courts Act,11 applications must be in writing.... Note that the Constitution is cited as
“The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996”.
For every subsequent reference, simply give the name of the Act, without any further
detail. There is no need to refer to the number and year again. References can be
confined to the relevant section (s) or sub-section (subsec) under discussion. For
example: Later, the Magistrates’ Courts Act 12 also provides that...
Bills before Parliament which have not yet been passed into law as Acts are referred
to in a similar fashion to Acts; ie by name, number and year. The convention is to
refer to the Bill in the format of the following example: The Rhodes University
(Private) Bill B-09 of 2008.
Reports of the Law Reform Commission should be cited by number of project, title of
project; page. For example: South African Law Reform Commission Project 190:
Report on Gun Control in Rural Areas 45. If the document is not the final Report, but
is a Working Paper or a Discussion Paper, replace “Report” with either “Working
Paper” or “Discussion Paper” in the title. No author needs to be named or identified.
A set of regulations is cited as follows: name of set of regulations, notice type, notice
number, Government Gazette number and date of the notice’s publication. For
example: Labour Relations Regulations, GN R1442, Government Gazette 25515, 10
October 2003.
7
1978 (3) SA 582 (T) 589J.
8
590B. Note that although the case name is italicised in the main text, the footnote number in the
main text is not italicised.
9
See Jones v Sithole 2000 (4) SA 234 (SCA) para 25; Anglo Carpets v Snyman 590B.
10
Note that the word is capitalised: “Act” not “act”.
11
Act 32 of 1944.
12
s 31(1).
34
Where Rules of Court are referred to, state the set of rules, the Act under which they
were published and the rule number. For example: Rule 7 of the Uniform Rules of
Court, Supreme Court Act 59 of 1959.
The Internet13 is a research tool just like a textbook or a journal and one is expected
to reference Internet material:14 Author’s initials and surname15 “Title of the article
or page” the web-site where the information was found [accessed on a certain date].
For example JY Mokgoro “Ubuntu and the Law in South Africa” (1998) 1
Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal
http://www.puk.ac.za/fakulteite/regte/per/issue98v1.html (accessed 20 November 2006)
or P Frankel and R Rose “Is Trade Good or Bad for the Environment?”
http://papers.nber.org/papers/w9201.pdf (accessed 23 November 2006). Subsequent
references need simply refer to Mokgoro “Ubuntu” or Frankel and Rose “Is Trade
Good or Bad for the Environment?” and the page.
Please note that it is not acceptable to simply refer to the database from which you
got your information; eg “MyLexisNexis” or “Hein-on-line”. A proper reference to the
appropriate source (whether it was a book, journal article, case, statute or regulation)
that you found IN that database must be given.
Theses
Provide the author’s surname, the Title of the thesis (in italics), and then, in brackets,
the type of thesis, the institution, and the date. Thereafter give the page from whence
the information came. For example: WH Jansen The Undisclosed Principal (LLD
thesis, RAU, 1997) 34. In subsequent references, simply say: Jansen The
Undisclosed Principal 35.
Consult 1985 THRHR 125 for the correct citations when old authorities such as Voet,
Grotius, Van Leeuwen, Van der Linden are used. The Digest is generally referred to
by its abbreviated title, plus the specific reference, eg: D 4.2.2.
Newspaper articles
Newspaper articles are generally referred to by the title of article, title of newspaper
(in italics), date and page number (if available). For example: “Death Penalty Given
the Boot” Sunday Times 12 April 1995. If the newspaper was sourced from the
Internet, this should be reflected. For example: “Death Penalty Given the Boot”
Sunday Times 12 April 1995 http://www.suntimes.co.za/articles/1241995.html (accessed
16 July 2005).
THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
13
The word is capitalised: “Internet”, not “internet”.
14
Most contraventions of the University’s plagiarism policy involve Internet sources, so please
ensure that both the Faculty Reference Guide and the Faculty Plagiarism Policy are adhered to.
15
Where the author is not mentioned, refer to the author as “Anonymous”.
35
Introduction
Both the proposal and 1the final thesis must contain a bibliography. A bibliography is
a list of all the works consulted for the preparation of the proposal or thesis. Every
work consulted must appear in the bibliography – those referred to in the main body
of the essay and also any other books consulted, even if not cited in the essay.
General requirements
The bibliography should contain all the textual sources to which referred in compiling
the work. This means textbooks, treatises and monographs, journal articles, Internet
sources and newspaper articles. A separate Table of Cases and a Table of
Statutes should be included in the bibliography in the case of a thesis. All works
must be listed in alphabetical order according to authors’ surnames.16 There is no
need to differentiate books, journals, and other references, unless the candidate
feels like doing so. One alphabetical list is perfectly acceptable. However, each
particular source must be referenced correctly according to the following
requirements.
Books
Multiple authors are cited as they appear in the book, not alphabetically. For
example: S van der Merwe, LF van Huyssteen, MFB Reineke, GF Lubbe and JG
Lotz Contract General Principles 2 ed (2003) Juta: Cape Town.18 Note that the
bibliography style differs from the citation method in the text. 19 In the bibliography, all
the authors are cited, with their initials, and the publisher and the place of publication
are added.
Journal articles
Author’s initials Author’s surname “Full title of the article” year of publication of the
journal (in brackets) volume of the journal Title of the journal [in italics] starting page
number of the article. For example: JR Harker “The Mandement van Spolie in Private
and Public Law” (1988) 105 SALJ 186. Note that the bibliography style differs from
the citation method in the text.20 In the bibliography, all the authors are cited, with
their initials.
36
The same referencing style as that used in the text should be adopted. 21 If available,
the initials of the author should be inserted in the bibliographical entry, for the sake of
consistency with other entries.
ABBREVIATIONS
37
1995
MB Modern Business Law
MN Municipal Notice
ON Official Notice
P Private arbitration
PAB Publications Appeal Board Reports
PH Prentice Hall
PN Provincial Notice
PrN Premier’s Notice
Proc Proclamation
SA South Africa Law Reports
SACC/SASK South African Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
SACJ South Africa Journal of Criminal Justice
SACR South African Criminal Law Reports
SAJHR South African Journal of Human Rights
SALJ South African Law Journal
SAPL South African Public Law
SATC South African Tax Cases
SC Decision of the Supreme Court or Cape Supreme Court Reports
(SA)
SCA Supreme Court of Appeal
SECLD Decision of the South Eastern Cape Local Division
Stell LR Stellenbosch Law Review
South West Africa Reports or decision of the South West Africa Supreme Court
TH Transvaal High Court Reports
TPD Transvaal Provincial Division Reports
TS Transvaal Supreme Court Reports
THRHR Tydskrif vir Hedendaagse Romeins-Hollandse Reg
TJO The Judicial Officer
TM The Magistrates
TSAR Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg (Journal of South African
Law)
Decision of the Witwatersrand Local Division or Weekblad van het Recht (The
Netherlands)
WLD Witwatersrand Local Division Reports
ZHC Zimbabwe High Court
ZSC Zimbabwe Supreme Court
14. CONCLUSION
You have now covered all the material that you need to write a successful research
proposal. You have done more than that, however, you have mastered all of the
skills that you need to carry out your research – collecting and measuring the data,
analysing and interpreting it and writing your research thesis.
Before we end the discussion, however, a few remarks are necessary on a problem
that most researchers encounter at some stage in their research – either the
inability to start writing, or writer’s block during the course of writing. There are a
couple of techniques that may assist with this. Don’t imagine that you need to see
the “end of the road” before you start writing. Write paragraphs or even sentences
38
that may be useful in your proposal (or your thesis). Don’t be concerned about
putting them into logical order or under certain headings. Simply write. You can
always delete them or restructure what you have written so that they fit into a certain
section or under a certain heading. If you experience writer’s block, set your
research aside for a little while and forget about it. When you come back to it and
read what you have written, you will be surprised to see how good it is. Taking a
break also helps you to see things in perspective. Often, while you have stopped
consciously thinking about your research, your brain seems to have been carrying
on and when you return to the research, the words will simply flow out in logical
sequence. If all else fails, start editing or even formatting the text, just to get
started. Soon you will be adding sentences and paragraphs and you will have
broken the log jam.
39