LegaL

research
MethodoLogy
ModuLe 1
Legal Research
Origin
French word ‘recherche’ - to search or to go about seeking
The earliest use in 1577.
In RESEARCH: –
R – ‘rational way of thinking’
E – ‘exhaustive treatment’
S - ‘search for solutions.’
E- ’exactness’
A- ‘analytical analysis’
R- ‘relationship between facts and theories’
C- ‘critical observation’
H – ‘honesty and hard work’

Purpose
 Understand the concepts/phenomena/World
 Find out the solution to the problems
 Improve existing solutions

Definitions
 The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English - ‘a careful investigation or inquiry specifically
through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge’.
 Redman and Mory – a ‘systematized effort to gain new knowledge’.
 The Webster’s International Dictionary - ‘research’ is ‘a careful, critical inquiry or explanation in
seeking facts or principles; diligent investigation in order to ascertain something’.
 Webster Dictionary - ‘a systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge’.
 D Slesinger and M Stephenson - ‘the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of
generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in construction of
theory or in the practice of an art’.

Meaning
RESEARCH is a scientific process which initiates with research question/hypothesis and includes during
which substantive evidence is gathered to prove its final product (means your hypothesis).
Revision of accepted theories or law in the light of new facts. Practical application of such new or revised
theories or law. Entire research is a combination of Inductive and Deductive Reasoning.

Concept & Importance

Legal Research is the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal
decision-making. It begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and it concludes with the results of
the investigation. Legal research skills are of great importance for lawyers to solve any legal case,
regardless of area or type of practice. The most basic step in legal research is to find a noteworthy case
governing the issues in question. As most legal researchers know, this is far more difficult than it sounds.
Whether you are a Lawyer, a paralegal, or a law student, it is essential that Legal research is done in an
effective manner. This is where the methodology comes into play. Different cases must be approached
in different ways and this is why it is important to know which type of legal research methodology is
suitable for your case and helpful for your client.
Deductive thinking (Quantitative)
THEORY > HYPOTHESIS > OBSERVATION > CONFIRMATION

Inductive thinking (Qualitative)

OBSERVATION > PATTERNS > HYPOTHESIS > THEORY

Objectives of Research
 To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it.
 To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group.
 To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated.
 To test causal relationship between two or more than two facts or situations.
 To ‘know’ and ‘understand’ a phenomenon with a view to formulating the problem precisely.
 To ‘describe’ accurately a given phenomenon and to test hypotheses about relationships among its
different dimensions.

RESEARCH METHODS
The methods, techniques or tools employed by a researcher for collecting and processing of data,
establishing the relationship between the data, and evaluating the accuracy of the results obtained.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 A way to systematically solve the research problem.
 A set of rules of procedures about the way of conducting research. It includes in it not just a
compilation of various research methods but also the rules for their application and validity.

Characteristic of a good Research

 Directed towards solution of a problem
 Based upon observable experience or empirical evidence
 New data or information from primary sources
 Objective and logical with application of all possible technique to validate data.
 Carefully designed procedures

Nature and Scope of Legal Research

 Legal Research issues of inquiry naturally relates to pure law or law in relation to society.
 Legal Research is the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal
judgements.
 The nature of legal issues and the subject matter of law is different from other scientific research.
Some Other Types of Research
 One-time research or Longitudinal research.
 Field-setting research or Laboratory research or Simulation research.
 Clinical or Diagnostic research.
 Historical research
 Conclusion-oriented and Decision-oriented

Rationale of legal research and mutual relation and interaction between ‘law’
and ‘society
Law does not operate in a vacuum. It has to reflect social values, attitudes and behavior. Societal values
and norms, directly or indirectly, influence law. Law also endeavors to mold and control these values,
attitudes and behavioral patterns so that they flow in a proper channel. It attempts either to support the
social system or to change the prevalent social situation or relationship by its formal processes. Law also
influences other parts of the social system. Law, therefore, can be perceived as symbolizing the public
affirmation of social facts and norms as well as means of social control and an instrument of social
change.
Commenting on the interrelationship between law and society, Luhman observed, “All collective human
life is directly or indirectly shaped by law. Law is, like knowledge, an essential and all-pervasive fact of
the social condition. No area of life-whether it is the family or the religious community, scientific
research is the internal network of political parties-can find a lasting social order that is not based on
law”.
A minimum amount of legal orientation is indispensable everywhere. Law is not, nor can any discipline
be, an insular one. Each rule postulates a factual situation of life to which the rule is to be applied to
produce a certain outcome. Law, in essence, is a normative and prescriptive science. It lays down norms
and standards for human behavior in a set of specified situations.
It is a ‘rule of conduct or action’ prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a
‘controlling authority’. It operates in a formal fashion. It enforces these prescribed norms through
state’s coercive powers. However, the societal values and patterns are dynamic and complex. These
changing societal values and ethos obviously make the discipline of law dynamic and complex. Law,
therefore, has to be dynamic.
Law has acquired a paramount significance in a modern welfare state as an effective instrumentality of
socio-economic transformation. It indeed operates as a catalyst for such a transformation. Such a
complex nature of law and its operation require systematic approach to the ‘understanding’ of ‘law’ and
its ‘operational facets’. A systematic investigation into these aspects of law helps in knowing the existing
and emerging legislative policies, laws, and their social relevance. It also enables to assess efficacy of law
as an instrument of socio-economic changes and to identify bottlenecks, if any. Law, thus, has a social
context. Law without its social context is simply a noteworthy mental exercise.

LEGAL SYSTEM: A SYSTEM OF NORMS AND SOCIAL SYSTEM

In this background, a system of law can be conceptualized in three principal ways. First, a legal system
can be conceived as an aggregate of legal norms. Second, it can be conceived as systems of social
behavior, of roles, statutes, and institutions, as involving patterned interactions between the makers,
interpreters, breakers, enforcers, and compliers of the norms of law. Third, legal system may be equated
with social control systems, involving differential bases of social authority and power, different
normative requirements and sanctions, and distinctive institutional complexes. Thus, there are three
dimensions or aspects of a legal system:
(i) Legal system as a normative system,
(ii) Legal system as a social system, and
(iii) Legal system as a combination of formal and non-formal norms of social control.

Each one of these dimensions of ‘legal system’, however, raise different queries for investigation and set
different orbits for inquiry. Traditionally, the first dimension of legal system, namely law as a system of
norms, is the domain of academic lawyers; the second one, i.e., law as a system of social behavior, is of
sociologists, and the third one is of social anthropologists.
These three dimensions of a system of law, in ultimate analysis, broadly speak of normative character of
law (or perceive law as system of norms) and of social context (or sociology of law) of law. It treats law
as a means to define an end. The traditional perception of law as a system of norms concerns with
analytical-linguistic study of law while the sociology of law highlights the ‘social context’ of ‘law’.

Different Types of Legal Research

1) Descriptive Legal Research: Descriptive Legal research is defined as a research method that describes
the characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This methodology focuses
more on the “what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of the research subject. In other
words, descriptive legal research primarily focuses on the nature of a demographic segment, without
focusing on “why” something happens. In other words, it is a description based which does not cover
the “why” aspect of the research subject.
For example, a lawyer that wants to understand the crime trends among Mumbai will conduct a
demographic survey of this region, gather population data and then conduct descriptive research on this
demographic segment. The research will then give us the details on “what is the crime pattern of
Mumbai?”, but not cover any investigative details on “why” the patterns exits. Because for the lawyer
trying to understand these crimes patterns, for them, understanding the nature of their crimes is the
objective of the study.
2) Quantitative research: Quantitative Legal Research is a characteristic of Descriptive Legal Research
Methodology that attempts to collect quantifiable information to be used for statistical analysis of the
population sample. It is a popular research tool that allows us to collect and describe the nature of the
demographic segment. Quantitative Legal Research collects information from existing and potential data
using sampling methods like online surveys, online polls, questionnaires, etc., the results of which can be
depicted in numerical form. After careful understanding of these numbers, it is possible to predict the
future and make changes to manage the situation.
An example of quantitative research is the survey conducted to understand the turnaround time of
cases in the high court and how much time it takes from the time the case is filed until the judgment is
passed. A complainant’s satisfaction survey template can be administered to ask questions like how
much time did the process take, how often were they called to court, and other such questions.

3) Qualitative Legal Research: Qualitative Legal Research is a subjective form of research that relies on
the analysis of controlled observations of the legal researcher. In qualitative research, data is obtained
from a relatively small group of subjects. Data is not analyzed with statistical techniques. Usually,
narrative data is collected in qualitative research.
Qualitative research can be adopted as a method to study people or systems by interacting with and
observing the subjects regularly. The various methods used for collecting data in qualitative research are
grounded theory practice, narratology, storytelling, and ethnography.
 Grounded theory practice: It is research grounded in the observations or data from which it was
developed. Various data sources used in grounded theory are quantitative data, review of records,
interviews, observation, and surveys.
 Narratology: It refers to the theory and study of narrative and narrative structure. It also shows the
way in which the result affects the researcher’s perception.
 Storytelling: This is a method by which events are recounted in the form of a story. The method is
generally used in the field of organization and management studies.
 Ethnography- Ethnography is used for investigating cultures by collecting and describing data intend
to help the development of a theory.

4) Analytical Legal Research: Analytical Legal Research is a style of qualitative inquiry. It is a specific type
of research that involves critical thinking skills and the evaluation of facts and information relative to the
research being conducted. Lawyers often use an analytical approach to their legal research to find the
most relevant information. From analytical research, a person finds out critical details to add new ideas
to the material being produced.
For example, examining the fluctuations of Crime Rates of India between 2010-2020 is an example of
descriptive research; while explaining why and how the Crime rates spiked over time is an example of
analytical research.

5) Applied Legal Research: Applied Legal Research is a methodology used to find a solution to a pressing
practical problem at hand. It is a straightforward practical approach to the case you are handling. It
involves doing full-fledged research on a specific area of law followed by gathering information on all
technical legal rules and principles applied and forming an opinion on the prospects for the client in the
scenario.
For Example, if your client is an employee of an organization and is fighting against wrongful
termination of contract then the practical approach to this would be by carefully evaluating the
company policies and finding company policies that were violated and to suing the organization based
on those arguments.
6) Pure Legal Research: Pure legal research is also known as basic Legal Research usually focuses on
generalization and formulation of a theory. The aim of this type of research methodology is to broaden
the understanding of a particular field of investigation. It is a more general form of approach to the case
you are handling. The researcher does not focus on the practical utility
For Example, researchers might conduct basic research on illiteracy leads to unemployment. The results
of these theoretical explorations might lead to further studies designed to solve specific problems of
unemployment.

7) Conceptual Legal Research: Conceptual Legal Research is defined as a methodology wherein research
is conducted by observing and analyzing already present information on a given topic. Conceptual
research doesn’t involve conducting any practical experiments. It is related to abstract concepts or
ideas. They are generally resorted to by the philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or
reinterpret the existing concepts but has also proven to be a useful methodology for legal purposes.
For example, many of our ancient laws were influenced by the British Rule. Only later did we improve
upon many laws and created new and simplified laws after our Independence. So another way to think
of this type of research would be to observe, come up with a concept or theories aligned with previous
theories to hopefully derive new theories.

8) Empirical Legal Research: Empirical Legal Research describes how to investigate the roles of
legislation, regulation, legal policies, and other legal arrangements at play in society. It acts as a guide to
paralegals, lawyers, and law students on how to do empirical legal research, covering history, methods,
evidence, growth of knowledge, and links with normativity. This multidisciplinary approach combines
insights and approaches from different social sciences, evaluation studies, Big Data analytics, and
empirically informed ethics.
For example, pharmaceutical companies use empirical research to try out a specific drug on controlled
groups or random groups to study the effect and cause.

Other Major Methods of Legal Research.

1) Doctrinal Legal Research: The central question of inquiry here is ‘what is the law?’ on a particular
issue. It is concerned with finding the law, rigorously analyzing it and coming up with logical reasoning
behind it. Therefore, it immensely contributes to the continuity, consistency, and certainty of law. The
basic information can be found in the statutory material i.e.
Primary sources as well in the secondary sources. However, the research has its own limitations, it is
subjective, that is limited to the perception of the researcher, away from the actual working of the law,
devoid of factors that lie outside the boundaries of the law, and fails to focus on the actual practice of
the courts.

2) Non-doctrinal Legal Research: It is also known as socio-legal research and it looks into how the law
and legal institutions mold and affects society. It employs methods taken from other disciplines in order
to generate empirical data to answer the questions.

3) Comparative Legal Research: This involves a comparison of legal doctrines, legislations, and foreign
laws. It highlights the cultural and social character of law and how does it act in different settings. So it is
useful in developing and amending, and modifying the law. But the cautious approach has to be taken in
blindly accepting the law of another social setting as a base because it might not act in the same manner
in a different setting.
Difference Between Doctrinal and Non-Doctrinal Legal Research
 Research into legal doctrines through analysis of statutory provisions and cases by the application of
power of reasoning.
 Research into relationship of law with other behavioral sciences. It gives prominence to relationship
of law with people, social values and social institutions.
 Doctrinal legal research is ‘research in law’ while non-doctrinal legal research is ‘research about
law’.
 Library research, arm-chair research, or ‘basic or fundamental research’.
 Empirical research, socio-legal research, sociology of law or non-library research.

Aims of Doctrinal Legal Research

 Aims to study case law and statutory law, with a view to find law,
 Aims at consistency and certainty of law,
 (to some extent) looks into the purpose and policy of law that exists, and
 Aims to study legal institutions.

Basic tools of Doctrinal Legal Research

 Original/primary sources of data: International Documents, Statutory materials, Case reports,
Parliamentary Debates and Government Reports
 Secondary source materials: standard textbooks and reference books, legal periodicals, E-resources
like Micro films/CD-ROM/internet etc.

DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH

 Analytical - Evaluative/Critical/Interpretative
 Historical/Evolutive
 Explicative/Descriptive/Explanatory
 Comparative
 Collative

NON-DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH: Emerged due to social school of law. To identify bottlenecks and to
design appropriate strategy to remove them or to minimize their influence on the law so that the law
can be made an effective instrument of socio-economic transformation.

Aims of Non-Doctrinal Legal Research

 To assess the impact of non-legal factors or events upon legal processes or decisions,
 To find the ‘gap’ between legal idealism and social reality, (or to highlight the ‘gaps’ that exist
between the ‘law-in-the statute book’ (that is, the image of law projected in the books) and ‘law-in-
action’ (that is, the perception it exhibits in reality), and impact of law on the social behavior.
 To identify and appraise the magnitude of the variable factors influencing the outcome of legal
processes and decisions-making,
 To trace the consequences of the outcome of legal decision making in terms of value gains and
deprivations for litigants, non-litigants, non-legal institutions.

Basic tools of Non-Doctrinal Legal Research

 Primary/direct sources of empirical data: interview, questionnaire, observation, Projective
Techniques
 Secondary/indirect source of information: Published or unpublished materials (Census Reports,
Reports of Governmental and/or Non-Governmental Agencies).

NON-DOCTRINAL LEGAL RESEARCH

• Exploratory/Formulative/ Experimental
• Identificatory
• Impact Analysis
• Projective
• Predictive

Steps in conducting Legal Research

1. STEP-I: IDENTIFICATION OF AREA FOR RESEARCH
2. STEP-II: DEVELOPING RESEARCH TITLE
3. STEP-III: REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTS
4. STEP-IV: SETTING THE OBJECTIVE
5. STEP-V: DEVELOPING HYPOTHESIS
6. STEP-VI: DECIDING METHODOLOGY TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE
7. STEP-VII: DATA /INFORMATION / LITERATURE COLLECTION
8. STEP-VIII: DATA ANALYSIS / COMPILATION OF INFORMATION
9. STEP-IX: CONCLUSION / GENERALIZATION
10. STEP-X: REPORT WRITING
11. STEP-XI: SUBMISSION OF REPORT AND DISSEMINATION OF REPORT/ PUBLICATION/ WRITING
ARTICLES

Necessary Conditions for a research topic

• Relevant
• Feasible
• Current Topic of Interest
• Contemporary Issue
• Not obsolete
• Scope of research/unexplored/ Novel
• Mainly depends on purpose of study

Types of Research Problems:

1. Descriptive research Problem – asks “what is” and suggests a survey research design.
2. Relationship research Problem – asks what is the relationship between two or more variables and
implies a co-relational design.
3. Difference research Problem – asks what is the difference between two or more groups/ approaches.

Problem statements should possess the following attributes:

 Clarity and precision
 Demonstrate a researchable topic or issue
 Identification of what would be studied
 Identification of key concepts and terms,
 Study's boundaries or parameters or limitations,
 Study's importance, benefits, and justification
Current trends and models of legal research
MODERN TRENDS IN LEGAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Whichever methodology the Legal Researcher has to adopt in his research, there is no doubt that this
has been largely impacted by modern trends in Legal Research. The Legal Researcher therefore cannot
be left out of these monumental changes in the development of the law and legal tools. No trend has
been greater or more significant than developments in legal information brought about by new
technology. Similarly, there are now different rules of procedure guiding the conduct of some
proceedings in the light of the COVID 19. It is therefore expedient to examine some of the new trends in
legal research and look at how it affects us as Legal Researchers.

1. CROSS DISCIPLINARY LEGAL RESEARCH: A recent trend in legal research is the movement towards a
closer working relationship between the Legal Researcher and other genres such as the social and
behavioural scientists in the development of solutions to legal problems. This straddles the areas of
technology, criminal law research and business/economic crimes research, among others. The result
of this collaboration is a large body of research that is now available online for the average Legal
Researcher to access and better help in assisting their Lordships to arrive at a better-informed
decision that would otherwise not be achievable through the traditional monosyllabic research of
old. The lack of availability of textbooks would have rendered such research impossible in any event.

2. TECHNOLOGY AND THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET OF THINGS ON LEGAL RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY: The world of legal information is in a state of continuous change as law firms and
legal researchers now find themselves surrounded by a variety of sources arrayed of formats. Judges
and Lawyers can now speedily access court cases and decisions from anywhere in the world just by
logging into smart phone applications, websites or software that keeps a legal database. With
frequent updates, it is easy to access the latest decisions, keeping Judges and Lawyers continuously
informed about what is happening in the practice of law. One of the biggest steps that has enabled
technology evolve the practice of law is the development of digitalization of the storage of case law,
statutes, and regulations.

Benefit of Technology in Legal Research

• It saves time
• Speediness
• Ease of Research
• Wider Skillset deliverability
• Abundance of Resource Materials

Disadvantages of Technology in Legal Research

• Leads to Information Overload
• Institutionalizes Lazy attitude to Research and reduces the quality of work
• Problem of False Information
• Virus Threat
• Infrastructural Deficit
Doctrinal Legal Research
The central question of inquiry here is ‘what is the law?’ on a particular issue. It is concerned with
finding the law, rigorously analyzing it and coming up with logical reasoning behind it. Therefore, it
immensely contributes to the continuity, consistency, and certainty of law. The basic information can be
found in the statutory material i.e., Primary sources as well in the secondary sources. However, the
research has its own limitations, it is subjective, that is limited to the perception of the researcher, away
from the actual working of the law, devoid of factors that lie outside the boundaries of the law, and fails
to focus on the actual practice of the courts.

Based on the definitions provided by the scholars, it is found that doctrinal legal research is analytical
study of existing laws, related cases and authoritative materials as a whole, on some specific matter. It
can be considered as relatively theory-testing research which endeavors to seek whether theory
involved within subject is so far valid or not. Doctrinal legal research deals with verifying existing
knowledge on the legal issues. Since the society itself is of changing nature as per the human needs,
technological innovations and economic transformations, knowledge on some particular area of law is
also required to be replaced by newer findings. While people keep following same thing in the society
for a long, many issues, and above all, efficacy of knowledge in some particular area of law maybe below
par at the moment. While society is changing day by day, proper and systematic review of the existing
knowledge on law is essential. Therefore, doctrinal legal research works as knowledge building research
in the legal field.

Why is doctrinal legal research important?

The doctrinal legal researches are important element to identify the various problems of the society. It is
very helpful to improve the social relations as well as Society while reform law towards the social
development.

Historical Development
Doctrinal Legal Research has been dominant in the realm of research in law field for over centuries.
History of doctrinal legal research dates back to nineteenth century while legal professionals were
developed as clerks, law began developing as case law and the Court's decisions went on updating the
law in common legal system.
The doctrinal method lies at the basis of the common law and it has remained as prominent legal
research method all over the world to date. Dominant influence of doctrinal method was seen in
nineteenth and twentieth century legal research along with the rise of common law system. Even the
notion of doctrinal also developed along with the doctrine of precedents. The rules which were ‘evolved
organically and slowly’ and applied by the Courts in common legal system repeatedly and consistently
were considered as doctrinal legal concepts. Following such notion of doctrinal, doctrinal research in
legal concepts eventually come into existence in the common legal system.
Until the first decade of nineteenth century, law itself was not established as an academic discipline in
the common law world. At the same time as law gradually developed into an academic field in
nineteenth and twentieth century in Europe especially in United Kingdom, doctrinal research emerged
as an academic instrument for legal research. Universities in the common legal system mostly adopted
doctrinal method as mainstream legal research method till the last decade of the twentieth century.

Aims of Doctrinal Legal Research

 Aims to study case law and statutory law, with a view to find law
 Aims at consistency and certainty of law
 To some extent looks into the purpose and policy of law that exists
 Aims to study legal institutions.

Basic tools of Doctrinal Legal Research

 Original/primary sources of data: International Documents, Statutory materials, Case reports,
Parliamentary Debates and Government Reports
 Secondary source materials: standard textbooks and reference books, legal periodicals, E-resources
like Micro films/CD-ROM/internet etc.

Models of Doctrinal legal research

 Analytical - Evaluative/Critical/Interpretative
Analytical Legal Research: Analytical Legal Research is a style of qualitative inquiry. It is a specific
type of research that involves critical thinking skills and the evaluation of facts and information
relative to the research being conducted. Lawyers often use an analytical approach to their legal
research to find the most relevant information. From analytical research, a person finds out critical
details to add new ideas to the material being produced.
For example, examining the fluctuations of Crime Rates of India between 2010-2020 is an example
of descriptive research; while explaining why and how the Crime rates spiked over time is an
example of analytical research.

 Historical/Evolutive: Historical approach to legal research helps untangle legal problems rooted in
the past. It often provides guideposts showing how things have developed and evolved over the
years. Historical account of how legal institutions and the ‘law’ have evolved with the march of time
presents a fascinating picture of the working of law, and reveals facts crucial to unravelling many a
legal conundrum that requires often looking back to the past. Such facts usually lie forgotten,
ignored or dusted in the annals of legal history. A legal researcher may be required to revisit these
facts and extricate them from oblivion so that they continue to be relevant to law, and to society at
large.

 Explicative/Descriptive/Explanatory: Descriptive Legal research is defined as a research method

that describes the characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This
methodology focuses more on the “what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of the
research subject. In other words, descriptive legal research primarily focuses on the nature of a
demographic segment, without focusing on “why” something happens. In other words, it is a
description based which does not cover the “why” aspect of the research subject.

 Comparative: This involves a comparison of legal doctrines, legislations, and foreign laws. It
highlights the cultural and social character of law and how does it act in different settings. So it is
useful in developing and amending, and modifying the law. But the cautious approach has to be
taken in blindly accepting the law of another social setting as a base because it might not act in the
same manner in a different setting.

 Collative: When a legal researcher prepares a digest of laws, statutory provisions, judicial
pronouncements or annotated bibliography on a particular topic or subject, that research gets the
label of collative legal research. Here the legal researcher collects all the relevant materials, with or
without its summary, on a given topic and arranges/classifies them in a logical manner. A well-
 collated material will serve a useful purpose by reducing the labor of researchers. It offers reliable
versions of the law. Collative material has its own value and collative research is an end in itself.

Steps of Doctrinal Legal Research

This approach is predicated on solving a specific legal problem and normally includes the following
steps:
a. Assembling relevant facts
b. Identifying the legal issues
c. Analyzing the issues with a view to searching for the law
d. Reading background material (including legal dictionaries, legal encyclopedias, textbooks, law reform
and policy papers, journal articles)
e. Locating primary material including legislation, delegated legislation and case law
f. Synthesizing all the issues in context
g. Coming to a tentative conclusion

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

The main difference between inductive and deductive reasoning is that inductive reasoning aims
at developing a theory while deductive reasoning aims at testing an existing theory. Inductive reasoning
moves from specific observations to broad generalizations, and deductive reasoning the other way
around. Both approaches are used in various types of research, and it’s not uncommon to combine them
in one large study.

Inductive research approach: When there is little to no existing literature on a topic, it is common to
perform inductive research because there is no theory to test. The inductive approach consists of three
stages:
1. Observation
2. Observe a pattern
3. Develop a theory

Limitations of an inductive approach: A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can
never be proven, but it can be invalidated.

Deductive research approach: When conducting deductive research, you always start with a theory (the
result of inductive research). Reasoning deductively means testing these theories. If there is no theory
yet, you cannot conduct deductive research. The deductive research approach consists of four stages:
1. Start with an existing theory
2. Formulate a hypothesis based on existing theory
3. Collect data to test the hypothesis
4. Analyze the results

Limitations of a deductive approach: The conclusions of deductive reasoning can only be true if all the
premises set in the inductive study are true and the terms are clear.
Combining inductive and deductive research: Many scientists conducting a larger research project
begin with an inductive study (developing a theory). The inductive study is followed up with deductive
research to confirm or invalidate the conclusion. The conclusion (theory) of the inductive study is also
used as a starting point for the deductive study.
Empirical Legal Research
Introduction
While there has been some debate regarding the proper name for and definition of empirical research in
law, for purposes of introduction, this guide accepts the explanation put forth by John Baldwin and
Gwynn Davis in Chapter 39 of the Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies:
"Empirical research in law involves the study, through direct methods rather than secondary sources, of
the institutions rules, procedures, and personnel of the law, with a view to understanding how they
operate and what effects they have. It is not a synonym for 'statistical' or 'factual', and its intellectual
depth and significance are not determined by the empirical label”.

Origin
The origin of empirical research starts from the quote “I will not believe it unless I see it myself.”
Empirical research emerged during the renaissance with medieval science. The word empirical is derived
from the Greek word ‘empeirikos’ meaning ‘experienced’.
The word empirical, in today’s day and age, refers to collecting data through methods of observation,
experience, or by specific scientific instruments. All of these methods are dependent on observation and
experiments which are used to collect data and test the same for arriving at conclusions. Online survey
tools are an extremely effective technique which can be used for empirical research.

Importance
Empirical research is important because "there are important questions in the law and about legal
institutions that can’t be answered" through the traditional textual analysis methods of research. For
example, if a researcher is interested in researching the impact of selecting a particular rule of law on
the decision making of individuals and businesses. Textual analysis would not shed light on a topic.
However, we can certainly understand how an argument for a judgment accepting a particular rule of
law would be strengthened by including evidence on the likely effect on "actors in the real world."

Steps involved in Empirical legal research

Since empirical research is based on observation and capturing experiences, it is important to plan the
steps to conduct the experiment and how to analyze it. This will enable the researcher to resolve
problems or obstacles which can occur during the experiment.
1. Step 1 Define the purpose of the research: The very first step is for the researcher to identify the
area of research and the problem can be addressed by finding out ways to solve it. The researcher
should come up with various questions regarding what is the problem, who will benefit from the
research, how should they go about the process, etc. The researchers should explore the purpose of
the research in detail.

2. Step 2 Supporting theories and relevant literature: After exploring and finding out the purpose of
the research, the researcher must aim to find if there are existing theories that have addressed this
before. The researcher has to figure out whether any previous studies can help them support their
research. During this stage of empirical research, the researcher should aim at finding all relevant
literature that will help them understand the problem at hand. The researcher should also come up
with his/her own set of assumptions or problem statements that they wish to explore.
3. Step 3 Creation of Hypothesis and measurement: If the researcher is aiming to solve a problem the
problem has not been resolved efficiently in previous research, then the researcher creates his/her
own problem statement. This problem statement, also called hypothesis, will be based on the
 questions that the researcher came up with while identifying the area of concern. The researcher
can also form a hypothesis on the basis of prior research they found and studied during the
literature review phase of the study.

4. Step 4 Methodology, research design and data collection: Here the researcher has to define the
strategies to be used for conducting the research. They can set up experiments in collecting data
that can help them come up with probable hypotheses. On the basis of the hypotheses, researchers
can decide whether they will require experimental or non-experimental methods for the conduction
of the research. The research design will depend upon the field in which the research is to be
conducted. The researchers will need to find parameters that can affect the validity of the research
design. Researchers also need to choose appropriate methods of data collection, which in turn
depends on the research question. There are many sampling methods that can be used by the
researcher. Once, the data is collected, it has to be analyzed.

5. Step 5 Data Analysis and result: Data can be analyzed either qualitatively and quantitatively.
Researchers will need to decide which method they will employ depending upon the nature of the
data collected. Researchers can also use a combination of both for their study. On the basis of the
analysis, the hypothesis will either be supported or rejected. Data analysis is the most important
aspect of empirical research.

6. Step 6 Conclusion: The researcher will have to collate the findings and make a report. The
researcher can use previous theories and literature to support their hypothesis and lineage of
findings. The researcher can also make recommendations for future research on similar issues.

Framing of Objectives
Research Objectives should be clear and achievable, as they directly assist in answering the research
problem. Generally, they are written as statements, using the word “to”. E.g.- to discover, to determine,
to establish, etc.

1. Define the focus of your study.

2. Clearly identify variables to be measured.
3. Indicate the various steps to be involved.
4. Establish the limits of the study.
5. Avoid collection of any data that is not strictly necessary.

Example 1: An analysis of health complains/morbidity pattern and treatment seeking behavior in

reproductive age of low socio-economic group in Noida
Objectives:
 To find out health complains /morbidity pattern of women
 To describe the socio demographic profile of women
 To explain the treatment seeking behavior of women

Example 2: Gender Injustice in the Upper Class of Indian Society: A Socio-Legal Study of Agra
Objectives:
 To study the gender bias in Indian society
 To identify the general characteristic of upper class of Indian society
 To find out the causes of gender injustice
 To assess the relation between gender level and gender justice
 To evaluate legal remedy available for gender injustice
 To suggest measures

Hypothesis – meaning, types, significance and structure

DEVELOPING HYPOTHESIS
We cannot take a single step forward in any inquiry unless we begin with a suggested explanation or
solution of the difficulty which originated it. Such tentative explanations are suggested to us by
something in the subject-matter and by our previous knowledge. When they are formulated as
propositions, they are called hypotheses.
 It’s a “tentative assumption” which provides the focus or direction which the researcher should
take.
 Simply means an Assumption or some supposition that one wants to test => turns to Conclusion.
 But for a researcher hypothesis is a formal question that he intends to resolve.
 Proved/Disproved/Not proved
 Hypothesis requires strong theoretical base for its justification (Base of hypothesis)
 Writing the hypothesis should not sound as a result or conclusion or recommendation.
 It may be right, partially right or wrong.
 It can never be in a “?”
 It should be simple, specific and conceptually clear.

Examples:
 Health Education programmes reduces the number of people who smoke.
 Students who receive counselling will show a greater increase in creativity than students not
receiving counselling
 Urbanization and urban life style boost suicide rate
 Broken homes tend to lead juvenile delinquency
 Poverty causes criminality, and unemployment among youths leads to violent crimes.

Difficulties in forming a Hypothesis

Formulating a hypothesis is not an easy task. According to Goode & Hatt, there are three ‘chief
difficulties’ in the ‘road to the formulation of useful hypotheses. They are:
1. Absence of knowledge of or absence of a clear theoretical framework.
2. Lack of ability to utilize that theoretical framework logically.
3. Failure to be acquainted with available research techniques so as to be able to phrase the
hypothesis properly.
To be complete the hypothesis must include three components:
 The variables
 The population
 The relationship between the variables

A hypothesis should be clear, precise, and stated clearly using appropriate terminology, testable, state
relationship between variables, limited in scope and focused, amenable to testing within a reasonable
time.
Types of Hypotheses
 Working hypothesis: A workable research hypothesis is a prediction about the relationship between
variables. A positive statement about the outcome of the study.
 Null hypothesis: A null hypothesis always predicts the absence of a relationship between two
variables.

 Alternative hypothesis: It is formulated when a researcher totally rejects null hypothesis. She/he
develops alternative hypothesis with adequate reasons.
 Simple hypothesis: It predicts the relationship between a single independent variable and a single
dependent variable.

 Complex hypothesis: Predicts the relationship between two or more independent variables and two
or more dependent variables.

 Directional hypotheses: They specify the expected direction of the relationship between variables
i.e., the researcher predicts not only the existence of a relationship but also its nature.

 Non-directional hypotheses: an outcome is anticipated but the specific nature of it is unsure. Used
when there is little or no theory, or when findings of previous studies are contradictory.

 Associative hypotheses: Propose relationships between variables - when one variable changes, the
other changes. Do not indicate cause and effect.

 Causal hypothesis: Propose a cause and effect interaction between two or more variables.

 Inductive hypotheses: Inductive hypotheses are formed through inductively reasoning from many
specific observations to tentative explanations.

 Deductive hypotheses: Deductive hypotheses are formed through deductively reasoning

implications of theory.

Components of a good Hypotheses

 A solid Question
 Background Research
 Making sure its testable
 Independent and dependent variables

Identifying Variables
To ensure the objectivity in the study of an identified problem, the researcher has to be clear as to what
variables are to be examined or investigated.

Variable
 Anything that can vary or that can take on differing or varying values can be considered as a
variable.
 A variable is a property or characteristic that takes on different values.
 It is a symbol to which numbers or values can be attached or assigned.
 Useful in Empirical research which involves data analysis.

Types of variables
 Independent variables –An independent variable is the one that influences the dependent variable
in either a positive or negative way.
 Dependent variables –The variable which changes on account of independent variable is known as
dependent variable.
 Extraneous variable – not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the dependent
variable.
 Intervening variable – a variable whose existence is inferred but cannot be manipulated or
controlled. They intervene between cause and effect.
 Moderator variable – a variable that may or may not be controlled but has an effect on the research
situation/phenomenon.

Universe and Sampling Design

Modes of Data Collection
 Census or Universe Method: When the whole area or population of persons is contacted, the
method is known as census or universe method.
 Sampling method: When a small group is selected as representative of the whole it is known as
sample method.

Sampling is used when

1. to collect or gather information from a wider area;
2. not require cent percent accuracy;
3. the population is homogeneous;
4. not possible to adopt census method.

CHARACTERISTICS OR ESSENTIALS OR QUALITIES OF A GOOD SAMPLING UNIT

According to Calvin, the two major characteristics of a good sample are: -
(1) It must be representative of the universe or population.
(2) It must be adequate in size in order to be reliable.
(3) clear, unambiguous and definite.
(4) suitable for the problem under study.
(5) contain independent character.
(6) have homogeneity character.
(7) have the same chance for inclusion and be selected on the basis of mathematical law of chance or
probability.
(8) represent the different areas of the universe.

Sampling Design
STEPS IN SAMPLE DESIGN
• Preparation of source
• Deciding the sampling
• Selecting the sampling techniques
• Size of sample
• Budgetary constraint

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SAMPLE DESIGNS

• The Probability / Random Sampling: Probability sample is one in which each element in the total
population has a known probability of being included in the sample.

• The Non-probability/Non-random sampling: non-probability sample is one in which each element

in the population has an unknown probability of being included in the sample.

Probability/Random sampling techniques

1. Simple random sampling
 Lottery method
 Random numbers
 Selection from sequential list
 Grid system
2. Complex random sampling
 Systematic Sampling
 Stratified Random Sampling
 Cluster/Area Sampling /Subsampling
 Multi-stage Sample

Non-probability/Non-Random sampling techniques

 Quota Sampling
 Purposive Sampling
 Snowball Sampling
 Dimensional Sampling
 Convenience Sampling
 Accident Sampling

Advantages of Sampling
 Time saving
 Less expensive
 Detailed study
 Administrative convenience
 Impossibility of the use of census method
Tools for data collection

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of interest, in an
established systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated research questions, test hypotheses,
and evaluate outcomes.
Many different methodologies can be used to collect data and analyze them. Surprisingly, most of them
are developed around a core set of basic data collection methods. Moreover, these include interviews,
document analysis, focus group discussions, observation, photography, video, surveys, questionnaires,
and case studies.
With the advent of electronic media and the internet, online sources become easily accessible for
gathering data and reuse them for further research and decision making. Today we’ll show you how to
use data collection tools that help you collect different types of data with extreme ease.

Data collection tools are the devices or instruments of gathering data, such as a paper questionnaire or
computer-assisted interviewing system. In addition, here are some of the data collection techniques
used by the Data Collection Tools-
 Interviews
 Questionnaires
 Case Studies
 Usage Data
 Checklists
 Surveys
 Observations
 Documents and records
 Focus groups
 Oral histories

Types of Data Collection

Now depending on the problem statement, the data collection method is broadly classified into two
categories-
1. Primary Data Collection: Above all, primary data collection is the process of gathering raw data by
researchers directly from main sources through surveys, interviews, or experiments.
2. Secondary Data Collection: Secondary data is the type of data that has already been collected by
another person or organization for a different purpose, e.g., reporting or research. You can collect
these data from magazines, newspapers, books, blogs, journals, etc.

In the Secondary Data collection process, all the data available is analyzed by someone beforehand.
Compared to primary data collection this is much less expensive and easier to collect. It may be either
published data or unpublished data.

Analysis and Interpretation of data

In any research, the step of analysis of the data is one of the most crucial tasks requiring proficient
knowledge to handle the data collected as per the pre decided research design of the project. Analysis
of data is defined by Prof Wilkinson and Bhandarkar as- A number of closely related operations that are
performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing these in such a manner
that they will yield answers to the research questions or suggest hypothesis or questions if no such
questions or hypothesis had initiated the study.
Difference between data analysis, processing and interpretation

The general understanding is that data analysis and processing are one and the same. However, a
number of researchers and authors are of the opinion that both of them are two very distinct steps in
the research process where data processing leads to data analysis.

According to Francis Rummel, “the analysis and interpretation of data involve the objective material in
the possession of the researcher and his subjective reaction and desires to derive from the data the
inherent meaning in their relation to the problem. To avoid making conclusions or interpretations from
insufficient or invalid data, the final analysis must be anticipated in detail when plans are being made for
collecting information.

Data Interpretation Once the data has been processed and analyzed, the final step required in the
research process is interpretation of the data. The line between analysis and interpretation is very thin.
Through interpretation one understands what the given research findings really mean and what is the
underlying generalization which is manifested thought the data collected. This can be descriptive or
analytical or theoretical. The data is interpreted from the point of the research questions and hypothesis
is tested. While interpretation is being done, generalizations are drawn. Thus, interpretation consists of
conclusions that the researcher has reached after the data has been processed and analyzed.

Types of data analysis

Data analysis depends upon the nature of research that the researcher is undertaking. Types of data
analysis vary depending upon whether the research is qualitative or quantitative in nature. In the
present module, as earlier stated we will be studying various types of data analysis from the stand point
of quantitative research only.

1. Descriptive analysis: According to C Emory, “descriptive analysis is largely the study of distribution
of one variable. This study provides us with profiles of companies, work groups, persons and other
subjects on any multiple characteristics such as size, composition, efficiency, preferences, etc.

Illustration: The researcher is collecting data from various law colleges in India to map the job
preferences of the students in the final year of LL.B. In such a research job preferences like litigation,
corporate, further studies, judiciary etc. becomes the variable.

Under it statistical tools like percentage and means are used and the data is then represented
through a graph. The data analysis may be having one variable also known as one-dimensional
analysis or two variables/ bivariate analysis or more than two variables also described as
multivariate analysis.

2. Inferential analysis: Inferential analysis is concerned with the various tests of significance for testing
hypotheses in order to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate some conclusion or
conclusions. It is also concerned with the estimation of population values. It is mainly on the basis of
inferential analysis that the task of interpretation (i.e., the task of drawing inferences and
conclusions) is performed.

Illustration: The researcher is studying the access to justice system in India and his hypothesis
beings that the India justice delivery system favors the haves and marginalizes the have not’s. The
data collected is from various stages in the delivery system like police station, courts of justice,
 litigants etc. Once the data is collected, proceeded then the researcher does inferential analysis to
test the validity of the hypotheses.

General characteristics of analysis of the data

1. The researcher should keep in mind that the analysis of data will vary depending upon the type of
study i.e., qualitative or quantitative or mixed in nature.
2. The researcher should possess thorough knowledge of the area of research as well as the data
collected by him which will help in the analysis of data.
3. The data to be analyzed and interpreted should: a. Be reproducible, b. Be readily disposed to
quantitative treatment c. Have significance for some systematic theory, and can serve as broad
generalization.
4. The researcher should keep a clear set of hypotheses formulated at the very start of the research
which will lead to clearer actions and better data collection as well as analysis.
5. In case the data collected is from vague clues rather than according to the specific hypothesis, in
such cases the data are analyzed inductively or investigated during the process and not by means
of any prescribed set of rules.
6. For a successful study, the task of analysis and interpretation should be designed before the data is
actually collected.

Review of literature
Once the research problem is formulated, the researcher needs to undertake an extensive survey of
literature connected with, related to, and/or having bearing on, his research problem. This is the process
whereby the researcher locates and selects the references that are relevant for his inquiry. A scholar of
law, at this stage, is expected to carefully trace and lay his hands on standard textbooks, reference
books dealing with or having bearing on the research problem, legal periodicals (to locate research
articles written, or authoritative comments made, on the subject or its allied subjects), case reports (to
get familiarize with the thitherto judicial exposition of the problem), conference/symposium/seminar
proceedings, if any, (to acquaint with different dimensions highlighted in, delved into, or emerged from,
the conference/symposium/seminars, Government or Committee Reports (to appreciate and
understand perspectives of the experts in the field and of policy-makers), and general web pages (to
know latest emerging perspectives and illustrative examples). The researcher has also to take special
care to locate earlier studies done on the problem and to have a quick reading thereof.

However, in the recent past, the literature review process has changed dramatically with access to
computers and specially World Wide Web. Though we may rely upon almost completely on the Web
and search engines, let us remind ourselves of two caveats. First, searching the www is, by itself,
insufficient for literature review. Although many leading journals and other published information from
recognized sources are now available on the Web, it does not have all the available literature. Using the
Web can be the basis of literature review but it needs to be balanced with material-very new-published
in journals and periodicals that are not put on the Web and the publications that might not have been
caught by search engines. Further, local country’s materials from marginalized groups may likely to be
under-represented or un-represented on the Web. Secondly, it is not always evident that the
information put on the Web is presented accurately.
Importance
Literature review makes the researcher conversant with the materials available on his research problem
and their ‘place’, the thitherto explored (and unexplored) aspects/dimensions of the problem,
theoretical bases of the problem, and relevant theories in the field.

Literature review, thus, helps the researcher to know and to have his preliminary impressions about:
 The explored and unexplored aspects/dimensions of the problem and the explanations offered or
issues raised without offering solutions therefor.
 The gaps, if any, in the thitherto-offered explanations of the problem/its dimensions and their inter-
relationship and adequacy in explaining the problem/its dimensions.
 Theoretical and conceptual issues raised, with or without suggesting solutions therefor.
 The operational framework and research techniques used in the previous research, and their
propriety.

Purpose
Literature review enables the researcher to know what kind of data has been used, what methods have
been used to obtain the data, and what difficulties the earlier researchers in collecting and analyzing the
data have faced. Main purposes of literature review, thus, are:
 To reveal what has been done and written on the topic in the past.
 To ‘map’, with their limitations, the thitherto used research techniques,
 To know the kind of material/data used and their sources.
 To appreciate adequacy (or otherwise) of the data used for drawing the conclusions.
 To know the central arguments advanced and the concepts revealed and discussed earlier.
 To acquaint with the patterns of presentation of these arguments and the concepts and the
relationship established (or attempted to establish) between these arguments and the concepts.
 To, in the light of the earlier studies, findings, and the problems encountered, rephrase, with
precision, his research problem/question, and to devise appropriate research techniques for smooth
operation of his inquiry.
Presentation of research
Writing an Abstract
Abstract: a short statement that describes a longer work.
 Indicate the subject.
 Describe the purpose of the investigation.
 Briefly discuss the method used.
 Make a statement about the result.

Oral Presentation
Oral presentations usually introduce a discussion of a topic or research paper. A good oral presentation
is focused, concise, and interesting in order to trigger a discussion.
 Be well prepared; write a detailed outline.
 Introduce the subject.
 Talk about the sources and the method.
 Indicate if there are conflicting views about the subject (conflicting views trigger discussion).
 Make a statement about your new results (if this is your research paper).
 Use visual aids or handouts if appropriate.

Compiling a PowerPoint
An effective PowerPoint presentation is just an aid to the presentation, not the presentation itself.
Dos
 Be brief and concise.
 Focus on the subject.
 Attract attention; indicate interesting details.
 If possible, use relevant visual illustrations (pictures, maps, charts graphs, etc.).
 Use bullet points or numbers to structure the text.
 Make clear statements about the essence/results of the topic/research.
Don'ts
 Don't write down the whole outline of your paper and nothing else.
 Don't write long full sentences on the slides.
 Don't use distracting colors, patterns, pictures, decorations on the slides.
 Don't use too complicated charts, graphs; only those that are relatively easy to understand.

Data Processing
After collecting data, the method of converting raw data into meaningful statement; includes data
processing, data analysis, and data interpretation and presentation. Data reduction or processing mainly
involves various manipulations necessary for preparing the data for analysis. It involves editing,
categorizing the open-ended questions, coding, computerization and preparation of tables and
diagrams. Data processing is concerned with editing, coding, classifying, tabulating and charting and
diagramming research data. The essence of data processing in research is data reduction. Data
reduction involves winnowing out the irrelevant from the relevant data and establishing order from
chaos and giving shape to a mass of data. Data processing in research consists of five important steps:
1. Editing of data
2. Coding of data
3. Classification of data
4. Tabulation of data
5. Data diagrams

Six stages of data processing

1. Data collection: Collecting data is the first step in data processing. Data is pulled from available
sources, including data lakes and data warehouses. It is important that the data sources available
are trustworthy and well-built so the data collected (and later used as information) is of the highest
possible quality.
2. Data preparation: Once the data is collected, it then enters the data preparation stage. Data
preparation, often referred to as “pre-processing” is the stage at which raw data is cleaned up and
organized for the following stage of data processing. During preparation, raw data is diligently
checked for any errors. The purpose of this step is to eliminate bad data (redundant, incomplete, or
incorrect data) and begin to create high-quality data for the best business intelligence.
3. Data Input: The clean data is then entered into its destination and translated into a language that it
can understand. Data input is the first stage in which raw data begins to take the form of usable
information.
4. Processing: During this stage, the data inputted to the computer in the previous stage is actually
processed for interpretation. Processing is done using machine learning algorithms, though the
process itself may vary slightly depending on the source of data being processed (data lakes, social
networks, connected devices etc.) and its intended use (examining advertising patterns, medical
diagnosis from connected devices, determining customer needs, etc.).
5. Data output/interpretation: The output/interpretation stage is the stage at which data is finally
usable to non-data scientists. It is translated, readable, and often in the form of graphs, videos,
images, plain text, etc.). Members of the company or institution can now begin to self-serve the
data for their own data analytics projects.
6. Data storage and Report Writing: The final stage of data processing is storage. After all of the data
is processed, it is then stored for future use. While some information may be put to use
immediately, much of it will serve a purpose later on. Plus, properly stored data is a necessity for
compliance with data protection legislation like GDPR. When data is properly stored, it can be
quickly and easily accessed by members of the organization when needed.

Analysis and Interpretation of data

Analysis of data
After the data have been collected, the researcher needs to turn to the task of analyzing them. Data, in
any form, are raw and neutral. Their direction and trend is generally highlighted and reflected with the
help of analysis and interpretation. Analysis of data comes prior to interpretation. However, there is no
clear-cut dividing line between analysis and interpretation. Analysis is not complete without
interpretation and interpretation cannot proceed without analysis. They are inter-dependent. Analysis
of data involves a number of closely related operations, such as classification or categorization, coding,
and tabulation. Classification or categorization of data is the process of arranging data in groups or
classes according to their resemblance or affinity. The researcher has to classify his data into required
categories. The categorization has to be based on the problem under study or the hypothesis
formulated. The category must be exhaustive and suitable for classifying all responses. They must be
distinct, separate, and mutually exclusive. Coding involves the assigning of symbols or numerical to each
of the category of responses so that raw data can be counted or tabulated. Tabulation is a means of
recording classification in a compact form in such a way to facilitate comparisons and show the involved
relations between two or more variables. It is a sort of arrangement of data in requisite rows and
columns.

Interpretation of data
Interpretation is considered as one of the basic components of research. It refers to the task of drawing
inference from the collected data. The inference may be deductive or inductive. The former involves
inferences from generally abstracts propositions to particular ones. While the latter is inference from
particular propositions to general propositions.
Through interpretation, the researcher attempts to search for broader meaning of research findings. He
tries to establish link between the results of his inquiry with those of another and to establish some
explanatory concepts. He, through his interpretation, endeavors to find and understand the abstract
principle that works beneath his findings. Interpretation opens up new avenues for intellectual
adventures and stimulates the quest for more knowledge. The process of interpretation may quite often
trigger off new questions that in turn may lead to further researches. In fact, the usefulness and utility of
a research lie in proper interpretation of the collected facts.
One should, however, remember that even if data is properly collected and analyzed, wrong
interpretation would lead to inaccurate and misleading conclusions. Interpretation, therefore, must be
impartial and objective. A researcher should explain why his findings are so, in objective terms. He
should also try to bring out the principles involved behind his inferences. However, the task of
interpretation is not an easy task. It requires a great skill. It is an art that one learns through practice and
experience.

Research report
Introduction
Research without writing is of little purpose. Accordingly, the research report is considered a major
component of the research task that remains incomplete till the report has been presented and/or
written. There are, of course, other ways of communicating your research and its findings, most notably
through oral presentation, but writing them up remains of paramount importance in most areas of
research. Writing is just an instrument of communicating the researcher’s findings and conclusions to
the audience or readers, or consumers of the research product.

What is Legal Research Report?

The last phase of the journey of research is the writing of research report. It is a major component of
research. Research remains incomplete until report is written. Through research report, the researcher
communicates with his audience. It is an account of journey of the researcher. However, it is not a
complete description of what has been done during his research. It contains only an account of the
statement of problem investigated, the procedure adopted and the findings arrived at by the
investigator. It contains the significant facts that are necessary to appreciate and understand the
generalizations drawn by the investigator. A researcher is, thus, expected to, through his research
report, share with his audience the research problem investigated, the methods used for the collection
of data, their analysis and interpretation, and the results or findings of the study. The purpose of
research report is to convey to the interested persons the whole result of the inquiry in sufficient
details. Contents and style of the report therefore depend upon the kind of audience it intends to
address. Therefore, there cannot be hard and fast rules pertaining to the contents and format of a
research report. Nevertheless, research report needs to be presented in such a manner that its readers
grasp the context, methodology and findings easily. A research report generally needs to contain in it
the requisite information about: (i) the problem undertaken for investigation and objectives thereof, (ii)
methodology adopted in the inquiry, and (iii) analysis and inferences of investigation and their
theoretical and practical implications, if any.

Sources
Legal research can be done using sources of different authorities. A legal researcher is obliged to resort
to various types of authorities which serve as secondary sources. Authorities could be books, Journals,
magazines, judicial decisions; legislation of different kinds of speeches, letters and interviews. Legal
research has its own specific features in terms of its sources of information and rules of citation.

Importance of Citation
The content and form of citations are very important tools in Report Writing. They vary depending on
the kind of source we make use of as a source of information. Accordingly, reference books, journals,
documents, interviews, etc. have their own respective rules of citation. The forms have also similarities.
The form of bibliography is also another important element. The sources should be cited so that our
audience can be convinced that our arguments are supported by appropriate sources or materials,
which have direct or indirect relevancy to the arguments we may raise. It is also important to arid
plagiarism and to acknowledge the authors of our reference material. On the basis of our citation, the
audience may even want to read the sources we cited. For these purposes, the researcher has to cite his
sources properly adhering to generally accepted rules of citations in legal research.

Steps in Report Writing

Research reports are the product of slow, painstaking, accurate inductive work. The usual steps involved
in writing report are:
1. Logical analysis of the subject matter: It is the first step which is primarily concerned with the
development of a subject. There are two ways in which to develop a subject logically and
chronologically. The logical development is made on the basis of mental connections and
associations between the one thing and another by means of analysis. Logical treatment often
consists in developing the material from the simple possible to the most complex structures.
Chronological development is based on a connection or sequence in time or occurrence. The
directions for doing or making something usually follow the chronological order.

2. Preparation of the final outline: It is the next step in writing the research report. Outlines are the
framework upon which long written works are constructed. They are an aid to the logical
organization of the material and a reminder of the points to be stressed in the report.

3. Preparation of the rough draft: This follows the logical analysis of the subject and the preparation
of the final outline. Such a step is of utmost importance for the researcher now sits to write down
what he has done in the context of his research study. He will write down the procedure adopted by
him in collecting the material for his study along with various limitations faced by him, the technique
of analysis adopted by him, the broad findings and generalizations and the various suggestions he
wants to offer regarding the problem concerned.

4. Rewriting and polishing of the rough draft: This step happens to be most difficult part of all formal
writing. Usually, this step requires more time than the writing of the rough draft. The careful
revision makes the difference between a mediocre and a good piece of writing. While rewriting and
 polishing, one should check the report for weaknesses in logical development or presentation. The
researcher should also “see whether or not the material, as it is presented, has unity and cohesion;
does the report stand upright and firm and exhibit a definite pattern, like a marble arch? Or does it
resemble an old wall of moldering cement and loose brick.” In addition the researcher should give
due attention to the fact that in his rough draft he has been consistent or not. He should check the
mechanics of writing—grammar, spelling and usage.

5. Preparation of the final bibliography: Next in order comes the task of the preparation of the final
bibliography. The bibliography, which is generally appended to the research report, is a list of books
in some way pertinent to the research which has been done. It should contain all those works which
the researcher has consulted. The bibliography should be arranged alphabetically and may be
divided into two parts; the first part may contain the names of books and pamphlets, and the
second part may contain the names of magazine and newspaper articles. Generally, this pattern of
bibliography is considered convenient and satisfactory from the point of view of reader, though it is
not the only way of presenting bibliography. The entries in bibliography should be made adopting
the following order:
For books and pamphlets, the order may be as under:
 Name of author, last name first.
 Title, underlined to indicate italics.
 Place, publisher, and date of publication.
 Number of volumes.
Example: Kothari, C.R., Quantitative Techniques, New Delhi, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.,
1978.
 For magazines and newspapers, the order may be as under:
o Name of the author, last name first.
o Title of article, in quotation marks.
o Name of periodical, underlined to indicate italics.
o The volume or volume and number.
o The date of the issue.
o The pagination.
Example: Robert V. Roosa, “Coping with Short-term International Money Flows”, The
Banker, London, September, 1971, p. 995.

The above examples are just the samples for bibliography entries and may be used, but one should also
remember that they are not the only acceptable forms. The only thing important is that, whatever
method one selects, it must remain consistent.

6. Writing the final draft: This constitutes the last step. The final draft should be written in a concise
and objective style and in simple language, avoiding vague expressions such as “it seems”, “there
may be”, and the like ones. While writing the final draft, the researcher must avoid abstract
terminology and technical jargon. Illustrations and examples based on common experiences must be
incorporated in the final draft as they happen to be most effective in communicating the research
findings to others. A research report should not be dull, but must enthuse people and maintain
interest and must show originality. It must be remembered that every report should be an attempt
to solve some intellectual problem and must contribute to the solution of a problem and must add
to the knowledge of both the researcher and the reader.
Format Style and Language of Report
Use a traditional font, such as Arial or Times New Roman in a 12-point size. Adjust the margins to give a
uniform one inch on all sides, unless your instructions state otherwise; some offices prefer a larger
margin on the left side of the page. Set justification to “left” so that spacing is not distorted.
Some find it helpful to start by filling out the expected section captions as a sort of bare-bones outline
before beginning the work of writing the draft. Your firm or law school may use different names for
these sections, but essentially, you'll need:
1. Heading (or case caption)
2. Question Presented, or Issues
3. Brief Answer to the Question Presented (or brief recitation of your conclusion)
4. Statement of Facts
5. Discussion or Analysis
6. Conclusion
Keep in mind the audience for your memorandum or report. Typically, this type of report is written for
an attorney (or a law school class professor) who may have extensive knowledge of the law in the
relevant area, but may not be as familiar with the facts of the specific case. The outline and customary
sections are designed to help the reader focus on the most important information without being
distracted by extraneous details.
As for line-spacing, often the Question Presented and Brief Answer sections are single spaced, while the
remainder of the memo is double-spaced.

Question Presented Section

The first section in the report provides a detailed, fact-supported statement outlining the specific
question or issue to be analyzed. When determining the legal issue, always research the law on the
subject matter first, then reach your conclusion. The legal issue must always reflect the applicable law
on the subject. For example, if your facts concern a lawsuit Andrew is filing against Beth for possession
of real estate, potential legal issues will include whether and to what extent title to the property was
transferred from one individual to another, whether the deed was properly filed, whether the required
purchase price was paid and whether another person has a superior claim to the property.
Your Question Presented section should state the legal issues by identifying the applicable law and
major issues in question format.

Brief Answer Section

After identifying the legal issue, in the “Brief Answer” you will state your conclusion to the issues
outlined in the prior section. What does the law say about these issues? How should they be resolved?
Frame your response in short, declarative sentences.
Using our prior example, a “Brief Answer” section could read:
“Under the facts of this case, Andrew’s suit should not succeed because the transfer of the real property
was memorialized in writing, supported by the exchange of consideration, and filed with the appropriate
office.”

Statement of Facts Section

After providing your brief answer, the next section outlines the facts that are relevant to the case.
The statement of facts tells the reader why the present action is before the court. If you are writing a
persuasive memo, tell the story from your client's perspective. If, however, you are presenting this to an
attorney who wants an objective opinion on a case, keep the facts straightforward.
Beginning legal writers often err here by including only the facts that support their conclusion. This is a
mistake. Your facts statement should include all relevant facts, including those that weigh against your
client or favored position. This is especially true if you’re writing an objective memorandum. However,
you can safely omit any fact that is irrelevant to the decision or legal issues at stake.

Body or Discussion Section

The discussion section of your memo is the meat of the memorandum. Its purpose is to explain the law,
and apply the law to the facts of your case.
Organize this part of your memo by the legal issue or topic under consideration. Use subheadings if your
“Question Presented” section stated more than one issue. Always start each legal issue by stating the
rule of law that you will be applying. Follow by applying the legal rule to the facts of your case.

The Conclusion Section

The conclusion of your memo should be relatively short and simply state the predicted outcome of the
case. In U.S. law, legal outcomes are governed by the principle of “stare decisis,” or legal precedent. In
other words, prior cases govern subsequent, similar ones.
After you have researched your issues and analyzed the facts accordingly, you should be able to
determine with some confidence which parties will win and why in the conclusion. Avoid introducing
new arguments in the conclusion. Rather, simply restate the likely outcome, being sure to include the
appropriate relief that the court will likely grant to the winning party.
For example, in our ongoing hypothetical, your conclusion should be “Beth will win this litigation and be
granted exclusive title to the property in question.”

Pre writing consideration

One of the biggest mistakes that writers make is to fail to consider the entire writing process timeline of
a document. Prewriting, that time before you sit down to put words on a page, is an often-overlooked
part of the writing process. There are two parts to prewriting. The first step is to assess what you need
as a writer to create the best possible environment and the second step is to perform the preparation
steps that come prior to writing.

Self-Assessment: Assessing yourself as a writer is something that you should complete in-depth every
semester. You should be sure to implement what you learn about yourself as a writer for every writing
project you undertake, but you will not have to complete a full assessment each time.

Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Part One - Environmental/Atmospheric Preferences
1. What is your preferred time of day to write? Why?
2. What is your preferred writing environment? (Location? Activity or quiet?)
3. What is your preferred writing medium? (Desktop, laptop, longhand?)
4. Are there particular foods or beverages that enhance your writing experience?
Part Two - Substantive Assessment
1. What are your writing strengths?
2. What are your writing weaknesses?
3. Describe some of your prior favorite writing experiences. Least favorite?
4. Describe your writing style.
5. How do you like to begin a writing project?
Once you have determined what your preferences are to create an ideal writing environment, you will
then need to assess whether you can meet those preferences. If you cannot, and chances are there will
be times when you cannot, have a plan for what to do to cope with writing environments that are less
than perfect. Consider how you can use your current environment to work best for you. If you have to
write in a noisy environment, can you use earplugs or noise cancelling headphones? If you do not have
access to a desk, can you use a dining room table? If your internet is unstable, can you go to a library or
coffee shop?

Preparation Steps
The second part of prewriting is the series of steps that you should take prior to sitting down to put pen
to paper. This part should feel familiar. However, many people forget to include these steps as vital
parts of the writing process, which can result in either people not budgeting sufficient time for these
steps or feeling like they are wasting time when they should be writing. Paying careful attention to these
steps of the writing process is just as important as the others. This list is an overview of the prewriting
process that you should use before starting to compose your written document:
 Read the assignment and any accompanying documents.
 Gain mastery over the facts.
 Develop your research plan.
 Read the authorities you find.
 Develop what categories you will use to determine relevancy.
 Retain the authorities that are relevant to deciding your legal issue.
 Analyze the remaining authorities to determine what narrow issue to use to answer your legal
question.
 Map out how you will use the authorities to support the conclusion you draw.

Footnoting & citation system & Bibliography & references

References
Appendices should also be enlisted in respect of all technical data such as questionnaires, sample
information, mathematical derivations and the like ones. A single appendix should be headed APPENDIX
and centered on the page in capitals without punctuation and three single spaces below the heading.
Each appendix is numbered and started on a new page. Appendices should be listed in the table of
contents together with page numbers. Appendices may be placed between the final chapter and the
bibliography or immediately after bibliography.

At the end of a legal research report , all the consulted sources of data whether primary or secondary,
reference books, articles, reports, unpublished material etc must be listed in a bibliography. The
purpose of a bibliography is to provide cross reference and authenticity to the report. It should be in
alphabetical order. The style of writing the bibliography depends upon whether there is already a
prescribed form (as in the case of a dissertation and thesis) or the researcher can adopt any style. Some
of the common ones are the bluebook, ILI and OSCOLA.

Following are some of the common rules followed while writing the bibliography. They may be further
read in THE BLUEBOOK: A uniform system of citation.

A. For an authored book

1. By a single author
Jain M.P., Indian constitutional law, Nagpur, LexisNexis Butterworth’s Wadhwa, 2011
2. By two authors
Goode W.G & P.K, Hatt, Methods in Social Research, New York, Mc Graw-Hill, 1952.
3. By more than two authors
Stanely, William O, et. al., Social Foundations of Education; New York, the Dryden Press Inc, 1956.
4. By a woman author
Pauline V. Young, Scientific Social Surveys and Research; New Delhi, Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd,
1984.

B. For an article
Sujatha V, & Abraham L., Medicine, State and Society, Economic and Political Weekly Vol XLIV(16) ( April
2009) , p.35–43., available at http://www.epw.in( Last visited on Jan 3rd, 2013).

C. For unpublished works

Pandey, S.K., An analysis of the tribal laws of India, unpublished doctoral thesis, Punjab University,
Patiala, 2008.

D. For citation of case laws

Kesavnanda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933

E. For websites
Information Technology Act 2000, India, available at: http://www.mit.gov.in/itbill.asp (Visited on July 29,
2003).

Precautions in report writing

Writing a research report is a form of communication to the readers the research findings in the most
crisp and attractive manner. Following are certain precautions which the researcher must bear in mind
while writing the report:
 Length of the report: The length of a report varies depending upon the nature and type of report.
However, the researcher must keep in mind that the report must not be too long otherwise the
readers may lose interest in it.
 Report must be interesting and engaging: The style and language of the report must be simple yet
able to maintain the interest of the readers.
 Diagrammatic representations: Graphs, charts, tables must be used to represent various findings so
that the reader is able to quickly discern them.
 Pre-planning of the report: Keeping the objectives of the research in mind, the researcher must pre
plan the layout and the structure of the report for it to be in accordance with the nature, scope and
findings of the research.
 Grammatically sound: The report must be free from grammatical and punctuation errors. All
footnotes, abbreviations etc must be clearly mentioned.
 Maintain logical flow throughout the report: It is necessary for the clarity and better
communication of the report that there must be logical flow of the subject matter in the report
without which it will be difficult for the readers to decipher it.
 Must be original: Every report must strive to be as original in its research findings, style of
presentations and knowledge building. This contributes greatly to the further researcher work in the
same field.
 Mention future implications of the report: Towards the end of the report, the researcher must
mention the future implications of the said work like in the policy implementation, jurisprudential
contribution etc.
 Bibliography must be comprehensive: Exhaustive bibliography must be mentioned at the end of the
report.
 Objectives, nature, techniques and limitations stated: In the introduction part of the report, the
researcher must mention the objectives, scope, nature, techniques, tools as well as limitations of
the research conducted. This makes the report more wholesome and accurate.
Meaning and importance of legal writing
Legal Research is the activity that identifies and gathers information to strengthen legally any brief,
document or contract. The whole process begins with extracting facts from a wide range of sources
pertinent to the case in hand, analyzing and interpreting the facts and finally applying the results of the
investigation that started the whole cycle. Hence, the foundation of a strong, watertight case depends
largely on this exercise, making it so important for lawyers in general.
It also requires special skills to maintain high standards of research. Thus, it is rightly said that the
strength of lawyers does not lie in their knowledge of law, but in their ability to find the relevant
sections through research and bring it in tune with their requirements through optimized interpretation
of the findings. The source of research covers free legal websites, Law Chronicles, law libraries and other
legal research environments.

Legal Writing
This is extremely crucial for the legal sector and is one reason why it forms a very critical component in
the curriculum of law schools. It is a form of technical writing specifically practiced by lawyers, judges,
and those in the paralegal profession to resolve clients’ matters.

It has to be precise and accurate and follow the finer nuances of the law failing which the whole write-
up will be meaningless and fail in the eyes of law even though it might be grammatically correct in all
respects. Every sentence, every statement and every point made has to be backed by assertions and
citations to authority. This is therefore distinct from other types of research writing. Legal writing is a
backbone of a well-researched legal document services and both legal research and writing greatly
complement each other.

The importance of this function is further reinforced by the fact that spinning of this activity to experts
in the legal profession gives much-needed relief to lawyers hard-pressed in fighting court cases and
without the time to do justice to this vital element. While it is possible for top-end large legal firms to
pull lawyers off existing tasks for research and writing, the small and mid-level firms cannot afford that
luxury. Hence, it is paying for them to have this very specific background work done by others based on
which the lawyers can focus on the core activity of court appearances.

Common Concerns Associated with Legal Writing

• too much verbosity
• lack of focus and clarity
• failure to identify the issues
• incompleteness
• poor grammar
• lack of overall organization and structure

What Makes A Legal Document Well-Written?

• Clarity is Key
• Be Concise
• Engage The Reader
Steps to be followed in legal writing (refer Module IV)

Case comment writing

Unlike a case summary, a case analysis is a technical piece of legal writing which delves deep into several
layers of the case. You are required to peel these layers off to bring out the issues and analyze the
significance of the case in the light of those issues. You can do this by following four simple steps: -
1. Re-reading the case keeping in the mind the issues that you are going to discuss in the Comment
2. Comprehending complex situations and identifying the legal problems or lacunae in the case
3. Sieving out relevant details and indicators from the case that support your analysis
4. Reaching the conclusion by adopting a particular approach

Possible Approaches to writing a Case Comment

• Law is not clear: Here, you need to focus more on how statutory provisions and relevant case laws
including the present case have created an uncertainty of law on that particular issue or failed to fill
the legal void.
• The judgment is correct and clears the law: Here you need to focus more on the positive
implications of the case and its bearing on the future course of law on that particular issue. You may
also have to provide additional reasons for how the counter-arguments do not have a legal standing.
• The judgment was wrong: In this approach, you try to prove how the courts take on the issue was
not correct by presenting reasons for the same. The common mistake which students usually do
here is that they reiterate the dissenting opinion in their own words without adding their own
personal critic of the judgment.
• The judgment was not wrong but the reasoning: Here, you need to clearly distinguish your
reasoning from that of the court and demonstrate how the court’s reasoning is incompatible with
the reasoning given in prior similar cases on that issue and goes against the spirit of law or public
policy.
• Important issue not discussed: Here, you can identify an issue which you think the Court should not
have ignored or should have discussed in greater detail. The above approaches are suggestive in
nature and you are free to adopt your own unique way of presenting the critic of a judgement or
come up with a combination of the given approaches.

Structure of a Case Comment

The body of a case comment or note consists of four limbs. These are:

Introduction: A case comment should ideally begin with a short paragraph identifying the subject of the
case so as to give the reader a fair idea regarding the issues you are going to address in the comment.
The second paragraph should be a very brief statement of facts stating only the part of the factual
matrix which is essential to the issue being discussed. Thereafter, you should write the disposition and
what was eventually held in the case in a very precise manner.

Background: The purpose of writing this section is to let the reader get the general idea about the
factual subject matter of the case before you start your analysis. The very first step to do this is to draw
an outline of the development of the law leading up to the case under review by touching upon
landmark cases and significant statutory developments. This helps the reader to appraise the court's
decision and understand your arguments more clearly.
Analysis: This constitutes the main limb of the case comment. Here you need to ask yourself four
pertinent questions like:
a. Was the Court’s decision appropriate?
b. Does this decision change/conform with existing law? Was the reasoning consistent with previous
reasoning in similar cases? Is it likely that the decision will significantly influence existing law?
c. Did the court adequately justify its reasoning? Was its interpretation of the law appropriate? Was
the reasoning logical /consistent? Did the court consider all/omit some issues and arguments? And,
if there was omission, does this weaken the merit of the decision?
d. What are the policy implications of the decision? Are there alternative approaches which could lead
to more appropriate public policy in this area?

If you have answered these questions satisfactorily, 80% of your job is done. As the sole purpose of the
case comment is to dissect a particular legal issue, you must be extremely careful here as to not touch
upon any extraneous or peripheral issue. Your answer to these questions must be substantiated by
logical assertions and adequate reasoning.

Conclusion: The conclusion to the case comment should encapsulate the main essence of the author’s
findings and arguments. It is not always necessary to reach a conclusion to decide upon whether or not
the court's decision was right. You can simply end your analysis by briefly stating the impact of the case
and pointing out certain lacunae (if any).

Using Foot-notes in a Case Comment

It is advisable that you use speaking footnotes to briefly elaborate or discuss other relevant information
which might be useful for the reader to know. Although there is no rule as to how many footnotes
should be there, you must avoid excessive footnoting keeping in with the general policy followed by
most of the reputed law journals in the world. Secondly, though you are free to use any type of uniform
citation method, it is advisable that you use the Blue Book method which is most commonly used for law
journals.

Judgement Analysis
Objectives

• means studying cases and drawing essential conclusions on how courts apply certain norms and
how they interpret them,
• results in an analysis document that generalizes case law and highlights its trends and problems,

A good judgment should have:

• Index
• Introduction
• Facts
• Clear articulation of the issues that arise for consideration/points of determination.
• Evidence led to prove each factual issue and appreciation of evidence on each issue.
• Applicable law and the application of law to the facts of the case.
• Reasoning and findings.
• Conclusion
Analysis of historical judgments
Studies employing network analysis to reveal hidden mechanisms in judicial decision making, both in
common law as well as civil law countries often use rather vague concepts of ‘importance’ of judicial
decisions.

One of the most notable motivations is obligation. Judges would refer to past judicial decisions if they
have to. A precedent in precedential systems is often described as something that must be followed
regardless of the judge’s personal ideas on what the right decision would be. Yet studies show that
following precedent, even in a hierarchy, is no straightforward issue, as an applicability of precedent is
dependent on similarity of facts and ascertaining this similarity is a notoriously vague concept that may
allow for making choices between possible applicable precedents. However, it is clear that if a legal
system contains an obligation to follow precedent, such a following would be proven by a reference to
the precedent.

In non-precedential legal systems, no such rule is often present and different legal systems have been
developing different ideas about the correct and desirable way to use (or not to use) past judicial
decisions in judicial decision making, including using or not using overt references citations to past
judicial decisions. The judge chooses whether to refer to any decision at all, whereas this choice may or
may not be influenced by what the system requires him or her to do.

The judge chooses the particular decision (or decisions) to refer to, as it is intuitively clear that not all
judicial decisions have been created equal. Some would be more similar to their case, some would be
made by a court upper in the hierarchy, some would be made by a full court and not just a panel, some
might probably be talked about more, appear in collections of decisions, student textbooks etc. while
some would not. And some (or their citations) might appear in other judicial decisions more often than
the others. Depending on the legal system in question, past judicial decisions may have higher or lesser
normative value that might be influenced by various external factors.

Research paper writing

Writing research papers does not come naturally to most of us. The typical research paper is in a highly
codified rhetorical form. Knowledge of the rules, some explicit, others implied goes a long way toward
writing a paper that will get accepted in a peer-reviewed journal.

Once the research question is clearly defined, writing the paper becomes considerably easier. The paper
will ask the question, then answer it. The key to successful scientific writing is getting the structure of
the paper right. The basic structure of a typical research paper is the sequence of Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion (sometimes abbreviated as IMRAD). Each section addresses a different
objective. The author’s state:
(i) the problem they intend to address—in other terms, the research question—in the
Introduction
(ii) what they did to answer the question in the Methods section
(iii) what they observed in the Results section; and
(iv) (iv) what they think the results mean in the Discussion.
In turn, each basic section addresses several topics, and may be divided into subsections. In the
Introduction, the authors should explain the rationale and background to the study. What is the
research question, and why is it important to ask it? While it is neither necessary nor desirable to
provide a full-blown review of the literature as a prelude to the study, it is helpful to situate the study
within some larger field of enquiry. The research question should always be spelled out, and not merely
left for the reader to guess.

The Methods section should provide the readers with sufficient detail about the study methods to be
able to reproduce the study if so desired. Thus, this section should be specific, concrete, technical, and
fairly detailed. The study setting, the sampling strategy used, instruments, data collection methods, and
analysis strategies should be described. In the case of qualitative research studies, it is also useful to tell
the reader which research tradition the study utilizes and to link the choice of methodological strategies
with the research goals.

The Results section is typically fairly straightforward and factual. All results that relate to the research
question should be given in detail, including simple counts and percentages. Resist the temptation to
demonstrate analytic ability and the richness of the dataset by providing numerous tables of non-
essential results.

The Discussion section allows the most freedom. This is why the Discussion is the most difficult to write,
and is often the weakest part of a paper. Structured Discussion sections have been proposed by some
journal editors. While strict adherence to such rules may not be necessary, following a plan may help
the novice writer stay on track.

References should be used wisely. Key assertions should be referenced, as well as the methods and
instruments used. However, unless the paper is a comprehensive review of a topic, there is no need to
be exhaustive. Also, references to unpublished work, to documents in the grey literature (technical
reports), or to any source that the reader will have difficulty finding or understanding should be avoided.

Article writing
Words are the ornament of an erudite lawyer and the success of a lawyer lies in effectively using it.
Whether it’s simply writing a draft or a response to an injury, a lawyer needs to be clear, precise and
unambiguous which will gradually come if the person has the habit of article writing from their tender
age of getting into a law school. A lawyer can only deliver all of the major points of his or her argument,
in an eloquent manner if he/she has an excellent skill of writing. If a lawyer can express all of their
arguments in a precise and incisive way, it escalates the probability of convincing the judge or the jury in
one’s favour. This signifies that having the ability and skill to convincingly express legal arguments,
through the constant process of writing, is vital for being a good and successful lawyer. Writing articles,
blogs or research papers worthy of publication might seem arduous as well as difficult initially. Some
also find it wastage of time, but for a lawyer, writing plays a key role in being a lawyer.

Format for Writing a Legal Article

a) Headline of the Article- Why should one read your article and not the others. The Headline of the
article must be relevant, catchy but one should not get carried away by putting all ideas in the
headline, it must be meaningful, make sense and must be connected to the article. Sometimes,
a personal statement writer service can be hired to brainstorm and come up with a personal Brand
or slogan to help with this. Reader must understand the article otherwise they are going to avoid it
and move further. Also, the first paragraph determines the quality of your article therefore always
try to make impressive start because first impression is the last impression.
b) To the Point- The article should strictly relate to the topic and should not divert from it because by
doing so the reader loses his track. It should be short and crisp. Keeping it short is going to attract
more readers, also the article must have short sentences and more paragraph and points as it is
easier for the reader to read it. The article must either ask a question, makes a statement or give a
solution. The writer must be well-read about the topic he is dealing with in the article.
Also make a checklist before sending the draft because article must be in flow and in one format,
one thing followed by the other. It must not be jumbled up therefore the writer must keep in mind
that first he should state the facts, followed by issue involved, then there must be rule application
(which areas of law one is using), then analysis and lastly conclusion.

c) Use of legal jargon- One needs to know its audience then select its vocabulary. If a person is writing
to address common man, he should try to avoid complicated terms, and if usage is necessary same
should be explained in laymen’s language. If one is writing for some competition, then he should use
his legal jargon but it should not appear that one is trying to flaunt.

d) The Proof- In order to prove one point, the article can contain survey or graph, this gives more
emphasis as well as add to the value of the article. For example- “Should Section 377 be legalized?”
These are tiny things but have great importance, sometimes one could add image as it becomes eye-
catchy but it must be relevant. Too many images are just big NO but one or two would not harm at
all.

e) Abstract- If a person is writing an article which is little lengthy then it must have an abstract.
Abstract must be of one to three paragraphs and must convey as to the issues one is dealing with in
the article.

f) Case Laws- One should try to use different case law, helping the reader to understand the situation
and also it gives the writer leverage over other writers but one should not use the cases just for the
sake of it, it must be relevant. Citation of the cases is equally important, there are several forms of
citation but The Bluebook citation always work.

g) Conclusion- There must be a conclusion in the article which should be straight forward. It must
summarize the whole article and should provide with an alternative or should make a statement and
also give the reason for the same to justify your statement.

Besides these basics another important thing is research work. One should start their research work
firstly by going to library, it can be a college library or public library where one can find books related to
the issue involved. Then the writer should shift to search engine. Database must be searched and used
properly. Few legal websites like Hein Online, LexisNexis etc. are really useful in writing and learning
about the topic. The research must shift from general to specific.

Have an angle to your article, instead of covering whole of the topic, try to stick to one-two essential
areas and cover everything about that sub-topic instead of trying to write everything about the topic,
this will help in bringing clarity to the article. Hence, inculcating everything along with creativity and
originality the legal article is going to make much sense and will gain recognition.