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An Introduction to the Legal Research Method: To Clear the Blurred Image on

How Students Understand the Method of the Legal Science Research

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 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Advanced Technology Vol 1 No 9 (2020) 50–55

Contents lists available at Crown Academic Publishing

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences

and Advanced Technology
Journal home page: http://www.ijmsat.com

An Introduction to the Legal Research Method: To Clear the Blurred

Image on How Students Understand the Method of the Legal Science
Research

Emad Mohammad Al Amaren 1, Ahmed M A Hamad 2, Omar Farouk Al Mashhour 3,

Mohammed Ibrahim Al Mashni 4
1 2, 3, 4
College of Law, Yarmouk University, Jordan, University Utara Malaysia. Kedah-Malaysia

Corresponding Author Email: amareenroma1993@gmail.com

.
Original article Received 26 June 2020, Accepted 16 August 2020, Available online 1 September 2020

ABSTRACT

Scientific research is one of the basic and main criteria to measure the extent of the country’s development, by
considering it the primary engine of development. On the other hand, the methodology considers as the backbone of
scientific research itself, there is no scientific research without an approach that deals with the problem of the study and
determines its dimensions, aspects and causes. From researchers point of view, it is appropriate for legal studies -
articles and books- to educate students how to understand the technical methodologies of law science and to engage
them in how workers in the legal fields -lawyers and judges and legislative draft- think. This study aims to explore the
legal research method using a descriptive analysis. The data collection was through library research. The library
research was conducted to seek relevant information by collecting secondary data and valid info that can assist
researcher answer the research question. All collected data has been analyzed using doctrinal method. In addition, data
collection has been gathered through library research in public and private universities in Jordan and Malaysia. The
secondary resources from which data will be collected are mainly include textbooks and journal articles by scholars to
constitute the legal basis of this work by critically analyzing and comparing the various opinions expressed in these
materials. The objectives of the study are to clear the blurred image on how students, understand the method of the legal
science research. One of the most important results of the study, is that the legal approach used for each study differs
from the other, because what governs the choice of methodology in legal sciences is the problem of study, so the
researcher must estimate what is the correct methodology that can be followed from the subject of the study only.

Keyword: Scientific Research, Methodology, Legal Science Research, Doctrinal, Qualitative.

2020 The Authors. Production and hosting by Crown Academic Publishing (CAP) on behalf of International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences
and Advanced Technology (IJMSAT). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction

Methodology is the “WAYOUT”. Every researcher in this planet needs methodology to reach the exit point
when he/she conducts a research of any kind of science. which is a cumulative process of knowledge, which starts from
the emergence of a problem, -theoretical or practical- until solution. Research methodology can be defined as the
mechanism for controlling the connection process between the starting point and the arrival point of the research.
(Okasha & Mansour, 2008) It is the set of controls and directives that enable the researcher to define and address the
research material, and the directions that enable him to know how to search, how to analyze, how to present, and how to
discuss. without a suitable methodology, research will not reach anywhere. (Khalil,2010)
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However, the lack of knowledge is not a problem in itself, it is related to the nature of the human who knows
many things and unaware of more things. Humans acquires a lot of knowledge by instinct or experience, but it requires
time, work and tireless effort, and it is related to individual experiences on the one hand and the community framework
on the other hand. human being is distinguished from other living creatures by his ability to learn. (Al-Hassan, 2008)
The researcher acquires the necessary knowledge of the methodology science during his educational career, through
methodology science, which is a science that is concerned with the study of scientific methods and approaches for a
specific science. (Okasha & Mansour, 2008) The research methodology in legal science or legal methodology is the
study of scientific and technical methods and approaches of the science of law. (Khalil, 2010)

This study aims to explore the legal research method followed by researchers with descriptive analysis. The
data collection was through library and field research. The library research was conducted to seek relevant information
by collecting secondary data and valid info that can assist researcher answer the research question. All collected data
has been analyzed using doctrinal method. In addition, data collection has been gathered through library research in
public and private universities in Jordan and Malaysia. The secondary resources from which data will be collected are
mainly include textbooks and journal articles by scholars to constitute the legal basis of this work by critically analyzing
and comparing the various opinions expressed in these materials. The objectives of the study are to clear the blurred
image on how students, understand the method of the legal science research. (Al Amaren & Indriyani, 2019)

2. Research concept
The origin of the word "Research" is a French word meaning seek of new knowledge. (Gawas, 2017) Research
aims is to give definition, explanation and description about what the subject is and what distinguishes it from others
similar phenomena. Research in general requires the ability of the researchers to access and then critically analyzes
different debates and issues that the topic has generated. Usually, research is evaluated in terms of its accuracy, its
scope, depth of appropriate reading, descriptive power, and the extent to which it developed an appropriate critical
analysis of both the explicit claims and the primary assumptions currently prevailing on the topic. (Salter & Mason,
2007). Research can also be defined as a systematic and scientific search for relevant information on a precise topic.
(Kothari, 2004). In fact, research is the art of systematic and scientific investigation for goal of seeking new
contribution of any kind of knowledge.

The aims of any scientific research are to find answers to questions through applying scientific approaches.
Research main purpose is to discover out the fact, which is unseen or hidden, and which has not been find until the time
of the research conduct.
There are many reasons that may cause the researcher to do research with a specific matter, such as:
1. To gain understanding with a phenomenon or to reach new visions into it.
2. To study the characteristics of a particular creature or group, or study a specific event that happened or may happen
in the future
3. Study the possibility of the recurrence of phenomena and their relationship to other phenomena.
4. To examine hypothesis and relationship between variables. (Kothari, 2004).

2.1 Types Of Research

The basic types of research are as follows:
Descriptive Research and Analytical Research: Descriptive research contains fact discovery of many kinds
and investigations. The main aim of descriptive research is to describe the phenomena that have already occurred.
While, in the analytical research, the researchers have to utilize data already available and analyze it to make a critical
evaluation of the information gathered. (Khalil, 2010)

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Applied Research and Fundamental Research: the main purpose of the applied research is to discover and
find a suitable solution for an immediate problem facing a society or a specific institution. While, fundamental research
is mostly concerned with overviews and with the design of a theory. (Chynoweth, 2008).
Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research: quantitative research mainly concerned with the
measurement of quantity or amount. Quantitative research mainly applied to phenomena that can be expressed in terms
of quantity or amount. On the other hand, qualitative research, is based on a phenomenon involving quality or kind.
(Isadore & Carolyn, 1998)
Conceptual Research and Empirical Research: Conceptual research is related to some basic idea or abstract
theory. researchers in typical use this type of research for developing a new concept or for reinterpreting of existing
ones. While, empirical research depends on observation or experience only, often without looking for system and
theory. empirical research is data-based research, generating results which are capable of being confirmed by
observation or experiment only. (Kothari, 2004).

3. Legal Research
In legal research, students or lawyers are seeking to discover the authorities that are applicable to a specific
legal condition. Legal research is an investigation essential to be made by the workers in the legal fields in the
performance of their jobs. (Barkan, 1987) During the Enlightenment, scholars sought to use the critical purposes to free
people from prejudice and irrational influence. They searched for rational systems of expression in science and
eventually expanded this approach to the study of law. Law was a science, a body of knowledge that has its own
structure and can be reduced to rational assumptions. (Berring, 1987).

3.1 Elements of Legal Research

Legal research is characterized by the existence of a problem has a legal nature, which requires the
intervention of the legal researcher, to know the applicable law and thus reach a solution to the legal problem. This
means that there are three elements that must be present to talk about legal research: the legal researcher, a legal
research problem, and search in the sources of law.

3.2 Legal Researcher

legal research differentiates from another scientific research, that legal researcher should do it. legal researcher
may be a trained lawyer who writes a legal memo to answer a specific legal question, or an attorney engaged in the
legal profession dealing in an ongoing dispute with a customer asking him to represent him and defend his interests, or a
judge in a court who wants to decide a case; or legal adviser in a ministry, company or bank; Or an Public Prosecutor
who is interested in achieving the public interest and justice in an objective manner. Further, legal researcher may be a
law student drafting a research paper in a course, or postgraduate student writing a thesis or dissertation for the purposes
of graduation, or it may be a university professor writing an article or book for the purposes of promotion. All of them,
despite their differences, their different approaches, research needs, motivations and goals, need legal research and use
it in their work. However, what distinguishes the legal researcher is not his research interest in the law. The journalist is
interested in the new legislations issued and explores the motivations and interests behind them, and the political
scientist is concerned with the law and its impact on the political system and other concepts such as democracy and
accountability. (Khalil, 2010)
3.3 Legal Research Problem
legal research differentiates from another scientific research, that it has a legal research problem. The legal
problem may be realistic, i.e. linked to an existing conflict or to an event believed to change the legal position of
individuals, and it may be presumed, aimed at overcoming the business and avoiding violating the law in force in a
country. However, in both cases, it can be considered applied research, meaning that it aims to know the rule of law in
cases that have occurred, will happen, or may happen. In the case of theoretical / academic research, the legal problem
may be purely theoretical and not related to a specific conflict. (Khalil, 2010)
3.4 Search in the Law Sources
The legal researcher needs to return to the sources of law, starting with those that are located at the top of the list.
However, the top of the list differs in different legal systems. Judicial precedents and court decisions are at the top of
the legal hierarchy and therefore the highest sources of law in public law countries - Anglo-Saxon legal systems- which

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is the system in force in Britain and the United States and. As for civil law systems countries, legislation occupies the
first place in the sources of law. (Khalil, 2010)

4. Legal Research Method

Legal research involves systematic and scientific investigation for goal of seeking new contribution of law
science within appropriate methodological framework. It deals with study of several aspects of law such as principles,
theories, procedure, ancient development, comparative status and regulations, functioning of judiciary and justice
delivery.
4.1 Qualitative legal research
Qualitative research methods are most often known with the social sciences research more in general than with
the law in particular. (Bryman, 2016). Even with that, qualitative research still strongly involves with lawyers and law
students in their own work. (Bricki & Green 2007). Many workers in the legal fields do not know that they utilize
qualitative legal research on a regular basis. The case-based method of establishing the law through critical analysis of
pattern is in fact a form of qualitative research using documents as source information. even, qualitative research goes
far beyond this kind of research. (Webley, 2010).
Qualitative research primarily relies on observing people in their own habitat and interact with them using their
own language, based on their own condition and assumption. (Creswell & Creswell, 2017) Qualitative research has
been seen to be ‘naturalistic,’ ‘ethnographic,’ and ‘participatory’. naturalistic means that the research is conducted in
its original environment. By ethnographic they mean holistic and participatory means that the research topic plays an
active role in the process. (Kirk and Miller, 1986)
Subsequently, qualitative legal research does not rely on statistic, but attempts to understand social phenomena
and it is meaning. Data in qualitative legal research are usually collected through three main methods, these methods
can be used singly or in combination, these methods are: Observation, interviews and documents. The data in
qualitative legal research may take a various form. Data may contain notes or memo made by the researcher himself
which illustrate a description of what, where, and how individuals did what they did. Data also may contain a
description of the researcher’s reactions to text-based sources, sounds, audiovisual or pictures. Data can also be in a
form of a literally quotes of what the research participants have said, or what was written in the text sources that
researcher is examining. (Webley, 2010). Therefore, the data may be the result of the participants in the research, texts
and pictures, or through the researcher in the form of his reaction or understanding of what has been said or written.
There are four straightforward characteristics of designing a qualitative legal research study once the
researcher has outlined the question:
First, the legal researcher should choose a methodology that is suitable to find answers to the research
questions. Legal researchers should consider and determine whether a case-study method, observation, surveys and
interviews, documentary analysis is suitable and affective to find answers to the research questions. The data can be
generated by analyzing various documents that existence already, or through interview transcripts, or through
recordings or images, or through observation transcripts, or through survey instruments or a number of sources in
combination.
Secondly, the legal researcher needs to consider the way to select his/her research topic or documents and how
many to select, in keeping with the data collection methods that she/he has chosen to adopt.
The third aspect, is how the legal researcher going to analyze the data gathered. Will the Legal researcher use
a grounded-theory method, content analysis method, historical method, or statistical analysis? Will this be done using
traditional way or with the aid of a computer? All these the researcher should consider.
Fourth, ethical considerations, Researcher also have to take in consideration the ethical perspective, as he/she
should not do any harm to participants. Researcher also have to take in consideration if there is any limited access to
data. (Webley, 2010).

4.2 Doctrinal Legal Research

The word doctrine origin is from a Latin word which means “instruction, knowledge or learning”. (Gawas,
2017) Doctrine has been defined as “a synthesis of rules, principles, norms, interpretive guidelines and values. It
explains, makes coherent or justifies a segment of the law as part of a larger system of law”. (Hutchinson, 2015).

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For over than a century, doctrinal Legal Research still dominant in the in-law field. The history of this method
back to nineteenth century by 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. (Duncan and Hutchinson, 2012).
Doctrinal Legal Research contains legal concepts, principles, cases, statutes, rules and regulations. Doctrinal
legal research contains a deep analysis of law principles and the development process and the reason behind the
existence of the law. While, social legal research- non-doctrinal legal research- seeks various social facts, relationship
of law with social facts, impact of law on the world. Doctrinal legal research has gained extensive acceptance from legal
professionals, namely the lawyers, the judges, legal scholars and jurists, doctrinal legal research has remained as
prominent research method in law. (Kharel, 2018).
Doctrinal legal research is investigative study of laws, cases and authoritative materials as a whole, on some
particular issue. Doctrinal legal research can be considered as a theory-testing research which activities to seek whether
theory involved within subject is so far valid or not. Doctrinal legal research deals with validating existing knowledge
on the legal matter. (Vranken, 2010).
Society itself has a changing nature due to the human needs, technological innovations and economic
transformations, knowledge on some specific area of law is also required to be updating. knowledge in some specific
area of law still below the need at the moment. While society still changing day by day, appropriate and systematic
evaluation of the current knowledge on law is significant. (Kharel, 2018). Therefore, doctrinal legal research plays the
role of knowledge builder research in the legal field.
Why doctrinal research is important in law. The main aims of doctrinal legal research are the following:
a. To structure a new legal theory, principles and test them and add new knowledge in the legal science.
b. To help maintain continuity, consistency and certainty of law.
c. To resolve daily client issues, and outcomes are more predictable due to its focus on established sources.
d. To recommend courts or clients about the application of legal principle to particular issue, transactions, or
other legal occasion.
e. To critically examine the judicial views in case of conflicts between the decisions of different court, to
recommend the solation to those conflicts.
f. To provide the worker in the legal field with the tools needed to reach decisions on a diversity of problems.
g. To develop a theory that attempts to clarify in what way law or parts of law fit together; to conduct
comparative and historical inquiries describing an earlier era or contrasting legal regime; to expose tensions within a
body of law, legal practices or institutions; and to highlight these tensions and contradictions and attempt to link them to
larger psychological, social, or philosophic difficulties. (Kharel, 2018).
This approach is capable on solving a various legal issue and usually contains the following steps:
1. Collecting relevant facts
2. Classifying the legal problems
3. Examining the problem with an opinion to searching for the rule
4. Understanding background material (including legal dictionaries, textbooks, law reform and policy papers, journal
articles)
5. Finding primary material including legislation, delegated legislation and case law
6. Creating all the issues in context
7. Coming to a tentative conclusion. (Kharel, 2018)

5 Conclusion
Qualitative research is mainly suitable for examining whether or not a specific phenomenon exists and if so,
the nature of the phenomenon. Qualitative research does not operate for evaluating the extent and distribution of a
phenomenon, which is better to leftward to quantitative research. Qualitative research generally produces wide range of
data, majority of it is a descriptive in its early stages, This wide range of data produced from which the researcher often
seeks to derive an understanding of key themes. Qualitative studies may not produce a systematic generalizable result,
but often results will be about difficulties within the legal system, best practice insights and the effect of policy shifts
can only be examined using in-depth, qualitative methods. Just as the lawyer that learns to understand the law by
focusing on a small number of important prior cases, the qualitative researcher has to begin to understand individuals
’experiences of law, the legal meaning, and the system of justice and their relationship to it.
When studying, the context which explain how the law operates and how the law relates to specific issue and
affects that context, doctrinal methodology does not offer an satisfactory framework for addressing issues that arise, and
that because doctrinal methodology assumes that the law exists in an objective doctrinal vacuum rather than within a
social framework or context. Of course, the law does not operate in a vacuum. It operates within society and affects the
society. Therefore, scope for adapting other methodologies applied in other topics in order to have more illuminated
understanding of the law and its functions. Students need more than doctrinal research or library-based research skills in
order to make their research more attractive for the world.

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