What is research?

1.   Research is a human activity. Researchers are human beings that have preconceptions that influence their findings. Social, political and cultural factors sometimes influence findings.

2.   Research is a communal activity. Even though research is conducted by an individual, that individual must take into account the work of other researchers or scholars on the topic and the researcher becomes part of the community of scholars by his or her contributions.

3.   Research is discipline-specific. Researchers usually conduct their research within their area of expertise or their fields. However, research can also be interdisciplinary.

4.   Research is theory-dependent. A theory is basically a preliminary way of explaining things and the purpose of research is either to prove, disprove or expand on it.

 

Methods of research:

1.   Legal Comparative Method

2.   Legal Historical Method

3.   Empirical Method

 

1. The legal comparative method is the comparison of different legal systems with each other. The different legal systems may be distinguished as follows:

- Anglo- American (USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand);

- Roman- Germanic (European systems);

- African and traditional (African customary law);

- Eastern (Chinese and Japanese);

- South American (Brasilia, Chili etc.);

- Religious (Hindu, Jewish and Islamic).

It is important to look into the general characteristics of the legal systems. It is also important to know why you want to do comparative research. You may want to explore whether the historical origins of the problem is the same or different, to find solutions for gaps in the law or compare similar legal rules or problems.

2. Legal historical method focuses on reform of the law through a knowledge of the history of legal development and legal institutions. The purpose of legal historical research is to establish what the development of legal rules are and to propose changes or solutions to the existing law based on historical facts.

3. Empirical Method involves the use of working hypothesis that can be tested using observation and experiment. Empirical data is produced by experiment and observation. The advantage of this method is that you have new data on which you can base your decisions when bringing about legal reform.

 

What is the purpose or object of research?

Research is aimed at making a contribution to the scholarly world of knowledge. It helps us gain an understanding of cultural products (customs and laws), human phenomena (psychology) and metaphysical things (ideas and philosophies). In a nutshell, it provides insight into how the world and the law works.

Kinds of research:

1.   Basic research is aimed at the study of primary sources.

2.   Applied research takes the description of basic research and applies it to different situation or problems.

3.   Strategic research is aimed at solving real or practical problems by using basic and applied research.

4.   Reflective research involves analyzing the work and ideas of other scholars and deciding whether to either agree or disagree with it.

 

 

What is the relevance of legal research in legal practice?

1.   Actions, decisions and trends in legal practice are influenced by theoretical ideas .

2.   Judges and magistrates research the law before making their findings.

3.   Legal practitioners prepare their arguments by researching the subject matter.

4.   Theories and paradigms that we find in legal research also find expression in legal practice.

5.   The ability to make deductions from case law, to apply precedent, to distinguish between facts and assumptions and analyse scenarios all stem from legal research taught at university.

 

•      Research can broadly be said to fall into three (or four) paradigms.

 

•      These paradigms are different understandings of the purpose of research.

 

Research that seeks to:

1.   Find out a truth;

2.   Understand socially constructed realities;

3.   Transform society.

 

Some research is about finding out a Truth.

Some research is about understanding how we construct the world.

Some research is about transformation.

Your research paradigm and your methods depends on...

•      Your research question

•      Your worldview

•      Your disciplinary norms

 

There are many methods for collecting and making sense of data. In your tutorial discuss the following:

•      Name some of the ways in which researchers collect data in your discipline (law).

•      Name some of the methods researchers use to analyse the data in your discipline (law).

•      In your discipline (law), is truth understood to be realist (to have an objective existence) or relativist (to be socially and historically situated)? Or is truth a particular combination of the realist and relativist in your discipline?

 

According to Mouton, there are eight steps to successful research. These are:

1.   Getting started;

2.   Selecting a supervisor;

3.   Scanning the field of study;

4.   Developing the research proposal;

5.   Drawing up a resource checklist;

6.   Undertaking a comprehensive review of the literature;

7.   Conducting the fieldwork;

8.   Organising and writing the thesis.