Research Methods for Law

"Research Methods for Law" introduces undergraduate and postgraduate students to available methods of research -- legalistic, empirical, comparative and theoretical -- drawing on actual research projects as examples. The book is written by a team of contributors with a broad range of teaching and research experience in law, criminal justice and socio-legal studies.

Designed to serve as a handbook for research methods courses with its coverage of the principal research traditions, the book will also appeal to students of related disciplines who have an interest in legal issues including those from criminology, sociology, psychology, government, politics and social administration. The rich mix of general lessons, theoretical engagement and practical examples will be of real value to students.

Contents

About the Authors Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction and Overview, Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui 1 Qualitative Legal Research, Ian Dobinson and Francis Johns 2 Quantitative Legal Research, Wing Hong Chui 3 Doing Ethnographic Research: Lessons from a Case Study, Satnam Choongh 4 Comparative Legal Scholarship, Geoffrey Wilson 5 Integrating Theory and Method in the Comparative Contextual Analysis of Trial Process, Mark Findlay and Ralph Henham 6 Research the Landless Movement in Brazil, George Meszaros 7 Non Empirical Discovery in Legal Scholarship: Choosing, Researching and Writing a Traditional Scholarly Article, Michael Pendleton 8 Researching International Law, Stephen Hall 9 Development of Empirical Techniques and Theory, Mike McConville