LC4S174 - Research Methods 01 Sep 2017 - 31 Aug 2023 | Version 2

Associated Module Information

Module Code: LC4S174
Module Title: Research Methods
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Law
Faculty Sub Group: Law
Module Leader: Rob Wilks
Module Team: Erich Hou, Tayiba Hussain, Holly Evans
First Intended Intake: SEP 2013 Final Year of Intake: 2022
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100482 - business law
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 2
Valid From 01 Sep 2017
Valid To 31 Aug 2023

Module Aims

To develop students’ knowledge of, and ability to utilise, appropriate legal (and other) research methods in order to underpin autonomous learning at a high level, encouraging the student to engage with legal resources in a critical, well informed manner.

Content Summary

  • Introduction to the principles, aims and objectives of legal research;
  • Methodologies specific to legal research – doctrinal research and socio-legal research - and accessing and evaluating primary legal materials; legal policy research and accessing and evaluating secondary materials (including ‘soft’ law, policy documentation, codes of practice, Parliamentary materials, academic sources);
  • Undertaking and completing a literature review;
  • Research Methodologies: quantitative and qualitative research methods, including data collection, structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, surveys and questionnaires;
  • Ethical issues in research;
  • Reporting on the results of research;
  • Formulating a proposal for a dissertation.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Seminar 40
Independent Study 160
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Knowledge and critical understanding of legal and other research methodologies and their practical and ethical implications.
LO2 Ability to identify and utilise methods appropriate to particular types of legal research and to formulate a proposal for a piece of research to form the basis of a dissertation.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Written Assignment (CW) Research Plan/Proposal/Project/Log (CW) 1 Literature review and proposal to form the basis of a Masters level dissertation. 0 6000 100 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Research Plan/Proposal/Project/Log (CW) 1

Reading List

Simon Halliday, Patrick Schmidt, Conducting Law and Society Research: Reflections on Methods and Practices (OUP)

Peter Cane, Herbert Kritzer The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Legal Research (OUP)

Charles Chatterjee, Methods of research in law (Old Bailey Press)

Frans L. Leeuw & J. J. G. Schmeets, Empirical legal research : a guidance book for lawyers, legislators and regulators (Edward Elgar Publishing)

Nicholas Walliman, Research Methods (Routledge)