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I Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Meaning of Research
If you want some new knowledge, it is right for you the chief to go there [to the
place of knowledge], because the correct procedure of this work lies in exhausting
all the different knowledges, lest you perhaps be defeated by your companion in
encyclopedia Britannica research is the act of searching into a matter closely and
carefully, inquiry directed to the discovery of truth and in any subjects, based on
kind which have been based on original sources of knowledge, may be styled
research and it may be said that without research no authorative work has been
propounded.
The concept of research can be well understood with the help of definition by
eminent lawyers.
an art.
According to Manheim, Research is the careful diligent, and exhaustive
of mankinds knowledge.
John W. Best has rightly said The secret of our cultural development has been
research, pushing back the areas of ignorance by discovering new truth, which in
The aim of research is to find the truth which is hidden and which has not been
knowledge to the existing store but its power for cleaning our minds of clutches
predicting phenomena.
scientific approach. Subject matter of law is different from other principles and
requires its own research methodology. Even different laws require different
involves their own rules, interpretation and ideas for admissible explanations
routines. Legal studies lack the appropriate methods, tools and techniques
suitable for the legal issues. In most of the legal investigations, qualitative data
to support legal decision making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes
each step of course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem
and concludes with the application and conclusion of the results of the
investigation. The nature of the legal issues and the subject matter of the law is
The primary aim of legal research is to suggest improvement in the existing law as
It has failed to produce the desired result or to extend or reduce its scope. The
second aim of legal research is to suggest of kind law to deal with a particular
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design refers to the entire process of planning and carrying the
research study. It is a logical and systematic plan prepared for directing a research
adopted for achieving the objectives. It constitutes the blueprint for the collection,
The term design refers to draw an outline with respect to certain decisions. It
plans as to: what the study is about and the types of data that are needed, why the
study is being made; where the needed data can be found; where, or in what areas,
the study will be carried on; when or what periods of time the study will include;
how much material or how many cases will be needed; what basis of selection will
be used; what techniques of gathering data will be adopted and so on. Thus, the
considerations which enter into making the decisions regarding the what, where,
how much, by what means, constitute a plan or a study design. Research design
not only anticipates and specifies the seemingly countless decisions but also
represents a logical basis for these decisions. Research design has been defined by
collecting and analyzing the data in an economic, efficient and relevant manner.
phases and facts relating to the essential conditions for collection and analysis of
data in a form that aims to combine relevance to research purpose with economy
in the procedure.
the optimum research procedure that could be followed where there are no
practical restrictions.
The idealized research design comprises the specifications of the most efficient
conceivable conditions and procedures for conducting the research. The step
of designing and idealized plan might seem very impracticable and even an
unnecessary one. The researcher may be inclined to follow the ideal procedures to
Thus, research design refers o the entire process of planning and carrying out a
research study. It is a frame within which research is carried out and it is a blue
print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It means- a process by
Researcher needs to consider all necessary precautions when preparing the design,
as any error may upset the whole project. The reliability of result, which a
Research design is significant simply because it allows for the smooth sailing of
require a blueprint (or what is typically known as the map of the home) well
planned and prepared by an expert architect, in the same way we require a design
or a plan in advance of data collection and analysis for our research study. It
the appropriate data and the strategies to be employed in their analysis, keeping in
view the purpose of the research and the availability of staff, time and money.
Preparation of the design must be carried out meticulously as any error in it may
upset the complete project. Research design, actually, has a great significance
and impact on the reliability of the results achieved and as such constitutes the
Even then the necessity for a well planned design is at times not realized by many
people. Because of this many researches do not serve the purpose for which they
are undertaken. The truth is, they may even provide misleading conclusions.
research exercise futile. It is, for that reason, crucial that an efficient and
design assists the researcher to organize his ideas in a form whereby it will be
possible for him to watch out for flaws and inadequacies. This type of design can
also be given to others for their comments and critical evaluation. In the absence
A research design isnt just a work plan. A work plan details what needs to be
done to complete the project but the work plan will flow from the projects design.
relevant evidence involves specifying the kind of evidence required to answer the
some phenomenon.
used for collecting the relevant data and techniques to be used in its analysis for
preparation of research project.
A research design basically means the plan or technique of shaping the research,
or as Hakim (1987) puts it design deals mainly with aim, purposes, motives and
plans within the practical constraints of location, time, money and availability of
justification.
attained. It therefore provides a solid base for the whole research. It is needed due
to the fact that it allows for the smooth working of the many research operations.
information with minimum spending of effort, money and time. For building of a
fashion, we require a suitable design or plan just before data collection and
Planning of design must be carried out cautiously as even a small mistake might
mess up the purpose of the entire project. The design helps the investigator to
organize his ideas, which helps to recognize and fix his faults, if any.
following:
steps in turn drive important choices regarding study type, plans for analyses and
the research methodology. In research, the foremost step that comes into play is
that of defining the research problem and it becomes almost a necessity to have
the basic knowledge and understanding of most of its elements as this would help
complete only if it is able to specify about the unit of analysis, time and space
boundaries, features that are under study, specific environmental conditions that
Research Process
important point to be kept in mind here is to understand that the main aim of the
a. Observation The first step in the research process is that of the observation,
research work starts with the observation which can be either unaided visual
observation or guided and controlled observation. It can be said that an
observation leads to research, the results obtained from research result in final
observations which can play a crucial part in carrying out further research.
Deliberate and guided observations also play an important part in this primary
stage. This method is very simple and helps a great deal in framing of the
hypothesis as it is very accurate in nature but it also has some major
limitations like some of the occurrences may not be open to the observation
and the occurrences which may be open for observation may not be studied
conveniently.
b. Interest As studied in the above paragraph, research starts with the
observation and it leads to a curiosity to learn and gain more and more about
what has been observed. Hence it can be said that observation results in the
creation of an interest in the mind of the researcher. The interest can be either
academic in nature or it may be a policy making interest. It may be a self
interest or a group interest. Group interest is also referred to as the social
interest.
HYPOTHESIS
research are mentioned, the research may proceed to formulate hypothesis. This
approach further clarifies the nature of the problem and gives direction to the data
gathering data without a hypothesis and gathering data with one is that, in the later
case we deliberately recognize the limitations of our sense and attempt of reduce
Hypothesis is made up of words, hypo means less than and thesis which
means than or less certain than a thesis. It is the presumptive statement of a
preposition or a reasonable guess, based upon the available evidence, which the
researcher seeks to prove through his study. The hypothesis is precisely designed
the theory as the final hypothesis which is defensibly supported by the evidence.8
with the objective that the ensuring studies may lead either to its rejection or its
retention.
According to J.S Mill A hypothesis being a mere supposition, there are no other
test its logical and empirical consequences. It supports the research to find an
negative towards the research problem. Rather its significance lies in the fact that
it provides guidance to the probe, limits the researchers point of view, outlines
area of significance for collection and ultimate interpretation of date and makes
collect the information. He has to, from a wide range of methods of data
ultimately determine the quality and propriety of the data and in turn, of the
researcher has to take into account the objectives of his research and the nature
and scope the inquiry. Data can be primary or secondary. Data collected by the
some other agency and available in some published form is secondary. In either
Legal research can be classified in various ways. It can be classified on the basis
data, purpose and other such criteria and is divided research on the basis of:
when giving judgment that constitutes precedent. But only the reason of the
decision given in the judgment constitutes precedent. So the reason stated in the
analysis by a lawyer. This requires identification of the most important parts of the
i. A statement of the significant facts of the dispute before the court the
facts that are necessary to an understanding of the dispute and of the
courts decision, those that influenced the courts reasoning and decision.
ii. A statement of relevant procedural details such as the explanation of the
legal nature of the controversy and of the remedy sought. The actions and
the ruling of the lower court.
iii. A statement of narrow legal question or issue(s) that the appellate court
was asked to resolve.
iv. A brief statement of the Appellate Courts decision, both procedural and
substantive.
v. An explanation of courts reasoning in reaching its decision.
To take a few examples here, in Bengal Immunity Co. v. State of Bihar, 41 the
All big traders will have to get themselves registered in each State, study the Sales
Tax Acts of each State, conform to the requirements of all State laws which are by
their books of account in support of their returns before the officers of each State.
Anybody who has any practical experience of the working of the sales tax laws
are different states knows how long books are detained by officers of each State
In the famous Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, 44 Subba Rao, C.J., said:
But, having regard to the past history of our country. it could not implicitly
believe the representatives of the people, for uncontrolled and unrestricted power
might lead to an authoritarian State lt. therefore, preserves the natural rights
against the State encroachment and constitutes the higher judiciary of the State as
the sentinel of the said rights and the balancing wheel between the rights, subject
to social control.
by the affluent and wealthy would be able to secure a greater representation than a
political party in or individual who is without any links with affluence or wealth.
individual and another on the basis of money power, and that in its turn would
mean that some voters are denied an 'equal' voice and some candidates are denied
effectively for the benefit of the common good and reach out of the benefits of
democracy in which every an, however lowly or humble he may be, should be
grievances, men and women with ideas and vision are the sources of any societys
penetrating study of social phenomenon using research tools and techniques. The
heart of any research is collections of data. There are two sources of collecting
data- the primary and the secondary. In the first, the data is directly collected from
the respondent, whereas in the second the main source is published and
unpublished material. This is often called library research as well. Several devices
1. Interview Method
The interview is the oldest and the most often used device for obtaining
which the interviewer asks the respondent questions designed to obtain answers
The latters gestures, glances, facial expressions and pauses also reveal subtle
aspects.
Person enters more r less imaginatively into the life of a comparative stranger,
The purpose of interview is mainly for testing the hypothesis or to find out the
inherent facts of the respondent. It is also used to find qualitative facts and to get
additional information.
2. Questionnaire Method
Questionnaire method is one of the most suitable methods for the investigation of
from large, diverse, varied and scattered persons from different places.
3. Observation Method
Observations are guided by the research questions. Therefore the observations are
behavior which are often casual, selective, and inaccurate. Observations are
systematically recorded, often using an observation check list. Data are analyzed
Advantages of Observation
Disadvantages of Observation
present than when there is no observer in the classroom. Many events are not open
to observation
Behavior that is private, e.g. activities that take place within private homes
o
Events that are unpredictable, so the researcher does not know when and
where to
be present, e.g. mob riots
Event that is unsafe for the researcher to attend, e.g.
tsunamis, bush fires
population that is similar in its trait (i.e. gender, ethnicity, age, income, etc.)
distribution of the larger population. Findings made from studying the group can
or may not be necessary. Studies that limit themselves to describing activity for a
specific population do not have to use sampling techniques but can accept
However, studies that attempt to infer that the findings from a sample can be
of the larger population. Representation here refers to the basic trait distribution of
a population.
Types of Sampling:
conducted. The two major types of techniques are probability sampling and non-
probability sampling.
1. Probability Sampling:
Any sampling procedure that specifies the probability that each member of a
population has of being selected. Probability sampling techniques include
a) Random Sampling - a group drawn from the population, with every
member of the population having an equal chance of being selected.
This is the most common and highly recommended technique.
Sampling Challenges
Because researchers can seldom study the entire population, they must choose a
subset of the population, which can result in several types of error. Sometimes, there
are discrepancies between the sample and the population on a certain parameter that
are due to random differences. This is known as sampling error and can occur
Researcher, advocates, judges are able to compile vast amounts of data and leave
it to the computer to work through the data while doing the research project.
This creates research results with fewer errors. Computers used in legal research
have the ability to analyze data in ways and at speeds not possible with the human
eye. Additionally, computers used in this manner can determine the trends in data
samples and the computer is also useful to monitor the accuracy of collected data.
1. Speed: Computers can perform calculations in just a few seconds that human
beings would need weeks to do by hand. This has led to many scientific
projects which were previously impossible.
2. Diligence: Being a machine, a computer does not suffer from the human traits
of tiredness and lack of concentration. If two million calculations have to be
performed, it will perform the two millionths with exactly the same accuracy
and speed as the first.
3. Storage: Although the storage capacity of the present day computer is much
more than its earlier counterpart but even then the internal memory of the CPU
is only large enough to retain a certain amount of information just as the
human brain selects and retains what it feels to be important and relegates
unimportant details to the back of the mind or just forgets them. Hence, it is
impossible to store all types of information inside the computer records. If
need be, all unimportant information/data can be stored in auxiliary storage
devices and the same may be brought into the main internal memory of the
computer, as and when required for processing.
outline laid down for the purpose at the time of developing the research plan. This
is essential for a scientific study and for ensuring that we have all relevant data for
implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected data so that they
are amenable to analysis. The term analysis refers to the computation of certain
measures along with searching for patterns of relationship that exist among data-
tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate
any conclusions.
With this brief introduction concerning the concepts of processing and analysis,
we can now proceed with the explanation of all the processing operations.
4. Tabulation: When a mass of data has been assembled, it becomes necessary for
the researcher to arrange the same in some kind of concise and logical order.
This procedure is referred to as tabulation. Thus, tabulation is the process of
summarizing raw data and displaying the same in compact form (i.e., in the
form of statistical tables) for further analysis. In a broader sense, tabulation is
an orderly arrangement of data in columns and rows. Tabulation is essential
because of the following reasons.
c. It facilitates the summation of items and the detection of errors and omissions.
1. Every table should have a clear, concise and adequate title so as to make the
table intelligible without reference to the text and this title should always be
placed just above the body of the table.
6. Source or sources from where the data in the table have been obtained must be
indicated just below the table.
7. Usually the columns are separated from one another by lines which make the
table more readable and attractive. Lines are always drawn at the top and
bottom of the table and below the captions.
8. There should be thick lines to separate the data under one class from the data
under another class and the lines separating the sub-divisions of the classes
should be comparatively thin lines.
10. Those columns whose data are to be compared should be kept side by side.
Similarly, percentages and/or averages must also be kept close to the data.
13. It is important that all column figures be properly aligned. Decimal points and
(+) or () signs should be in perfect alignment.
14. Abbreviations should be avoided to the extent possible and ditto marks should
not be used in the table.
15. Miscellaneous and exceptional items, if any, should be usually placed in the
last row of the table.
16. Table should be made as logical, clear, accurate and simple as possible. If the
data happen to be very large, they should not be crowded in a single table for
that would make the table unwieldy and inconvenient.
17. Total of rows should normally be placed in the extreme right column and that
of columns should be placed at the bottom.
Analysis of data
After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analyzing them.
The data, after collection, has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the
outline laid down for the purpose at the time of developing the research plan. This is
essential for a scientific study and for ensuring that we have all relevant data for
coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences. The unwieldy data should
necessarily be condensed into a few manageable groups and tables for further
analysis. Thus, a researcher should classify the raw data into some purposeful and
usable categories.
Coding operation is usually done at this stage through which the categories of data
are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and counted. Editing is the
procedure that improves the quality of the data for coding. With coding the stage is
ready for tabulation. Tabulation is a part of the technical procedure wherein the
classified data are put in the form of tables. The mechanical devices can be made use
computers. Computers not only save time but also make it possible to study a large
subjected to tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to
Interpretation of data
task of drawing inference from the collected data. The inference may be deductive or
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
One should, however, remember that even if data are properly collected and analyzed,
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
1. Primary Stage:
a. Primary Synopsis Before starting with the actual study work, it is very
necessary for a researcher to prepare a summary or a plan about the activities
he has to perform in connection with research operation. This will help him a
lot to get a definite idea or an understanding of what would be written in the
final report.
Secondary stage: This stage of the research consists of all the features that
are actually required to run a research project. This stage includes the
following
b. Research Project formulation: After the planning of the project has been done
the researcher follows this with a practical approach in order to carry out the
project. This step of the secondary stage involves the systematic setting forth
of the total research project, with an aim of conducting a systematic study.
c. Data collection: This step involves the in depth meaning for the concepts that
are to be investigated and looks forward to data analysis, data requirement
etc Sources of understatement or overstatement should be avoided and the
data should be free from any type of error. The data collection planning should
be done or implemented in a very careful manner, with the help of specialist
researchers. The data should be good and meaningful in nature should not only
be a collection of words but should provide meaningful information.
d. Classification and tabulation Classification can be defined as the arrangement
of the data into groups and classes depending on the resemblance and the
similarities. By classification, the data can be condensed in a very elegant way
by which the various important features can be easily noticed i.e. one can
easily highlight the various salient features of the data at a glance. Tabulation
of the data can be defined as the orderly arrangement of the data in columns
and the rows this step also helps a great deal in the condensation of the data
and also in the analysation of the relations, trends etc.
e. Data Analysis In this step, the collected data is arranged according to some
pattern or a particular format and this analysation of the data is done mainly to
provide the data with a meaning. It is actually the computing of the some of
the measures supported by the search for the relationship patterns, existing
among the group of the data.
f. Testing of a hypothesis: This step of testing acts as the back bone of the data
analysis. Various tests like t test, z test. Chi square test are used by the
statisticians for the testing of the hypothesis.
a. Conclusions and recommendations This act as the crux of the research project
work. Recommendations are based on the conclusions obtained and further
these conclusions are based on the interpretation of the results of data analysis.
But a major point to be kept in mind here is that all these conclusions and the
recommendations should be linked to the research hypothesis stated.
b. Report Writing For the researcher as well as the reader, report writing is very
crucial as it acts as the best way for communication between the two. Report
written must be very simple in nature with easy language, high clarity. Report
writing cannot be done by everyone and requires an especial skilled person for
this purpose.
CONCLUSION
the entire process of planning and carrying out a research study. It is the process
data or any particular type of data. Any research design can, in principle,
use any type of data collection method and can use either quantitative or
way. This means that we must not simply collect evidence that is consistent
that the evidence also bears on alternative rival explanations and enables
empirically. It also means that we must not simply look for evidence that
supports our favorite theory: we should also look for evidence that has
the potential to disprove our preferred explanations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Books Referred:
References:
WEBLIOGRAPHY
1) www.indiakanoon.org
2) www.lawteacher.net
3) www.lawyersclub.com
4) www.ebc-india.com
5) www.manupatra.co.in
6) legalresearchprinciples.pbworks.com
7) sociolegaldcu.wordpress.com