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 Legal Method Chapter 1

1. Concept & Classification

Q. What is legal research?

Ans:- Etymologically ‘research’ is a form of French word ‘research’ meaning ‘to
search’ and a Latin word ‘circare’ meaning ‘to round in a circle’. Research means to
search or to find out and examine again. This is the very essence of he process of
acquiring new knowledge. The dictionary meaning of research is a careful investigation
or enquiry especially through search of new facts in any branch of knowledge.
According to the Webster’s International Dictionary, “Research is a careful,
critical enquiry or explanation in seeking facts or principles; diligent investigation in
order to ascertain something”. We can say that the research is a critical and exhaustive
investigation or experimentation having as its aim the revision of accepted conclusion
in the light of newly discovered facts. In simple words the research is any enquiry or
search for fact or truth. Investigation of every kind which is based on original sources of
knowledge may be said to be research. Research is possible through observation of new
facts and by the formulation of new thoughts and ideas.
Legal research means research in that branch of knowledge which deals with the
principle of law and legal institution. Legal research is one of the aspects of study of
human behaviour and their interaction, attitudes pertaining to any law under the
research studies. Law consists of rules made by the authority for the proper regulation
of the community or society. There are three main sources of law, namely, legislation,
precedent and custom. Juristic writings are another important though secondary source
of law and their importance is dependant on the fact whether it is given due recognition
by the courts or the legislature in solving problems or not. The contents of these sources
of law change with the changing requirement of the society and if these changes are not
taken into account in interpreting the law, the existing law is bound to be doomed. The
aim of the law is therefore to regulate the human behaviour in the present day’s society
and hence legal research must be directed to the study of relationship between the world
of law and he world that the law purports to govern.

Q. What are the motivating factors of legal research?

Or,

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 What are the necessities of legal research?
Ans:- There are five motivating factors of legal research. They are:-
1) Curiosity about unknown:- Curiosity is an intrinsic trial of human mind and a
compelling drive in the exploration of man’s surroundings and effort to understand
them. The curiosity drives the research to explore unknown actors working behind the
socio- legal phenomenon.
2) Desire to understand the cause and effect of widespread legal problems:- The
search for cause and effect relationship is the motive of legal research. More and more
research is undertaken to dispel doubts and uncertainties. People want not only to know
an account of events but also want to know ho they happened.
3) Appearance of novel and unanticipated situations:- Man is often faced with
many acute and difficult socio-legal problems. An ordinary person reacts emotionally
to those, but a researcher tries to find out their cause and finds out solutions to such
problems.
4) Desire to verify the old laws:- Generally ordinary men accept and follow the
existing law without questioning them. But a researcher tries to test the validity of old
law with the empirical evidence.
5) Desire to discover new scientific procedure:- The research to discover new and
test old scientific procedure as an efficient way to gain useful and fundamental
knowledge is not a research, but a research technique or methods used in legal research.
A number of such researches have been made to evolve better and most refined
techniques for dealing with socio-legal problems.

Q. What are the objectives/ objects of legal research?

Or,
Discuss the importance of legal research?
Ans:- The object of legal research may be classified into two parts - firstly, academic
objects and secondly, utilitarian objects.
The academic purpose of legal research is the acquisition of knowledge. The object
of legal research is get true and intimate knowledge of human society and legal matters
and their functioning, to know and understand the laws that are operating behind
various social activities of man.
The other purpose of research is utilitarian in nature. According to P.V Young, “the
primary goal of research immediate or distant is to understand social life and thereby

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gain a greater measures of control over social behaviour”. Human society suffers from
number of social evils like murders, rapes, suicides, thefts, robberies, quarrels and
trespass. It is now conclusively proved that all these evils have their roots in the
organization of human society and its working. Legal research tries to explore these
fundamental traits of human nature so that an attempt may be made to destroy these
evils.
The object of legal research therefore is to find out lacunae or deficiencies in
existing law and suggest suitable measures to eliminate them. If there is an area for
which there is no law at all, the objective of legal research would be suggest suitable
legislation for that area; but if there is a law for that area but due to one reason or other,
it does not work, its aim would be suggest reform in existing law so as to make it
workable. Thus the significance of legal research lies in the submission of proposal for
reform in the existing law be it enacted, customary or judicial. However, this should not
be the end or the sole object of legal research. When research is undertaken a part of the
process of law reform, it is undertaken for making suggestion for improvements in the
law on concrete and easily identifiable matters in the formulation of those proposals in
precise terms. This is very significant and governing factor in the area of legal research.
However, the following may be taken as objectives of legal research:-
1) To discover new facts and to test and verify old facts;
2) To analyze the facts in the new theoretical, framework;
3) To examine the consequences of new facts or new principles of law or judicial
decisions;
4) To develop new legal research tools or apply of other disciplines in the area of law;
5) To propound a new legal concept;
6) To analyze law and legal institutions from the point of view of history;
7) To examine the nature and scope of new law or legal institutions;
8) To ascertain the merits and demerits of old law or institutions and to give suggestions
for a new law in place of the old one;
9) To ascertain the relationship between legislature and judiciary and to give
suggestions as to how one can assist the other in the discharge of one’s duties and
responsibilities;
10) To develop the principle of interpretation for critical examination of statutes.

Q. Discuss the kinds/types of legal research?

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Ans:- Legal research can be classified in various ways. It can be divided on the basis of
the nature of the data, tools of data collection, interpretation of already available data,
purpose and other such criteria. Shively divided research on the basis of - i) purpose or
goal and ii) perspective for observing reality.
The most popular classification divides various forms of research into i) theoretical,
ii) applied, iii) action, iv) interdisciplinary and v) evaluation research.
i) Theoretical research:- It is also known as pure, fundamental or basic research. In
such research, the researcher gathers knowledge for the sake of the knowledge. This
research involves developing and testing theories and hypothesis. Its finding might
have theoretical value.
ii) Applied research:- In applied research, the aim is to solve the administrative
problems of different acts.
iii) Action research:- Action research is similar to applied or practical research. It is
mainly related to the actual operations connected with an event or problem.
iv) Inter-disciplinary research:- This has emerged from the behavioural movement.
Such research studies a unit as a whole and takes into consideration all aspects of the
problem.
v) Evaluation research:- It is a systematic collection of information about activities
and outcomes of actual programme. The aim is to evaluate the impact of programme.
Legal research can also be classified basing on the sponsorship of project as (i)
institutional or sponsored research and (ii) academic or doctoral research.
1) Institutional or Sponsored Legal Research:- Some Institutions like the UGC, the
ICSSR; the Indian Law Institution etc. Sponsor some research project to the law
institutes of different universities. The faculty members of the law departments of the
Universities proposed the projects with a detailed report explaining the scope and need
of the study along with the estimated costs and time of execution of the project. The
concerned institutions approve the project and release the funds to the concerned
universities.
Besides this, the Law Commission, appointed by the Union Government of India
study the laws and suggest changes or amendments to the existing law as a continuous
process. The work of the Law Commission can be considered as institutional research
within its purview.
2) Academic or Doctoral Research:- The Law Faculties of concerned University
announce the programme of ph.D. and M. Phil courses. The Post-graduate law degree

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holders have to apply accordingly in prescribed proforma on payment of the cost of
application form and get, it filled according the instructions laid down on it. They
should select a Research Guide or Director as per the rules of that University. They
should submit a brief report of their area of study and get the approval of the Research
Guide.
After receiving the intimation of selection from the University authorities, he should
enroll by paying the prescribe fee. He will be called as a research scholar and he can
apply to get any scholarship according to his eligibility through the authorities. He has
to complete his project within the prescribed course time. Ph.D or M.Phil degrees are
awarded to the successful candidates.
Further, legal research can also be classified into - i) doctrinal research and ii)
non-doctrinal research.
i) Doctrinal/Traditional/Non-empirical Research:- A doctrinal research means a
research that has been carried out on a legal proposition or propositions by way of
analyzing the existing statutory provisions and cases by applying the reasoning power.
According to S.N. Jain, doctrinal research involves analysis of case law, arranging,
ordering and systematizing legal propositions and study of legal institutions through
legal reasoning or rational deduction. Ascertaining a legal rule for the purpose of
solving a problem is one of the purpose of the traditional legal research. This has been
achieved by the original sources of law. The Acts of Parliament and the Acts passed by
the legislature fall under this category of legislation. The case laws decided by the
Supreme Court and High Courts which are binding on lower courts fall under the
category of precedents.
The secondary sources like text books on law, commentaries do not posses as much
authority as the original sources possess. Hence, quality of doctrinal research depends
upon the source material on which the researcher depends upon for his study.
Doctrinal research looks at the following issues:-
1. the aim of preferred values;
2. The problems posed by the gap between the policy goal and the present state of
achievement.
3. Availability of alternative choice for the implementation of goals;
4. The predictions and consequences that were made.
Following are the chief Characteristics of Doctrinal Research:-
1. The study is mainly based on propositions.

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2. The sources of data, for a doctrinal researcher are the reports of Appellate Courts and
conventional legal theory.
3. It is concerned with what the particular doctrine of law says and not as what made the
authority to say so or what has been the impact of that say.
Disadvantages/demerits of Doctrinal research:- Some of the disadvantages/demerits
of Doctrinal research are as follows:-
1) As law is intended for society, it operates in the society and therefore knowledge of
social policy, facts and social value is essential for he researcher. If he lacks in these,
his research cannot be of great value. If he, likewise, fails to test his ideas, presumption
from other sources, e.g, sociology data, his work will not be of great significance.
2) A doctrinal researcher faces difficulties in giving concrete shape to his work because
too many presumptions may be drawn from the materials at his disposal.
3) A doctrinal researcher analyses legislation, case laws and customary principles to
draw his inferences, but if he fails to take into account the inference and context of the
legislation, precedent and custom, his work may not be worthy of laying down any
general propositions.
4) The language of the law is difficult to understand and to interpret. If he is not well
conversant with the rules of construction and interpretation the entire idea expressed by
him, to his astonishment, may be given a different and altogether absurd meaning,
which will render his work a bogus one.
Advantages/merits of Doctrinal research:- Some of the advantages/merits of
Doctrinal research are as follows:-
1) It provides lawyers, judges and others with the tools needed to reach decisions on
immense variety of problems within a limited time.
2) It provides sound background for outstanding scholarship and it helps in smooth
functioning of the legal system of the society.
3) When the question arises as to what course the law should follow, the doctrinal
research may provide appropriate guidance and hence it is of informational value.
4) There are certain concepts, e.g., ultra virus doctrine which can be improved only by
doctrinal research.
5) It is more flexible in character and hence it can be improved only by doctrinal
research.
ii) Empirical/Non-doctrinal Research:- Conducting empirical research in law is of
recent origin. Empiric means ‘relying solely on observation and experiment, not on

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theory’. The empirical research may be defined as research into relationship of law with,
other behavioural sciences. Here, more importance is given to people, social values and
social institutions and not to the legal aspects or doctrines. The empirical research is
carried out by collecting and gathering data or information relating to universe by a first
hand study. The empirical research is mainly concerned with the legal decision process,
i.e., researcher’s attention is on variables that influence the decision and the impact of
the decisions on the society.
Non-doctrinal research seeks:- a) to access the impact of non-legal events (e.g.,
economic developments, growth of knowledge, technological changes) upon legal
decision processes; or b) to identify and appraise the magnitude of the variable factors
influencing the outcomes of legal decision-making; or c) to trace the consequences of
the outcomes of legal decision making in terms of value gains and deprivations for
litigants, non-litigants and non-legal institutions.
The chief Characteristics of non-doctrinal research are:-
1. It tries to find out the impact of non-legal events upon the legal decision
process.
2. It seeks to identify and appraise the degree of variables which influence the
outcome and legal decision-making.
3. It tries to find out the effect of each decision on people and society as such.
4. It lays different and lesser emphasis on doctrine.
5. It seeks answer to broader and more numerous questions.
6. It is not anchored exclusively to appellate reports and other traditional legal
sources for its data; and
7. It may involve the use of research perspectives, research designs, conceptual
frameworks, skills and training not peculiar to laws-trained personal.
Disadvantages/demerits of Non-doctrinal research:- Some of the
disadvantages/demerits of Non-doctrinal research are as follows:-
1) It is time consuming and costly. It calls for additional training, great commitment of
time and energy for producing meaningful result.
2) It needs a strong base of doctrinal research. The researcher must have a strong base
of legal doctrines, case and legal institutions.
3) It is extremely weak in solving a problem in hand, similarly it is not effective where
the law is to be developed from case to case.
4) It cannot give a direction as to what course the law should follow to be useful.

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5) It cannot remain unaffected from human vices, upbringing and thinking because
acceptance of new system of law in India depends on many factors, such as awareness,
value, capability and pattern of adoption.
Advantages/merits of Non-doctrinal research:- Some of the advantages/merits of
Non-doctrinal research are as follows:- It is not that the empirical kind of research is
always bad for legal purpose. The factual study, the examination of actual functioning
of law in society is extremely useful for ascertaining the acceptance of a new law or
ascertaining the course of law reform. It gives us an insight of understanding as to what
kind of law the present day society needs. Empirical research gives rise to the
sociological school of jurisprudence.

Q. What are the limitations or factors inhibiting non-doctrinal or empirical

research?
Ans:- Earnest M. Jones, in his article ‘Some Current Trends in Legal Research’ lists
out the following factors which inhibit non-doctrinal research.
(i) Other disciplines (political science, sociology etc) by and large, have shied away
from the study of the legal order.
(ii) Law professors are almost obsessively pre-occupied with the teaching function.
(iii) Many legal educators, no doubt usually unwillingly, inculcate an arrogant attitude
toward non-doctrinal research, especially non-doctrinal research into the legal order by
other discipline.
(iv) Most of law professors conceive of themselves as lawyers or legal educators rather
than as scholars.
(v) Law schools and law professors lack a tradition sustaining non-doctrinal research.
(vi) Law professors are not adequately trained in the techniques of non-doctrinal
empirical research .

Q. Distinguish between doctrinal/traditional and non-doctrinal/empirical

research.
Ans:- The differences between doctrinal/traditional and non-doctrinal/empirical
research can be discussed in the following:-
1. In doctrinal/traditional research, it concerned with legal prepositions and doctrines.
Whereas, in non-doctrinal/empirical research, it is concerned with people, social values
and social institutions.

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2. The sources of data in doctrinal research are legal and appellate court’s decisions.
Whereas, the sources of data in non-doctrinal research are less and mostly new
techniques have to used.
3. Doctrinal research is not concerned with people but with documents. Whereas,
non-doctrinal research gives more importance to the society and people, i.e., it tries to
find out the effect of legal decisions upon the society.
4. The scope of traditional research is narrower since it studies about what the doctrine
or authorities says. Whereas, the scope of empirical research is wider.
5. More support and encouragement is given for traditional research. Whereas, lesser
encouragement is given in empirical research.
6. In doctrinal research, there is no need to give training to collect and use the sources.
Whereas, in non-doctrinal research, training is needed to use new techniques in the
research.
7. In doctrinal research, field work is not needed and library reference is enough.
Whereas, in non-doctrinal research, the field work is most important part of this
research.

Q. What are the qualities which a good legal researcher must have?
Or,
What are the qualities of a good researcher?
Ans:- General qualities that are needed for any researcher are:-
1. Scientific attitude:- He must possess a ‘scientific frame of mind’ i.e., determination
and ability to get at the naked facts. Scientific attitude is linked with an ardent curiosity,
fertile imagination and love of experimental enquiry.
2. Imagination and insight:- A researcher must possess High degree of imagination
power. He should be able to grasp and visualize intangible aspects of society.
3. Perseverance:- He requires unlimited patience and inexhaustible perseverance. He
must be able to work patiently and continuously over long periods even when the
possibility of near success is not there to encourage him.
4. A quick grasping power:- He should possess power to grasp the significance of
things quickly are react in proper time.
5. Clarity of thinking:- He should be very clear in his concepts. Clarity of concepts
can also be attained by having a through and clear knowledge of the subject under
study.

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Specific qualities required are as follows:-
1. Knowledge of the subject:- He should go through the literature on the subject
matter and form a clear cut idea about the subject under study.
2. Knowledge of the technique of research:- He should be through with the
methodology and should know the details of techniques that are to be applied to the
problem and limitations.
3. Personal taste in the study:- He must be interested in the topic of research. He must
be unprejudiced and be free from all pre-conceptions.
4. Familiarity about the informants:- The familiarity with the informants will help
him to get intimate information.
5. Unbiased attitude:- He should not have pre-conceptions about the subject matter
under study. Mrs. P.V. Young says, “A scientist avoids personal and emotional
interpretation of data. He is not a debator taking issue with a side. He maintains an open
mind and tests his finding and assumptions. He looks for the facts which would
substitute and give theory a new meaning and vitality.”
The legal research should firmly be committed to the ‘article of faith’ which underlie
scientific method. He should be a man of science. Sir Michael Foster specified three
qualities that characterize a true researcher.
1. Above all other things, his nature must be one that vibrates in unison with that of
which he is in research, the seeker after truth must himself be truthful, truthful with
truthfulness of nature; which is far more imperious, far more exacting than that which
man sometimes calls truthfulness. Truthfulness corresponds to the desire for accuracy
of observation and precision of statement.
2. The researcher must be of alert mind. The ability to perceive in experience, the
occasion for a problem is required for the researcher.
3. Scientific enquiry needs a more quality of courage. He must learn to endure hardship
intellectually. He must accept the failure with courage and try to overcome them. To the
above three qualities, we can add one more.
4. The researcher should have a quality of cautiousness of statement. He should
habituate himself to withholding a judgement when data to are obvious incomplete.
Karl Pearson says, “The scientific man has above all things to strive at self elimination
in his judgement, to provide an argument which as true for each individual mind as for
his own.”

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