Research

Meaning-
The process used to collect information and data for the purpose of making business decisions.
The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other research
techniques, and could include both present and historical information.
It is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions.

What is legal research

The ability to conduct legal research is essential for lawyers, regardless of area or type of
practice. The most basic step in legal research is to find the leading case governing the issues
in question. As most researchers know, this is far more difficult than it sounds.
Why legal research is needed?
Legal research is performed by anyone with a need for legal information, including lawyers, law
librarians, and paralegals.
Sources of legal information range from printed books, to free legal research websites (like
Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, Findlaw.com, Martindale Hubbell or CanLII)
and information portals to fee database vendors such as TheLaw.net, Wolters Kluwer,
LexisNexis, Westlaw, VLex and Bloomberg Law. Law libraries around the world provide
research services to help their patrons find the legal information they need in law schools, law
firms and other research environments. Many law libraries and institutions provide free access
to legal information on the web, either individually or via collective action, such as with the Free
Access to Law Movement.
Advantages of legal research is the lawyer’s understanding and analysis of a case often begin
in the research stage when she identifies the relevant facts and determines the legal issues that
must be researched. Another advantages of legal research is this analysis continues and is
refined as they decide where, how, and what to search. As they find seemingly relevant legal
materials, they must understand them and how they apply to the facts of their case. This
research provides a crucial analytical foundation that will inform their decisions for the
remainder of the case.

Importance of Legal Research for lawyers

There are many interrelated reasons why lawyers need software for legal research and case
management to facilitate the entire essence of being a lawyer.

1. The need to be conversant with the main ingredients of a case: A lawyer can only be
conversant with the following ingredients of a case when he/she conducts extensive legal
research regarding them.
2. It supplements the area of practice: It adds value to the area of practice, by backing up
whatever is being quoted from different credible sources.

3. Complete knowledge about issue: When a matter comes to Court, very obviously it is
presumed that the lawyer representing the interests of a particular party is supposed to
comprehensively have answers to every question that is put up to them. Whether it is a question
of fact or law, the lawyer should have knowledge, otherwise it shall reflect poorly on him.
4.Persuasive value judgments/ cases: Good legal research can land one up with not only good
binding and authoritative cases but also judgments delivered, having persuasive value.
Extensive research allows a lawyer to substantiate the matter on the best possible grounds.

5. Underlying principle/ basic structure of the law of the land can be drawn out: On close
analysis by lawyers, they can extract out the underlying principle of any case, judgment,
statement by a public figure, etc. This can happen if there is some concrete legal research that
has been done.

6. Legislative history found: World happenings particularly relating to the stand taken by
different countries for determining concepts like public morality can be found by primarily their
legislative history and by historical events over the years. A lawyer may make use of this to
indicate the enforcement of a provision since it is acceptable in the international domain.
7. Assists in solving complex legal issues
8. Gives complete answers: This happens because legal research enables a lawyer to fill in all
the loopholes and gaps.
9. Analyses the principles generally followed in a state and the critical examination of statutes
10. Helps in the appreciation of the moral and social values
Legal research can have various sources:
Primary Source
Primary authorities are the rules of law that are binding upon the courts, government, and
individuals. Examples: constitutions, statutes, regulations, treaties, court orders, administrative
regulations, policy material.

Persuasive Primary Source

Commentaries on the law that do not have the binding effect but aid in explaining what the law
is or should be. Examples: primary authority, which is not binding on the courts, viz. opinions of
the judges, attorney General, law minister, a ministry of parliamentary affairs, primary authorities
from a foreign jurisdiction.

Secondary Source
Commentaries, law journals or periodicals, articles, textbooks, legal encyclopedia, legal
dictionary, annotations, legal opinions, surveys, legislative history Secondary sources are
important in legal research because they point the researcher to primary sources of the law
Nature
Research is considered to be more objective, methodical, well-determined scientific process of
investigation. Through research, a decision maker can quickly get a summary of the current
scenario, which improves his/her information base for making sound decisions affecting future
operations of organizations. It is useful to accelerate the decision-making power and it alone
can make possible the identification of the determinants.
Types of Research Methods
Types of research methods can be classified into several categories according to the nature and
purpose of the study and other attributes.

General Classification of Types of Research Methods

Types of research methods can be broadly divided into two quantitative and qualitative
categories.
Quantitative research “describes, infers, and resolves problems using numbers. Emphasis is
placed on the collection of numerical data, the summary of those data and the drawing of
inferences from the data”[2].
Qualitative research, on the other hand, is based on words, feelings, emotions, sounds and
other non-numerical and unquantifiable elements. It has been noted that “information is
considered qualitative in nature if it cannot be analysed by means of mathematical techniques.
This characteristic may also mean that an incident does not take place often enough to allow
reliable data to becolleced”[3]
B. Types of Research Methods According to Nature of the Study
Types of the research methods according to the nature of research can be divided into two
groups: descriptive and analytical.
Descriptive research usually involves surveys and studies that aim to identify the facts. In other
words, descriptive research mainly deals with the “description of the state of affairs as it is at
present” and there is no control over variables in descriptive research.

Analytical research, on the other hand, is fundamentally different in a way that “the researcher
has to use facts or information already available and analyse these in order to make a critical
evaluation of the material”.[5]

C. Types of Research Methods

Applied Research & Fundamental Research
According to the purpose of the study, types of research methods can be divided into two
categories: applied research and fundamental research.
Research is also referred to as an action research, and the fundamental research is sometimes
called basic or pure research. The table below summarizes the main differences between
applied research and fundamental research. Similarities between applied and fundamental
(basic) research relate to the adoption of a systematic and scientific procedure to conduct the
study.

Types of Research Methods according to Research Design

On the basis of research design the types of research methods can be divided into two groups –
Exploratory and Conclusive.
explore the research area and they do not attempt to offer final and conclusive answers to
research questions. Conclusive studies, on the contrary, aim to provide final and conclusive
answers to research questions.

Research Design
Definition
Research design is defined as a framework of methods and techniques chosen by a researcher
to combine various components of research in a reasonably logical manner so that the research
problem is efficiently handled. It provides insights about “how” to conduct research using a
particular methodology. Every researcher has a list of research questions which need to be
assessed – this can be done with research design.

Steps in Research Process:

1. Formulating the Research Problem (Including Extensive Literature Review)
2. Developing the objectives/Conceptualization a research design
3. Preparing the Research Design /Constructing an instrument for data collection
4. Selecting a sampling design
5. Writing a research proposal
6. Collecting the Data
7. Analysis of Data/ Processing and displaying data /Including Generalization and
Interpretation
8. Preparation of the Report or Presentation of Results-Formal write-ups of conclusions
reached.

Research problem
Defining a research problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process, and is the foundation of
any research method and experimental design, from true experiment to case study.

Research hypothesis (H1) is the statement created by researchers when they speculate upon
the outcome of a research or experiment.

Hypothesis may be defined as a

proposition or a set of propositions set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some
specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some
investigation in the light of established facts” (Kothari, 1988).

Types of hypothesis
Hypotheses are of two types, null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis.
Characteristics
A hypothesis should have the following characteristic features
It must be precise and clear. If it is not precise and clear, then the inferences drawn on its basis
would not be reliable.
A hypothesis must be capable of being put to test. Quite often, the research programmes fail
owing to its incapability of being subject to testing for validity. Therefore, some prior study may
be conducted by the researcher in order to make a hypothesis testable. A hypothesis “is tested
if other deductions can be made from it, which in turn can be confirmed or disproved by
observation” (Kothari, 1988).
It must state the relationship between two variables, in the case of relational hypotheses.
It must be specific and limited in scope. This is because a simpler hypothesis generally would
be easier to test for the researcher. And therefore, he/she must formulate such hypotheses.
As far as possible, a hypothesis must be stated in the simplest language, so as to make it
understood by all concerned. However, it should be noted that the simplicity of a hypothesis is
not related to its significance.
It must be consistent and derived from the most known facts. In other words, it should be
consistent with a substantial body of established facts. That is, it must be in the form of a
statement which is most likely to occur.
What is a literature review?
A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes
information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an
organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the
important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that
information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old
interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates.
And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the
reader on the most pertinent or relevant.
Data Collection
Definition: The Data Collection is a process by which the researcher collects the information
from all the relevant sources to find answers to the research problem, test the hypothesis and
evaluate the outcomes.
Data Collection Methods
Data collection is a process of collecting information from all the relevant sources to find
answers to the research problem, test the hypothesis and evaluate the outcomes. Data
collection methods can be divided into two categories: secondary methods of data collection
and primary methods of data collection.
Research Report: Introduction, Definition and Report Format
Research report is a research document that contains basic aspects of the research project”.

What Is Hypothesis Testing?

Hypothesis testing is an act in statistics whereby an analyst tests an assumption regarding a
population parameter. The methodology employed by the analyst depends on the nature of the
data used and the reason for the analysis. Hypothesis testing is used to infer the result of a
hypothesis performed on sample data from a larger population.

How Hypothesis Testing Works

In hypothesis testing, an analyst tests a statistical sample, with the goal of accepting or rejecting
a null hypothesis. The test tells the analyst whether or not his primary hypothesis is true. If it
isn't true, the analyst formulates a new hypothesis to be tested, repeating the process until data
reveals a true hypothesis.

What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?

The most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between
acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings.
Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral
development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth
as they mature.

Most societies also have legal rules that govern behavior, but ethical norms tend to be broader
and more informal than laws. Although most societies use laws to enforce widely accepted
moral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts, ethics and law are not the
same. An action may be legal but unethical or illegal but ethical.
We can also use ethical concepts and principles to criticize, evaluate, propose, or interpret laws.
Indeed, in the last century, many social reformers have urged citizens to disobey laws they
regarded as immoral or unjust laws. Peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical way of protesting
laws or expressing political viewpoints.

There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research.
First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error.
For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data
promote the truth and minimize error.

Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among
many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the
values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and
fairness.

Third, many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the
public.
Fourth, ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research. People are more
likely to fund a research project if they can trust the quality and integrity of research.

Finally, many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and social
values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law, and
public health and safety.
Ethical lapses in research can significantly harm human and animal subjects, students, and the
public. For example, a researcher who fabricates data in a clinical trial may harm or even kill
patients, and a researcher who fails to abide by regulations and guidelines relating to radiation
or biological safety may jeopardize his health and safety or the health and safety of staff and
students.