This page provides a list of books and e-books about research methodologies that are employed by graduate students in law.
The phrase "research methodology" in this context refers to the "methods and rules that are used to analyze a particular field, or a particular procedure or set of procedures" (Lammasniemi, 2022). Research methodologies used by graduate students in law include (but are not limited to) doctrinal research, comparative law, socio-legal research, and theoretical research.
Note: "research methodology" is NOT the same as "how to do legal research." If you are looking for guidance on how to conduct legal research in a particular jurisdiction, please refer to this guide's chapters on Canadian Law and Foreign Law.
Advanced Introduction to Legal Research Methods by
Written by Ernst Hirsch Ballin, this original Advanced Introduction uncovers the foundations of legal research methods, an area of legal scholarship distinctly lacking in standardisation. The author shows how such methods differ along critical, empirical, and fundamental lines, and how our understanding of these is crucial to overcoming crises and restoring trust in the law. Key topics include a consideration of law as a normative language and an examination of the common objects of legal research.
Comparative Methods in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences by
Featuring discussions and reflections from scholars experienced in conducting comparative research, this book considers the ways in which comparative legal research can gain important comparative, qualitative and interpretive insights from the humanities and from the social sciences. Chapters examine contrasting comparative legal versus historical approaches, comparative sociology, comparative religion, comparative (legal) anthropology, comparative philosophy, comparative economics and more.
Comparing Law by
Our society has never been so internationally connected. Companies operate worldwide, retail shelves are filled with products from far and wide, people travel like never before and maintain contacts from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Distant countries have never been so close. Anyone who is practising law today cannot escape this and will increasingly be confronted with cross-border legal issues. Therefore, today's jurists are expected to have knowledge of their own legal system as well as the law of foreign countries. For this reason, comparative law is integrated today in nearly every law programme at university. Comparing Lawoffers you an introduction to comparative law. What is comparative law? Why do we compare law and, above all, what methodology does the discipline adopt? These and many other questions are discussed in Part 1 on law comparison as methodology and science. Further parts introduce you to the law of some key jurisdictions. A selection of European countries, such as the UK, France and Germany are covered along with Belgium and the Netherlands. Not only global players, such as the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and Brazil, are highlighted, but the law of Israel, Islamic law and African legal systems are presented as well. Last but not least, comparative law in practice is also illustrated by approaching a number of topics - both of public law and private law - in a comparative way. Danny Pieters and Bert Demarsin help the reader to understand and appreciate how the law differs from country to country. Enjoy this fascinating and comparative journey of discovery through the world and its legal systems.
Computational Legal Studies by
Computational Legal Studies explores how computational data creation, collection and analysis techniques are transforming the way in which we comprehend and study the law, and the implications that this has for the future of legal studies.Chapters draw on a range of examples of computational legal research to demonstrate how a wide variety of research methods, including natural language processing, machine learning, agent-based modelling, and network analysis, are transforming the relationship between law and computation.
Empirical Legal Research by
Empirical Legal Research describes how to investigate the roles of legislation, regulation, legal policies and other legal arrangements at play in society. It is invaluable as a guide to legal scholars, practitioners and students on how to do empirical legal research, covering history, methods, evidence, growth of knowledge and links with normativity. This multidisciplinary approach combines insights and approaches from different social sciences, evaluation studies, Big Data analytics and empirically informed ethics. The book discusses the tensions between the normative character of law and legal issues and the descriptive and causal character of empirical legal research, and suggests ways to help handle this seeming disconnect.
Empirical Legal Research in Action by
Empirical legal research is a growing field of academic expertise, yet lawyers are not always familiar with the possibilities and limitations of the available methods. Empirical Legal Research in Action presents readers with first-hand experiences of empirical research on law and legal issues. The chapters, written by an international cast of scholars, reflect on the methods that they have applied in their own empirical work, spanning a wide breadth of research from psychological experiments in personal injury to field studies in criminology. Empirical Legal Research in Actionnot only reviews the advantages, limitations and challenges that such methods pose but also considers the value of empiricism to lawyers and the law.
Law Dissertations by
Law Dissertations: A Step-by-Step Guide provides you with all the guidance and information you need to complete and succeed in your LLB, LLM or law-related dissertation. Written in a simple, clear format and with plenty of tools to help you to put the theory into practice, Laura Lammasniemi will show you how to make writing your law dissertation easy, without compromising intellectual rigour. As well as explaining the process of research and outlining the various legal methodologies, the book also provides practical, step-by-step guidance on how to formulate a proposal, research plan, and literature review. Unlike other law research skills books, it includes a section on empirical research methodology and ethics for the benefit of students who are studying for a law-related degree. Packed full of exercises, worked examples and tools for self-evaluation, this book is sure to become your essential guide, supporting you on every step of your journey in writing your law dissertation.
Legal Epidemiology by
Explore how the law shapes and influences public health In the newly revised second edition of Legal Epidemiology: Theory and Methods, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a thorough primer on the problems that arise in legal epidemiology--and potential solutions to those problems. Following an introduction to the basic concepts of the field in Part One, the book offers a rich collection of theories that researchers have used to study how law influences behavior in Part Two. The book also covers the special questions of measurement that arise when law is the independent variable and the various study designs for legal epidemiology. Drawing on the full range of social, psychological, sociological, and sociolegal disciplines to better understand, measure, and predict how much laws will influence health-relevant behaviors and environments, the editors have also included works that: Discuss the frameworks for legal epidemiology, including explorations of law in public health systems and services Examine how law influences behavior, including discussions of criminological theories, procedural justice theory, and economic theory Explore the design of legal epidemiology evaluations, including natural experiments, randomized trials, and qualitative research An essential and engaging resource for experienced social science researchers, health scientists, legal scholars, and policy analysts, Legal Epidemiology: Theory and Methods will also benefit students, novice scientists, and non-scientists seeking a general orientation to the subject.
Non-Doctrinal Research Methods in Environmental Law by
This timely book explores the innovative non-doctrinal methods currently being used in environmental law research. Focusing on qualitative research, chapters explain how to use non-doctrinal methods in environmental law research, including in-depth examples of successful uses..
Research Methods for Law by
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.
Research Methods in International Law by
This timely Handbook contains a wide-ranging overview of the diverse research methods used within international law. Providing an insightful examination of how international legal knowledge is analysed and adopted, this Handbook offers the reader a deeper understanding on the role and place of research methods in international legal theory, reasoning and practice. Split into five parts, the chapters cover key topics across doctrinal, empirical, socio-legal, interdisciplinary research methods and methodology. The contributors also apply their knowledge and insight to explore the relationship between different research methods and their role in international legal theory, reasoning and practice. Covering a range of diverse subjects yet written in a methodical style, the contributors furthermore engage with rethinking international law methods. This comprehensive Handbook will be invaluable for researchers in international law, as well as being an excellent resource for graduate and doctoral students.
Research Methods in Law by
The aim of this book is to explain in clear terms some of the main methodological approaches in legal research. This is an edited collection, with each chapter written by specialists in their field, researching in a variety of jurisdictions. Each contributor addresses the topic of "lay decision makers in the legal system" from one particular methodological perspective, explaining how they would approach the issue and discussing why their particular method might, or might not, be suited to this topic. In asking all contributors to focus on the same topic, the editors have sought to provide a common link throughout the text, thereby providing the reader with an opportunity to draw comparisons between methods with relative ease. In light of the broad geographical range of its contributors, the book is aimed at an international readership. This book will be of particular interest to PhD students in law, but it will also be of use to undergraduate dissertation students in law, LL.M Research students as well as prospective PhD students and early year researchers.