Canadian Legal Research Manual

Topic definition is an important stage in the legal research process.

A clearly defined research topic will steer your research, dictate where to start with your research, and help you more quickly find relevant legal information.

If you do not spend time on this Stage, you will likely find yourself down the research rabbit hole looking at sources that, in the end, are irrelevant to your final research product. 

In this Stage:

1. Identify the Purpose of this Research
2. Determine the Broad Area(s) of Law
3. Focus in on a Research Topic
4. Refine Your Topic Scope

There are two main types of legal research:

1. Academic legal research is generally scholarly, such as research done for a term paper, thesis, or as a research assistant for a professor.
2. Practical legal research is focused more on professional research tasks such as writing a memorandum, preparing for trial argument, or drafting a pleading. 

Note: Since a JD is a professional degree, law school assignments are often practical in nature, even though you are completing them in an academic setting.

The Topic Definition Stage will vary depending on the type of research, because they have different goals and research products (e.g. an essay versus a memo). For example:

• A law student writing a paper for a course may have a lot of agency in choosing a topic within a broad area of law. 
• A lawyer may need to define their topic by analysing their client's fact scenario.
• An articling student or research assistant may have a topic identified for them by a supervisor, but they will likely need to ask follow up questions to refine the scope of that topic. 

For these reasons, it is hard to describe one process for the Topic Definition stage. But in both types of research, you will want to make sure you have identified all three of the following a) the broad area of law, b) a research topic, and c) your topic scope. 

►See Academic Research (on this page) for resources with more specific academic guidance.

►See Practical Research (on this page) for resources with more specific practical guidance.

Areas of law are not particular legal issues. Rather, they encompass broad subjects like health law, environmental law, and constitutional law.

While it may sound obvious, legal researchers sometimes start with a very specific idea of their research topic. Identifying the broader area(s) of law helps you:

• Establish parameters for your research (what information can I exclude from my searches?).
• Locate introductory sources like treatises, which typically are named for a broad area of law (e.g. The Law of Contracts).
• Identify high level keywords you can use for searching, browsing, and filtering legal information.

These techniques all help you effectively wade through the high volume of legal information—especially case law—that is available using modern research tools.

A research topic is a specific legal issue, problem, or other aspect you want to investigate in your research.

If you are starting from a fact scenario, this is where you will start to identify the legally relevant facts, and then translate those facts into legal issues. Keep in mind:

• Often facts may be characterized in a number of different ways. Avoid stating the issues too narrowly at this point. Try to conceptualize them in alternate ways.
• To get started, create a comprehensive list of everything you think needs to be included. Then revise the list into a more logical order. 
• It may be impossible to identify all the issues in your initial attempt. You will refine your understanding of the legal issues as your research progresses. 

►For more information on factual analysis and issue determination, see Chapters 1-3 in Legal Problem Solving by Maureen Fitzgerald. 

If you are starting from a blank slate, consider the following questions:

• Are there any particular legal issues in this area of law that interest you? 
• Is there a conflict, gap, or new development in this area of law?
• Is there a recent case in this area that signals changes to the law or new issues?
• Is there a common or uncommon practice relating to this area of law?
• Do different jurisdictions handle a particular legal problem in different ways?

►Need inspiration? Check out the legal news and blogs in our Current Awareness guide for ideas of developments in the law.

Refining your research topic means narrowing it to a manageable scope. It will allow you to know what is and isn't applicable to your research.

How you narrow your scope will depend on your topic and also the parameters of the research task; a dissertation will have a much different scope than a 5-page memo. 

The following questions can help refine your research topic:

• Are you looking at one issue or multiple, interconnected issues?
• What jurisdiction(s) are you researching? Are you conducting comparative research?
• Do you want to do research the law as it was (historical research), as it is currently, or how it may evolve in the future? 

Note: Be prepared for your research topic to change as you start your research. Just because this is the first Stage does not mean that it must be completed fully before you move on.

This is especially true for academic research, where you may broaden or limit your topic based on the number of cases, statutes, and other resources that emerge in your initial research. 

For example, say that your topic is one with little or no case law in your proposed jurisdiction, such as the liability of generative AI companies in copyright infringement in Canada. If your assignment parameters require you to conduct case law research, you may need to broaden your topic:

• You could broaden the jurisdiction (if relevant), such as by looking at American case law. 
• You might broaden your focus to other types of liability, if those are better represented in case law.
• You may consider using other types of copyright infringement cases to explore how the law on this topic may develop in the future.