Finks's requirements
Selecting a research question.
For this project, the question surrounds the black letter law by way of statute and will require knowledge and understanding of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
As Doctrinal focuses on the black letter law it takes no consideration for the reasoning why the black little law came into force for this understanding another method of legal research will be needed discussed later
Selecting bibliographic or article databases
Doctrinal law is based on authority and hierarchy therefore the use of primary
authority is important.
Secondary sources can be an aid for interpretation but cannot replace primary sources.
The sources and i will focus on here are statues and case judgement as any other
outside sources will be covered in other research methods.
The main place i will look for primary sources is via westlaw and legislation.gov which
are both reliable sources.
Doctrinal
Choosing search terms
When searching for the information required from the sources i have identified i will be specific and avoid using free text, in order for my search to be productive.
By using legislation or title along with the year it will bring up a specific results table which i can explore and also using cases tab i can explore cases which have applied the act or made reference to it.
Methods Needed
WHY?
Applying practical screening criteria and methodological screening criteria
This screening is carried out beyond the control of the researcher in legal research
as law is precedential and hierarchical so the most relevant cases come up in searches right at the top, however i must be careful not to select information that is only supportive for my research objectives i will stay objectivity use all relevant information.
How it supports my project
What this method of research is
- Socio-legal research
- Doctrinal research
- Comparative research
- Legal databases and the Internet
I have chosen this method of research as it focuses solely on the black letter law without any insight on what societies reaction is.
The reason i chose doctrinal research is so that i have a better understanding of the law and what it had intended to remedy.
Socio-legal research supports my project by allowing me to discover the issues which were remedied by the law and the response in society following the implementation of the law.
By looking at articles i could get an understanding of what the issues meant to the general public and what changed for them once it was in place
I could also consider my next research method comparative and classify reactions from certain classes of people.
- This method of research relates to the relationship between the law and society
- It is non doctrinal research
- aims to identify the history of the law identify the response of society relation to the law
- It looks at the needs, demands and responses of society and the potential need for evolution of the law to reflect this.
- Socio legal research aims to answer the question why
- identify if there is any need for reform and why
- it is a way of understanding socio legal issues and whether they can be resolved by reform or addressing issues in other areas
This method was suitable for
my project as it is mainly focused or whether the law is operating adequately within society
How it supports my project.
The methodology for legal research needs to be specific in order to filter out bad research if carried out properly
what is doctrinal Research?
Fink composed requirements for thorough literature research which can be used in doctrinal legal research to enable identification, evaluation and synthesis of recorded information
- understand
- explain
- knowledge
- why
- reaction
Doctrinal research relies extensively on using court judgements and statutes to explain and understand the law.
The researcher is able to identify the evolution of the law by analysing law reforms and past judgements.
This method of research is right for my research project so long as i use other methods to gather wider knowledge and understanding into the reason why the law was put into force.
David Scott identifies a range of skills used when undertaking doctrinal legal research
- To determine the objectives of the lawyer or client
- To identify and analyse factual material
- To identify legal context in which factual issue arise
- To identify sources for investigating relevant facts
- To determine whether further facts are required
- to identify and analyse legal issues
- to apply relevant legal provisions of facts
- to relate the central legal and factual issues to each other
- To identify the legal, factual and other issues presented by documents
- To analyse a client's instructions and be able to identify legal factual and other issues presented to them
- to present the results of research in a clear useful and reliable form
Socio Legal research
A call for reform of the Dangerous Dogs act 1991
Aims
- To identify the class of dogs classified as dangerous
- To understand the history of the law and what it aimed remedy
- To analyse the response of society
- To identify whether the current law is effective enough in matching societies wishes or if there is a need for further reform
I have chosen this method of research as it will allow me to explore the reason why the act was put into place and also what societies reaction was. It will also help me understand if the law is deemed adequate
- To identify a legal and socio-legal issue and considerations for reform
- To analyse various legal research methods i will use in order to conduct research
Conclusion
what is research?
Why?
.
i have chosen this method for gathering information as i feel it will give me the most up to date and relevant information as long as i use effective search terms i can make sure their results are relevant to the aim of my project
I feel that by choosing this method in my project i can make the results more specific and show what the reaction to the issues are and how the reaction is spread amongst members in society
Legal databases and the Internet
Comparative
Research
Will it be effective?
what it is
.
Looking at my project the people in my study groups would be children, organisations and charities, parents, owners, police and workers who come in regular contact with the dogs
legal databases is the use of legal data
It is important to understand that legal databases unlike a standard search engine do not have the same level of sophistication or interactivity to bring up vast amounts of results
The Internet is a good way to find out the opinions of those affected by the issue at hand
by using the internet it is important to check the relevance of the results and make sure the sources are reliable
using this method along side comparative should produce results are reflective of the group of people affected by the issue or have an interest in it.
The way in which comparative research supports my projects aims is that it will give a specific
table of results as to whether the Act in question is causing issues.
The sources i would use to gather my comparative information would be surveys both online and paper form and new reports which highlight the issues.
what is this method?
Is it right for the task?
this method includes comparison between legal theory and method and the relationships with society
Comparative research explain both the similarities and differences between societies or groups within society
The aim of comparative research is to get a deeper understanding of different groups of people using critical thinking eliminating bias
The process involves selected groups to be researched these are referred to as study groups these can be categorised in a number of ways such as age, gender, customs, culture geographical area etc
support
The use of legal database will support my project as it is a fast reliable method to use
using the Internet may provide unreliable information
using just this method alone would not satisfy my project aims but used in conjunction with other methods it will be an efficient method.
methodology
- identify the object
- make a list of similarities between the two things
- write a thesis
- outline your project to show a comparative analysis
- conclude findings
legal method and research skills