1 Research Theory and Practice, 1LLM7A1.2006.1, Session 1 18/01/07 I. Introduction 1) General introduction 2) The aims and the structure of the module 3) Deadlines for the outlines and the proposal 4) The Blackboard (Lecture notes can be found under the Course Documents) 5) Plagiarism: Taking someone else’s words, ideas, or specialised information and passing them off as one’s own; it is intellectual theft. II. What is a research proposal? 1) It is a carefully thought-out plan explaining how you intend to conduct a larger piece of research. 2) It can be on the same topic as you dissertation. It can also be on a different topic. 3) It explains the rational for designing your research in a specific way. 4) It is the foundation for a larger research undertaking. 5) A research undertaking which is not based on a sound design is bound to fail and/or not produce reliable form of knowledge. 6) A research proposal is not an essay and does not follow an essay format. 7) How long should the research proposal be? 8) How should it be presented? 9) Case Studies 10) Supervision III. What are the main elements of a research proposal? 1) 2) 3) 4) Research problem or topic Research Question Literature Review Method(s) of research: i) What type of date are you going to collect, ii) are you certain that this data provide an answer to the research problem which you posed at the outset? ii) how do you intend to collect it, and iii) how are you going to process and analyse this data? Example 1: Topic: Law and Terrorism Research questions: 1) To what extend can law provide an effective deterrent to terrorism? 2) Do terrorist laws violate the civil liberties? Example 2: Topic: The development of the EU Law and Trade Relations Research Question: How effective are the UK based companies which operate in the new EU member states with EU directives on commercial law? There are 3 examples of previous research proposals under Assignments on the Blackboard. IV. How to choose a research question V. Descriptive or Analytical 1) Good research has both a descriptive and analytical parts, 2) To develop an analytical approach one needs to broaden ones approach to law and see the object of study in a its legal context and sometimes also in its social setting, 3) One also needs to become conscious of the interrelationship between various parts of law, legal practice, legal institutions and social forces. VI. What is an Outline? An outline is a brief description of the research proposal you intend to develop. It consists of 1) The research topic2) preliminary research question(s) and 3) some general considerations on sources of data, previous studies and methods of research. The outlines should be submitted no later than 8/3/7. VII. A few questions What is Research? What is knowledge? What is science? What is law? Is there such a thing as a legal science? Do we need to be scientific in the study of law? If yes, how can we be scientific in the study of law? 2 Research Theory and Practice (1LLM 7A1) Dr. Reza Banakar Email: r.banakar@hotmail.com I. Introduction 1) General introduction 2) The aims and the structure of the module 3) Deadlines for the outlines and the proposal 4) The Blackboard (Lecture notes can be found under the Course Documents) 5) Plagiarism: Taking someone else’s words, ideas, or specialised information and passing them off as one’s own; it is intellectual theft. 3 II. What is a research proposal? 1) It is a carefully thought-out plan which explains how you intend to conduct a larger piece of research. 2) It explains the rational for designing your research in a specific way. 3) It is the foundation for a larger research undertaking. 4) A research undertaking which is not based on a sound design is bound to fail and/or not produce reliable form of knowledge. 5) A research proposal is not an essay and does not follow an essay format. 6) How long should the research proposal be? About 3500 words including footnotes and bibliography. 7) How should it be presented? 8) Case Studies 9) Supervision 4 III. The main elements of a research proposal? 1) Research problem or topic 2) Research Question 3) Literature Review 4) Method(s) of research: i) What type of date are you going to collect, ii) are you certain that this data provide an answer to the research problem which you posed at the outset? ii) how do you intend to collect it, and iii) how are you going to process and analyse this data? Topic: The development of the EU Law and Trade Relations Research Question: How effective are the UK based companies which operate in the new EU member states with EU directives on commercial law? Topic: Corporate Governance Research Question: To What Extent can Parmalat’s Collapse be considered in terms of individual responsibility. 5 Types of Questions which are Unsuitable 1) Burden of Proof with regard to Barratry. 2) Does Council Regulation 44/2001 Ensure A Single Adjudication and A Single Judgement Within the EC? 3) Which stipulations need to exist in order to ensure the principle of Good Faith? 4) Alternative Dispute Resolution vs Litigation: Should the courts make the use of ADR more or less obligatory? 6 IV. How to chose a research topic and formulate a research question - Personal interest - Using imagination and creativity - Focus - Practical thinking – some research questions are interesting but cannot be investigated within the framework of this course. V. Descriptive or Analytical 1) Good research has both a descriptive and analytical parts, 2) To develop an analytical approach one needs to broaden one’s understanding of law and see the object of study in a its legal context and sometimes also in its social setting, 3) One also needs to become conscious of the interrelationship between various parts of law, legal practice, legal institutions and social forces. 7 VI. What is an Outline? An outline is a brief and preliminary description of the research proposal you intend to develop. It consists of: 1) The research topic (Example: Copyright protection on the internet) 2) Preliminary research question(s) (Example: How and to what extent does the copyright regime deal with the P2P file sharing?) 3) Some general considerations on sources of data, previous studies and methods of research (Example: cases, interviews, qualitative methods) The outline should not exceed one page. The outlines should be submitted no later that 8/3/07. Do Not submit your Outline by email. 8 VII. A few questions What is Research? What is knowledge? What is science? What is law? Is there such a thing as a legal science? Do we need to be scientific in the study of law? If yes, how can we be scientific in the study of law?