IALS offers a popular Introduction to Legal Research Methods to assist MPhil and PhD students in law registered at universities across the UK. This course, directed by Professor Lisa Webley, provides the chance to explore a range of research methodologies that may be relevant to MPhil/PhD research in law and legally related fields.
Formal Classes will consist of 16 2½ hour sessions. Meetings for Further Assistance with Method & Feedback Exercises will take place on in the 2nd week of the course.
Aims and Objectives:
This course aims to introduce a range of research methodologies that may be relevant to MPhil/PhD research in law and legally related fields. It also aims to improve your doctrinal research methods and/or socio-legal research and allied skills depending on the parallel sessions that you choose to attend. At the end of the course you should:
- be familiar with the main schools of research theory;
- be able to explain the relative merits and demerits of basic qualitative and quantitative research methodologies for a given legal research project;
- be familiar with and have an understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods (if you have selected these sessions as part of your optional classes);
- be able to select an appropriate legal research methodology for a given legal research project and
- be aware of how you would go about using the methodology;
- be able to use each of the main legal research techniques for a given research project;
- be able to assess the relative importance of the main legal research techniques for a given research project;
- have a basic understanding of data analysis issues, whether doctrinal or empirical;
- be able to present legal research findings more effectively.
Teaching:
This course is usually taught over 14 plenary 2½ hour sessions, with additional parallel sessions. Two days are reserved for appointments to discuss methodological issues. We encourage you to attend as many of the sessions as you can, although we understand that you may have covered some of the skills previously and you may also have PhD supervisions and teaching to attend too. Classes will be a combination of lecture and seminar formats, which will vary depending upon the subject matter of the session. Each member of the teaching team will decide the most appropriate teaching methodology for their class.
The course is an introduction to legal research methods rather than an advanced in-depth course that teaches you all you need to know about carrying out legal research. It is hoped that during your own PhD research you will build on your understanding of legal research methods that are particularly relevant to your research study.
Course Director
- Professor Lisa Webley, University of Birmingham and IALS Senior Research Fellow
Teaching Staff and Facilitators also includes:
- Sylvie Bacquet, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Westminster
- Dr. Naomi Creutzfeld, Reader in socio-legal studies, University of Westminster
- Laura Griffiths, Academic Services Manager, IALS
- Marc Mason, Barrister
- Dr Constantin Stefanou, Director of the Sir William Dale Centre, IALS
- Professor Carl Stychin, Director, IALS
- Hester Swift, Foreign and International Law Librarian, IALS
- Professor Lisa Webley, University of Birmingham and IALS Senior Research Fellow
Further details on registration, fee information and the link to the online booking and payment forms are available from the Events listing on the IALS website.