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A handbook and guide to research methods for students of law, sociology and social sciences, from an interdisciplinary perspective This second edition of Research Methods for Law provides students in law, sociology and criminology with perspectives on current methods of research - legalistic, theoretical, empirical, comparative and cross-disciplinary - in an accessible, grounded and engaging style. Enabling students to pursue research from a variety of perspectives, in which they will be increasingly expected to engage during their studies, the book draws on actual research projects presented by a team of contributors with a broad range of teaching and research experience in law, criminal justice and socio-legal studies. The new edition takes account of developments in research methods, with new chapters on important areas such as inter/cross-disciplinary research and research ethics, and has a wide appeal for both graduate and undergraduate courses. Its rich mix of general lessons, theoretical engagement and practical examples from experienced researchers are of real value and clarity to students intimidated by the challenges and complexities of research. Key Features - Inter/cross-disciplinary methods have become more important within the expansion in postgraduate research - Useful both for those with a non-law first degree and for large numbers of international students - Research ethics warrants specific treatment in the light of current issues such as plagiarism and imperfect disclosure - Discusses how legal research as process impacts on research as product Mike McConville was Founding Dean and Simon F. S. Li Professor of Law, School of Law in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His recent publications include Jury Trials and Plea Bargaining: A True History (with C. L. Mirsky, 2005), Criminal Justice in China: An Empirical Inquiry (with others, 2011) and Criminal Judges (with L. Marsh, 2014). Wing Hong Chui is Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the City University of Hong Kong. His recent publications include The Hong Kong Legal System (with S. H. C. Lo, 2012), Responding to Youth Crime in Hong Kong: Penal Elitism, Legitimacy and Citizenship (with M. Adorjan, 2014) and Understanding Criminal Justice in Hong Kong (2nd edition, with T. W. Lo, 2016).
List of contents
Preface and Acknowledgements to Second Edition
Preface and Acknowledgements to First Edition
Introduction and overview
Mike McConville and Wing Hong Chui
- Legal Research as Qualitative research
Ian Dobinson and Francis Johns
- Qualitative Legal Research
Wing Hong Chui
- Doing Ethnographic Research: Lessons from a Case Study
Satnam Choongh
- Interdisciplinarity in Legal Research
Paul Roberts
- Integrating Theory and Method in the Comparative Contextual Analysis of Trial Process
Mark Findlay and Ralph Henham
- Comparative Legal Scholarship
Geoffrey Wilson
- Research Ethics and Integrity in Socio-Legal Studies and Legal Research
Mark Israel
- Researching the Landless Movement in Brazil
George Meszaros
- Rejecting the Dominance of Empirical Legal Scholarship - A Better Way of Choosing, Researching and Writing a Scholarly Article
Michael Pendleton
- Researching International Law
Stephen Hall
- Development of Empirical Techniques and Theory
Mike McConville
Notes on Contributors
Index
About the author
Mike McConville was Founding Dean and Simon F. S. Li Professor of Law, School of Law in The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His recent publications include: Jury Trials and Plea Bargaining: A True History (with C. L. Mirsky, 2005); Criminal Justice in China: An Empirical Inquiry (with others, 2011); and Criminal Judges (with L. Marsh, 2014). Wing Hong Chui is Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the City University of Hong Kong. His recent publications include: The Hong Kong Legal System (with S. H. C. Lo, 2012); Responding to Youth Crime in Hong Kong: Penal Elitism, Legitimacy and Citizenship (with M. Adorjan, 2014); and Understanding Criminal Justice in Hong Kong (2nd ed.) (with T. W. Lo, 2016).
Summary
Drawing on actual research projects, Research Methods for Law discusses how legal research as process impacts on research as product. The author team has a broad range of teaching and research experience in law, criminal justice and socio-legal studies, and give examples from real-life research products to illustrate the theory.
