58吃瓜

Overview

The Legal Research Methods module equips LLM students with the advanced research skills required for postgraduate legal study in the UK. It develops a critical understanding of appropriate methodologies, and trains students in the effective use of primary and secondary sources, including case law, legislation, treaty materials and academic scholarship. The module emphasises research design, question formulation, literature review techniques, academic writing, referencing, and research ethics, enabling students to construct rigorous, original, and analytically sophisticated legal arguments consistent with expectations and in preparation for dissertation-level work.

An indicative list of the topics the module will cover includes;

• using a Law Library,
• essay writing for Masters students,
• legal writing,
• identification and evaluation of sources,
• avoiding plagiarism, referencing correctly, compiling a bibliography,
• planning a dissertation project,
• writing a research proposal,
• identifying a dissertation research question,
• research methodologies,
• doing a literature review.

Assessment Strategy

-excellent -A- to A* (70%+) Present highly competent work, display a critical awareness of empirical, theoretical and methodological issues as to topic, should put forward coherent arguments, and demonstrate awareness of contemporary debates with relevant literature. Well organised and thorough bibliographic information. -good -Good: B- to B+ (60-69%) High Standard: Present coherent and competent work, analyse a range of empirical, theoretical and methodological issues as appropriate to the topic studies, provide sound bibliographic support with correct referencing.
-another level-C- to C+ (50-59%) Present work that addresses one or more substantive topic(s) describe some of the main empirical and/or methodological issues arising from the literature or any other database collected during the course of the research, present an adequate piece of written work with basic bibliographic sources and referencing, and/or oral.

Learning Outcomes

• Apply the skills necessary to effectively submit a dissertation, a research proposal, and other forms of legal writing appropriate to postgraduate level and comply with any necessary submission requirements.

• Apply the skills required to undertake legal research at the postgraduate level, including the ability to search for sources, critically appraise those sources, and reference those sources accurately.

• Evaluate a range of sources showing a critical understanding of the basic principles of research design and strategy, including formulating researchable questions, enabling students to make appropriate choices for their own research.

• Identify, and reflect critically upon the problems associated with legal research and develop appropriate analytical skills for their relevant LLM programme.