ABSTRACT

Explaining in clear terms some of the main methodological approaches to legal research, the chapters in this edited collection are written by specialists in their fields, researching in a variety of jurisdictions.

Covering a range of topics from Feminist Approaches to Law and Economics, each contributor addresses the topic of ‘lay decision makers in the legal system’ from their particular methodological perspective, explaining how they would approach the issue and discussing the suitability of their particular method. This focus on one main topic allows the reader to draw comparisons between methods with relative ease.

The broad range of contributors makes Research Methods in Law well suited to an international audience, and it is ideal reading for PhD students in law, undergraduate dissertation students in law, LL.M Research students and early year researchers.

chapter |7 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|32 pages

Doctrinal research

Researching the jury

chapter 2|26 pages

Socio-legal studies

A challenge to the doctrinal approach

chapter 3|20 pages

Doing empirical research

Exploring the decision-making of magistrates and juries

chapter 5|19 pages

Legal history

chapter 9|17 pages

The master’s tools?

A feminist approach to legal and lay decision-making

chapter 10|28 pages

Law and anthropology

Legal pluralism and ‘lay’ decision-making