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Socio-legal Research
A socio-legal study is an interdisciplinary approach that analyzes the relationship between
law, legal phenomena, and society. It combines theoretical and empirical research, drawing
methods from both the humanities and social sciences. Unlike traditional legal research,
which focuses on legal rules, socio-legal research examines law as a social phenomenon and
its role in societal functioning. This approach is essential for understanding the need for new
laws, law changes, and their implementation challenges. Researchers in this field must be
familiar with both legal systems and social research methods. Law serves as a catalyst for
social change and must be studied in connection with social, political, economic, and
psychological issues, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach.
Law society are not divisible as water-tight compartments. They are interlinked. Co-
operative inter disciplinary research is required to deal with the social-legal problems as
socio-legal research is all interdisciplinary approach which extends into the fields of social
sciences. Upendra Baxi says that lawyer must know much of sociology and the sociologist
must know much of law. Baxi proposed the socio-legal research in the following vital areas:
Mapping of Indian Legal System
Mapping of formal and informal legal system
Studies on the beneficiaries and victims of administration of justice
Law and poverty
Compensatory, discrimination of a section of people such as Scheduled Castes and
Schedule Tribes.
Study of legal system in connection with cultural, social and national legal systems.
Doctrinal research
Doctrinal research is often referred to as the traditional or theoretical approach to legal
research. The doctrinal method of research involves analysing existing legal principles,
doctrines, statutes, and case laws to develop a comprehensive understanding of a legal issue.
This approach focuses on interpreting the “black letter” law—analysing how statutes,
regulations, and judicial decisions establish legal doctrines and rules.
The term “doctrinal research” is rooted in the word “doctrine,” which refers to
established legal principles or theories. In doctrinal research in law, researchers examine legal
texts, judgements, and scholarly articles to organise, interpret, and critique the body of law on
a given topic. This method is commonly used to clarify legal meanings, provide an
understanding of established rules, and offer interpretations that can guide courts, lawyers,
and lawmakers.
Unit-2\\Research Methodology\\Alam
Characteristics of Doctrinal Research
Doctrinal research has several key characteristics that define its scope and purpose:
1. Library-Based: Doctrinal research relies heavily on secondary sources, such as legal
texts, law reviews, case summaries, and statutes. This research is generally done in
libraries or online, utilising existing written resources.
2. Theoretical Focus: The doctrinal method of research is focused on analysing legal
theories rather than real-world observations or practical applications. It seeks to
understand the theoretical underpinnings of legal rules and doctrines.
3. Analysis of Legal Concepts: It involves the systematic study of specific legal
principles, arranging and categorising legal information to find consistent
interpretations and solutions to legal questions.
4. Normative Character: Doctrinal research also has a normative nature, focusing on
what the law is rather than how it affects society. It aims to maintain the coherence of
legal rules and preserve consistency in legal interpretations.
5. Precedent-Based: This research often relies on case law and judicial precedents to
support its conclusions, helping to maintain continuity within the legal system.
Doctrinal Research Methodology
The doctrinal research methodology includes several steps that help researchers
systematically examine legal principles:
1. Identifying the Research Problem: The first step is to define the research problem
or question, such as exploring the interpretation of a legal principle or understanding a
specific legal doctrine.
2. Collecting Legal Sources: Doctrinal research involves gathering legal texts, statutes,
judicial opinions, and secondary sources, such as legal journals and commentaries.
The primary focus is on finding relevant legal resources.
3. Analysing Legal Texts: Once the sources are collected, researchers analyse these
texts to interpret the meaning, scope, and implications of the legal rules and doctrines.
4. Synthesising Legal Principles: The information collected is then synthesised to
develop a coherent understanding of the law. Researchers look for patterns,
similarities, and differences within legal concepts.
5. Arriving at a Conclusion: The final step in doctrinal research is to reach a
conclusion or offer a new interpretation based on the analysis. This step may involve
proposing amendments to legal doctrines or suggesting new frameworks.
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Purpose and Benefits of Doctrinal Research
The doctrinal method serves several key purposes in the legal field:
1. Interpretation and Clarification: It helps in interpreting existing laws and statutes,
offering clarity to complex legal principles.
2. Guidance for Legal Decision-Making: Doctrinal research is beneficial for legal
practitioners, as it provides guidance on applying legal rules in real cases.
3. Consistency and Predictability: By relying on precedents and established doctrines,
doctrinal research maintains consistency within the legal system.
4. Foundation for Further Research: Doctrinal research lays the groundwork for
future studies and serves as a reference point for other types of research.
Non-Doctrinal Legal Research
Conducting empirical research in law is of recent origin. Empiric means “relying solely on
observation and experiment not theory.” The empirical research is carried out by collecting
and gathering data or information by a firsthand study into the universe. The empirical
research technique is also called as “fact research”.
Empirical research is an enquiry that attempts to discover and verify general rules
allowing understanding. The methods like observation, interview, questionnaire, survey and
case study are used to discover the human conduct. All enquires are not suitable to empirical
methods. Any enquiry whose objective is to determine what is good and what is evil can’t
discover the admissible physical evidence. Research into the value system and moral
questions are also not amenable to empirical methods.
The empirical research is carried on by collecting or gathering information by first
hand study of the subject, it relies on experience or observation without due regard to any
theory or system and hence it is also called as experimental type of research. In this type of
research, the researcher attempts to investigate effect or impact by actual examination or
observation of the functioning of law legal institutions in the society. It also concerns with the
identification and creating an awareness of the new problems which need to be tackled
through law conducting empirical research. This kind of research is not very popular among
the researchers especially lawyers and judges.
Characteristics of Non-Doctrinal Research
Non-doctrinal research is defined by the following characteristics:
1. Field-Based: Non-doctrinal research relies on primary data collection, such as
surveys and interviews, making it field-oriented.
2. Practical Orientation: This research is aimed at understanding how laws affect
individuals, communities, and societies.
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3. Focus on Real-World Issues: Unlike doctrinal research, it considers the social,
political, and economic implications of legal rules, exploring the intersection of law
and society.
4. Interdisciplinary Approach: Non-doctrinal research often involves knowledge from
other fields, such as sociology, psychology, and political science, to provide a holistic
understanding of the law.
Non-Doctrinal Research Methodology
The non-doctrinal research methodology involves several steps, from identifying a real-world
legal issue to analysing primary data:
1. Defining the Research Question: Non-doctrinal research starts with identifying a
research problem that requires practical insight, such as investigating the societal
impact of criminal justice reforms.
2. Data Collection: Data is collected through surveys, interviews, case studies, and
direct observation, providing first-hand information on how legal issues affect people.
3. Data Classification: Once the data is collected, it is classified into categories for easy
analysis, ensuring the research is organised.
4. Data Analysis: The information gathered is analysed to understand patterns,
behaviours, or attitudes. For instance, researchers might analyse survey results on
public opinions about specific laws.
5. Drawing Conclusions: The findings of the research are used to address the research
question and propose reforms or policy suggestions.
Purpose and Benefits of Non-Doctrinal Research
Non-doctrinal legal research has numerous purposes and advantages:
1. Understanding Social Impact: This research method assesses the social
consequences of laws, examining how they influence behaviour.
2. Policy Development: The insights from non-doctrinal research can help lawmakers
draft laws that better meet societal needs.
3. Addressing Practical Problems: Non-doctrinal research provides solutions to legal
problems that arise in real-life scenarios.
4. Adapting Laws to Society: It ensures that laws are effective and adaptable by
evaluating their impact and relevance in the community.
Conclusion
Doctrinal research clarifies legal principles, while non-doctrinal research provides practical
insights into law's societal impact. Together, they improve legal understanding and contribute
to a more effective, just system.
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Scientific Approach to Legal Research
The Scientific approach to Legal Research is a systematic step-by-step procedure following
the logical process of reasoning. It is an objective logical & Systematic Method of analysis of
a phenomenon, devise permit the accumulation of reliable knowledge. It is a systematized
form of analysis. It is characterized by intellectual attitude. The Scientific approach is based
on certain articles of faith they are;
a) Reliance on evidence: Truth is established on the basis of evident conclusion is
admitted only when it is based on evidence. The answer to a question is not decided
by imagination or guess
b) Commitment to Objectivity: Objectivity is the hall mark of Scientific method.
Objectivity is the willingness & ability to accept truth with our bias.
c) Ethical Neutrality Science: does not pass normal judgment on facts. It does not say
that they are good or bad. Science never imposes anything. Science aims at nothing
but making true & adequate statements about the object.
d) Verifiability: The conclusions arrived by a scientist should be verifiable. He must
make known to others how he reached at his conclusion. Such verifications help in
further research.
e) Logical Reasoning Process: The Scientific Method involves the logical process of
reasoning. The reasoning process is used for drawing inference from the finding of a
study or for arriving at a conclusion.
