Doctrinal research: researching the jury
Description
This chapter examines the doctrinal methodology which many lawyers consider best typifies a distinctly legal approach to research. Legal research skills have been identified as a core skill for lawyers, and within the profession, such skills are regarded as synonymous with the doctrinal research method. Good legal research skills are a necessary step in attaining the ability to ‘think like a lawyer’ and achieving valid legal reasoning outcomes. For lawyers, therefore, the doctrinal method is an intuitive aspect of legal work. Yet as this chapter demonstrates, the doctrinal methodology is not without its detractors. There have been serious criticisms of the method put forward by exponents of the various critical legal theories, as well as a perception in some academic circles that the doctrinal research method is nothing more than mere ‘scholarship’ and as a result less compelling or respected than the research methods used by those in the sciences and social sciences. Despite these attacks, and the incursions on the method posed by the growth in the use of non-doctrinal and interdisciplinary research work by lawyers, the argument put forward in this chapter is that the doctrinal method still necessarily forms the basis for most, if not all, legal research projects.
Impact and interest:
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ID Code: | 61441 |
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Item Type: | Chapter in Book, Report or Conference volume (Chapter) |
Measurements or Duration: | 27 pages |
Keywords: | Doctrinal research, Jury, Legal research, Research methods |
ISBN: | 978-0-415-67214-6 |
Pure ID: | 32474084 |
Divisions: | Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Law Current > Schools > School of Law Current > Research Centres > Crime, Justice & Social Democracy Research Centre |
Copyright Owner: | Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters |
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au |
Deposited On: | 21 Jul 2013 22:54 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jun 2024 21:14 |
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