Legal Research Methodology.
Legal Research Methodology.
INTRODUCTION
References in Research:
Research is said to be the study or method of gaining knowledge. There is no field of study that
is devoid of research or such techniques. In this context it is necessary to know and understand
the basic characteristics of a good research. The basic characteristics of a good research include:
1. it should be objective oriented
2. it should be precise and comprehensive in its manner of presentation and study;
3. it should deal with a problem of significance and provide a pragmatic and workable
solution;
4. it should be authentic and not plagiarized;
5. it should include proper references and sources as to from where such idea has been
borrowed or inspired;
6. proper methodology of research should be present.
Thus it can be seen that besides dealing with the research problem of current nature and such
elements as required in the form of proper methodology and language followed, the work should
be authentic and include the proper sources along-with proper citation and noting.
As authenticity is an essential element of good research and also legal research thus emphasis
should be laid upon including the proper resources and citations. The need to authenticate the
study is necessary because if not so done then the study shall become a plagiarised one.
Every research thus includes within itself a portion that deals with references which show the
sources and the places from where the idea or the matter has been taken causing thereby minimal
chances of plagiarism and such allegations of copying or violating others copyrights.
In academic writing, whether essay, review, research report or paper, it is hence essential that one
acknowledges as to exactly from where one has obtained the ideas and information. References
should be provided whenever any ideas or inspiration, or, particular facts, illustrative examples,
theories, findings, ideas or concepts in an authors work, or, specific data or statistics, or, any
direct quotation, or, paraphrasing an authors words is taken or used in the concerned study.
Need of References:
To enable the reader to follow up the source of the material and similarly can be of help
in further research.
No
Is it common
knowledge?
Yes
No
Cite it
Do not cite it
CHAPTERS AT A GLANCE
In the Chapter I on Bibliography in Legal Research the contents deal with the matter of
definition of bibliography, and its essential elements. The use and importance of bibliography is
not less than the whole research itself as in its absence the whole study lacks the sanctity of
research. The chapter tries to highlight these important elements in a bibliography apart form
also including the types of bibliography used in a reference system. The common pattern of
writing a bibliography has been also enumerated.
In the Chapter II on Citation in Legal Research the detailed analysis of the various styles of
citation available has been added with their examples for ready referencing and ease of
understanding. In this chapter the focus has been on the need of citation and its various forms as
1 Harris 2001, The plagiarism handbook: strategies for preventing, detecting and dealing with
plagiarism, Pyrczak, Los Angeles p. 155
3
available all around the globe. In fact there are a number of styles present and the number is
increasing day by day but here the focus is primarily upon those forms or styles which are widely
popular. In this part, with illustrative examples, the form of citation that has been devised by the
Indian law Institute in line with the MLA style has been added for the better understanding of the
position of research in India and that even they are not far behind in developing a style which is
easy and not laborious to follow.
After knowing all about references the most obvious question that needs to be answered is why
are all these necessary? In connection to this as has been time and again been emphasised in the
study that the main motto of research is gaining knowledge and the main purpose of including
the references is to give the proper authenticity of the research along with maintaining the
originality of such other researches that have been taken help of in the study. The next chapter is
relating to the issue of plagiarism and its issue in research under the head of Plagiarism and
Research in Chapter III of the study. The portion deals with the issue and its meaning and tries
to outline the reasons which can be attributed to its growth as often it is seen that students as well
as researchers try to take the short-cut and are even unaware of the plague of plagiarism. In this
context the chapter is an attempt to deter the researchers as well as the students to note take the
easy way out and help in developing an original work of their own which not only shall help in
the development of the law and the subject of research but also give immense satisfaction to the
researcher on having done a good work. The types of plagiarism has been also included to show
that even if proper citation is done in a study still if there is no substantial material fact in the
study then the whole idea of originality is lost and the work becomes a plagiarised one.
CHAPTER I
BIBLIOGRAPHY IN LEGAL RESEARCH
Points of discussion:
Meaning of bibliography
Use of bibliography
Types of Bibliography
Method of writing the bibliography: Essential elements involved
Meaning of Bibliography
Bibliography is generally termed to be the list of the books that the researcher refers to in the
study undertaken by him/her. According to The Oxford English Dictionary as a practice, the
academic study of books as physical, cultural objects, in this sense, is also known as bibliology.
On the whole, bibliography is not concerned with the literary content of books, but rather the
bookness of books how they were designed, edited, printed, circulated, reprinted and
collected.2 A bibliography lists relevant items that you have used in the preparation of the
assignment but not necessarily cited in your text.3
A bibliography, the product of the practice of bibliography, is a systematic list of books and other
works such as journal articles. Bibliographies range from works cited lists at the end of books
and articles to complete, independent publications. As separate works, they may be in bound
volumes such as those shown on the right or computerised bibliographic databases. A library
catalog, while not referred to as a bibliography, is bibliographic in nature. Bibliographical
works are almost always considered to be tertiary sources.
Bibliography is a list of the works of a specific author or publisher. It includes4:
2 Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography
3 Guide to the Harvard Style of Referencing second edition revised September 2010 on
Referencing Systems available at http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm (Visited on
25th March, 2011)
4 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bibliography (Visited on 25th March, 2011 at 10:36 a.m.)
5
Types of bibliography:
Primarily there are 3 types of bibliography namely:
1. Enumerative Bibliography7: this form of bibliography includes the results in an
overview of the publications of a particular category. It is the listing of books
according to some system or reference plan, for example, by author, by subject, or
by date. The implication is that the listings will be short, usually providing only
the authors name, the books title, and date and place of publication. Also known
as systematic bibliography or descriptive bibliography. A book like the New
Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, which catalogues briefly the
works of English writers and the important secondary material about them is an
example of the same.
2. Analytical bibliography: it is the analysis of the sources referred to (here book)
with respect to their historical perspectives or their details of production or even
the method in which the book has been framed to suit the need of the subject.
Analytical bibliography is concerned with the whole study of the physical book:
its history, its appearance, and the influence of the manner of production on its
text. It is in fact lunatic to attempt to draw precisely distinctions among the types
as they are equally important as aids to our understanding of books.
Bibliography
Enumerative (Systematic)
Bibliography
Historical
Textual
Descriptive
Bibliography Bibliography Bibliography
Thus the category can be further divided into:
the materials are about and to make an informed decision about where to use their resources
based on their interests.
Certain elements of annotated bibliography include:
encourages to think critically about the content of the works being used, their
place within a field of study, and their relation to the research and ideas where it is used;
proves that one has read and understood the sources used and mentioned;
establishes the work as a valid source and the fact that the researcher is a
competent one;
provides a way for others to decide whether a source will be helpful to their
research if they read it;
can help interested researchers to determine whether they are interested in a topic
by providing background information and an idea of the kind of work going on in a field
that has been researched upon .
CHAPTER II
CITATION IN LEGAL RESEARCH
Points of Discussion:
Meaning of Legal Citation
Importance of Citation
Types of citation
Illustrative examples
Meaning of Citation:
Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original
source). More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the
body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the
work for the purpose of acknowledging the relevance of the works of others to the topic of
discussion at the spot where the citation appears. Citation is the practice of referring to the work
of other authors in the text of you own piece of work. Such works are cited to show evidence
both of the background reading that has been done and to support the content and conclusions.9
A prime purpose of a citation is intellectual honesty to attribute prior or unoriginal work and
ideas to the correct sources, and to allow the reader to determine independently whether the
referenced material supports the author's argument in the claimed way.
Importance of Citation:
It is but obvious as to the need and necessity of citation as it not only helps the researcher
himself but also the further researches in the same sphere or area of study. Legal research also
relies very heavily on citation. Accurate citation provides a road map that directs the reader to
where to locate the law. As with an actual road map, users of citations depend on their accuracy.
Inaccurate or incomplete citations will result in people taking a detour from their goal and
wasting time in their legal research.
In this regard it is necessary to also note that if not so done then the researcher might be found
guilty of plagiarism which can totally declare a research to be void or wasted. According to
the Harvard Universitys Style of Referencing each citation requires a reference at the end of the
work; this gives the full details of the source item and should enable it to be traced. Referring
accurately to such source materials is part of sound academic practice and a skill that should be
mastered.10 Other reasons for accurate citation and referencing are:
to give credit to the concepts and ideas of other authors;
to provide the reader (often the marker/examiner of the assignment) with evidence
of the breadth and depth of your reading; and,
to enable those who read your work to locate the cited references easily.
A citation is to a legal authority what a URL is to a web page. For example, if all one had, was
the name Bachhan Singh v. State of Punjab one could find the respective case or web page
provided some help from either a digest or table of cases (with respect to the case) was there.
However, if one has AIR 1980 SC 898 then he could go directly to the case in any law library
just as one goes directly to the web page on the internet without any further assistance or
information. Hence, accurate citation of legal authorities in briefs or pleadings that are filed with
the court is essential.
Types of Citation:
Generally there are two types of citation in any research which can be either in-text format
(also termed as Parenthetical Format) or note format. Note format can be further classified
into footnotes and endnotes.
Various institutions have further developed the citation system with certain modifications based
upon the above-mentioned formats and have received so much importance that they have come
to be recognized by their own names and essential characteristics. The various forms of citations,
as has evolved and been accepted, generally subscribe to citations systems, such as the Oxford
and Harvard, MLA, American Sociological Association (ASA), American Psychological
Association (APA), and other citations systems including the Bluebook Citation Format, as their
10 id. note 9
11
syntactic conventions are widely known and easily interpreted by readers. Each of these citation
systems has its respective advantages and disadvantages relative to the trade-offs of being
informative (but not too disruptive) and thus should be chosen relative to the needs of the type of
publication being crafted. In the following paragraphs the various methods of citations shall be
discussed in brief with examples for better understanding of the same.
Harvard form of Citation11: This style of citation has been developed
Certain examples have been associated to explain the style of references used in this
form of referencing:
Direct Citation and In-direct citation: In the former case the authors name
if forms a natural part of the sentence, then the surname should be followed by
the year of publication, in brackets else (in the latter case), the authors name
is mentioned within the text followed by the authors name and year of
publication, in brackets, at the end of the sentence.
eg. There are certain distinctive conditions, which need to be satisfied, in
order for a review to be justified (Jain 2010). is an example of indirect
citation but for the other one it can be Jain (2010) argues that there are
certain conditions that should be considered, before making a decision on
whether to review the case or not.
Citing Page Numbers: If the information comes from a particular page or
section of the publication, or an exact quotation is being used, then page
numbers to be included as follows:
eg. (Jain 2011: 74-89)
Citing a source that has more than two author: The first author followed
by et al in italics is cited.
eg. (Hallam et al 1999). The full bibliographic reference will read as:
Hallam, E., Hockey, J. and Howarth, G. (1999) Beyond the Body. Death and
Social Identity. London, New York: Routledge.
No author: If the author of a document cannot be found then the following
format can be used:
Title of document (in italics) Anon and date of publication.
11 The updated 2010 form of references to be provided according to Harvard form of citation
can be of use to the researcher and can be accessed from the following address
<http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm>
12
This style of citation also includes under a separate head as to how the references or
bibliography is to be made and the essential details as to the same.
Books: The order of the various elements is:
Author: Surname with capital letter, followed by comma.
Initials: In capitals with full-stop after each.
Year: Publication year (not printing or impression) in parentheses,
followed by full stop.
Title: Full title in italics. Only the first word and proper nouns
should be capitalized. Follow with a full stop (unless there is a
subtitle).
Sub-title: Follows a colon at the end of the full title. Only proper
nouns should be capitalized. Followed by a full stop.
Edition: Only include if it is not a first edition. Use the number
followed by ed.
Place of publication: Give town or city, and country if there is
possible confusion with the UK. Follow with a colon
Publisher: Publisher name followed by full stop.
Eg. Jain, M.P. (2010). Indian Constitutional Law. 6th ed. Nagpur: Lexis Nexis
Butterworths, Wadhwa .
If there are more than one author of any book referred in the study tehn the
referencing should be done using this style as follows:
For three or less authors all names are to be cited
Example: Alvesson, M. and Skoldberg, K. (2000). Reflexive Methodology:
New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
For four or more authors cite the first only, followed by et al.
Example: Taylor, P. et al. (1997) Sociology in Focus. 3rd ed. Bath: Causeway
13
Authors surname followed by the forename in full, (not just initials) Book
title, underlined. All words to begin with a capital letter except for words
such as a, of, in, the, from, etc Place of publication Publisher Year of
Publication
Example: Bernheimer, Charles.
Flaubert and Kafka: Studies in
Psychopoetic Structure. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.
Journal articles: The format followed in this regard includes
Authors surname followed by forename in full Title of article, enclosed
in quotation marks. (All words in title in capitals except for small
connecting words) Title of journal, underlined Volume number. Part
number, if available Year of publication, in parentheses Page number(s)
Example: Simpson, Roger. Building Arthurian Castles in Spain.
Arthuriana, 11.4 (2001): 77-87.
Conference Papers: The essential elements of this reference includes:
Contributing Author(s) surname, followed by forename Title of paper, in
quotation marks Title of conference, underlined, including the date and
place if available Editor(s) of Conference Proceedings forename
followed by surname Place of publication Publisher Year of publication
Page numbers
Example: Yuan, Boping. Is Thematic-Verb Raising inevitable in the
Acquisition of a Nonnative Language? Proceedings of the 24th Annual
Boston University Conference on Language Development, I-II. Ed. Catherine
S. Howell, Sarah A. Fish, Thea Keith-Lucas. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla,
2000. 797-807.
Theses and Dissertations, unpublished: The essential elements in this form
of citation format are:
Authors name and forename, if available. Initials if not. Title of thesis,
in quotation marks Descriptive label - Diss. Name of institution to which
submitted, and Year
Example: Neill, M. Women at work in Ulster, 1845-1911. Diss. Queen's
University, Belfast, 1996. Note Published dissertations should be treated in
the same way as books
Websites: The citation details includes:
16
Encyclopaedia
Example
Book, multiple authors Berlin, Gordon and Andrew Sum. 1988. Toward a More Perfect
Union: Basic Skills, Poor Families, and Our Economic Future.
12 Citing Sources in Research Papers: American Sociological Association available at
<http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/citing/asa.html>
17
Website
18
be indented.
Book and journal titles should be either italicized or underlined.
However, titles of articles or chapters should not be italicized or even
Reporter and 35 L.Ed. 147, refers to the volume number and page where the case is
reported in Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition Second Series.
People v. Rogers (1971) 5 Cal.3d, 129, 95 Cal.Rptr. 601, 486 P.2d 129.
This refers to a California Supreme Court case with parallel citations to West's
California Reporter and Pacific Reporter 2nd Series. Note the name of the case is
always either italicized or underlined.
Ruchti v.Goldfein, 113 Cal.App.3d 928, 170 Cal.Rptr. 375 (1980).
The cited reference is to a California Court of Appeal case which is reported in
California Appellate Reports, Third Series. Once again, the parallel citation is to
West's California Reporter. Only state supreme court cases are reported in Pacific
Reporter hence, no parallel cite to that series. This citation follows the protocal of
the Uniform System of Citation style manual by placing the year the case was decided
at the end of the citation. In the California Style Manual the year the case was
decided is placed between the name of the case and the first reporter citation.
ILI Style of Citation: Indian Citation Format15: The Indian Law Institute has
formulated a set pattern of footnoting, which is followed in the journal of Indian Law
Institute, Annual Survey of Indian Law and various other publications of the Institute.
Books:
By a single author: the format for this is as follows:Name of the author, Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific
page or pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edition/year of
publication).
Example: M.P.Jain, Indian Constitutional Law 98 (Kamal Law House,
Calcutta, 5th edn., 1998).
By two authors: the format is more or less similar to the previous one
but with minor modifications:
Name of the authors, Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific
page or pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edition/year of
publication).
Example: M.P.Jain and S.N. Jain, Principles of Administrative Law 38
(Wadhawa, Nagpur, 2001)
15 Available at <www.ili.ac.in.>
20
For more than two authors: in this case the use of et. Al. is there.
Name of the first two authors, et.al., Title of the book p.no. (if
referring to specific page or pages) (Publisher, Place of
publication, edition/year of publication).
Example: Jerry L. Mashaw, Richard A. Merrill, et.al., The American
Public Law System Cases and Materials 50 (West Group, St. Paul,
MN, 1992).
By a single editor: the format is pretty much the same and use of ed.
is there.
Name of the editor (ed.), Title of the book p.no. (if referring to
specific page or pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).
Example: Nilendra Kumar (ed.), Nana Palkhivala: A Tribute
(Universal Publishers, Delhi, 2004).
Note: in case of multiplicity of editors the format that can be adopted
(2004)
Citation of a paper published in a case reporter:
Authors name separated by a comma, followed by the name of the
name of the article within inverted commas and the citation of the
article as mentioned in the journal with the page number.
Example: P.K. Thakur, Permissibility of Probation in Offences
21
The
2004.
Citing a reference form Encyclopedia:
Example: Edwin R.A. Seligman (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Social
at:
22
CHAPTER IV
PLAGIARISM AND RESEARCH
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism means presenting the words, phrases, ideas or work of another, including certain facts
and statistics, as if they were your own. At UNC, plagiarism is defined as the deliberate or
reckless representation of anothers words, thoughts, or ideas as ones own without attribution in
connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise.16 Plagiarism is
defined in dictionaries as the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and
publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation
of them as ones own original work.17 Fundamentally, thus it can be said that plagiarism is the
offering of the words or ideas of another person as ones own.
The modern concept of plagiarism is immoral and originality as an ideal emerged in Europe only
in the 18th century, particularly with the Romantic movement, while in the previous centuries
authors and artists were encouraged to copy the masters as closely as possible and avoid
unnecessary invention. Plagiarism is now not a crime but is disapproved more on the grounds
of moral offence.
Plagiarism is not the same as copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a
particular act, they are different concepts. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of
a copyright holder, when material protected by copyright is used without consent. On the other
16 Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, Section II.B.1 available at <
http://instrument.unc.edu/>
17 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism> at Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, 1995 edn. use
or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own
original work; the Oxford English Dictionary: the wrongful appropriation or purloining and publication as
one's own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas of another; according to West's Encyclopedia of
American Law on Plagiarism it is theft of another person's writings or ideas. Generally, it occurs when
someone steals expressions from another author's composition and makes them appear to be his own work.
Plagiarism is not a legal term; however, it is often used in lawsuits. Courts recognize acts of plagiarism as
violations of copyright law, specifically as the theft of another creator's intellectual property. Because copyright law
allows a variety of creative works to be registered as the property of their owners, lawsuits alleging plagiarism can
be based on the appropriation of any form of writing, music, and visual images.
23
hand, the moral concept of plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the
plagiarizing authors reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship.
To avoid plagiarizing, you must clearly acknowledge the source of any borrowed language or
ideas that you present in your own work. Quotation marks, followed by documentation, should
be used to indicate the exact words of others. A signal phrase identifying a source and/or
parenthetical citation or a superscript number should denote the summarized or paraphrased
ideas of others, depending on the particular style the paper follows.
Types of Plagiarism:
There are various ways in which plagiarism can be said to have been committed and it is always
not that it includes only blind CCP (Cut-Copy-Paste) but it may also involve use of certain
amount of intellect and disguise in an effort to remove the tag of plagiarism. The problem is so
huge and has such vice-like grip that it is very difficult to save a person form its clutches as
normally one and all like to have it easy and when such an easy method of CCP is available then
why to worry! Also, as it is not an offence under any of the laws and neither can anyone be held
liable for breaching someones rights the offenders can escape the moral obligations present.
This has been the reason many institutions have started developing code of conduct and manner
of research to be followed by the researcher in the study and they try to see to it that if any
person is found indulgent in such activities then his work may be declared to be as plagiarized
and thus can be cancelled. To prevent such acts even technological assistance18 can be sought to
check whether the research is authentic or not or it suffers from the disease of plagiarism. In this
regard the classification or the types of plagiarism is important to note and understand.
According to C. Barnbaum19, there may be five types of plagiarism namely:
24
at
6) The Self-Stealer: The writer borrows generously from his or her previous work,
violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic
institutions.
II.
Sources Cited (but still plagiarized!): Even if sources are cited then also in certain cases
as mentioned below there can be chances of plagiarism being associated with the work.
1) The Forgotten Footnote: Here the writer mentions an authors name for a
source, but specific information on the location of the material referenced is not
provided.
locations.
2) The Misinformer: Inaccurate information regarding the sources is provided,
making it impossible to find them.
3) The Too-Perfect Paraphrase: Properly citation of a source is done, but neglects
to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or is close to
the same. Here the writer falsely claims original presentation and interpretation
of the information which is not so in actual.
4) The Resourceful Citer: Properly citation of all sources is done, paraphrasing and
using quotations are also put appropriately, but the study contains almost no
original work! It is one of the most difficult plagiarisms to spot as because it
looks like any other well-researched document!
5) The Perfect Crime: In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in
some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources
without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as
his or her own analysis of the cited material.
Anti-Plagiarism measures: Is there a way out?
Only ascertaining liability is not enough as in the same it is very difficult to rectify ones mistakes
than to merely punish him. Even in law there is scope of reformation and the same is also
necessary to be provided for any such researcher. Also it is always not possible for technology to
26
detect such practices and in such scenario it is not advisable to rely only on technology and thus
it is necessary to also conduct tests upon the material presented before the evaluators by the
researchers in form of presentations as well as viva-voice examinations. Even at times it can be
that if there is scope of proof reading the same can be a useful tool in detecting whether the
matter researched and presented is original or not. The evaluators should also emphasize upon
making original work and stress must be laid upon the content and not the volume of work.
More than often it is seen that due to either lack of interest of any student in any area of research
or due to paucity of time it is not possible for them to undertake a research in strict terms as they
also have to comply with certain other conditions of time and such other conditions prevalent. In
these cases efforts should be taken to allow the student-researchers to evaluate themselves and
thereby chose the areas where they want to work else if not possible then proper materials should
be provided to them as to do research and finally, make an original work of their own. It needs to
be emphasised that the matter of contention for securing good grades in a research should lie
upon the content and how much voluminous the work is as it shall then encourage the
researchers to do original work in whatever little form they can.
27
PART C
CONCLUSION
The use of references and its need cannot be over-emphasised but it is for sure that if the
references are not used properly then in that case it shall lead to various adverse results. An issue
of plagiarism if gets associated with a research then the study becomes a disaster and the whole
research becomes a waste. The best way out in that case is that to cite the proper resources in a
proper format. Else the whole motto of research becomes futile and the matter becomes plagued
with allegations of intentional copying and such attributes. It also to be remembered that if the
research is properly cited, then also the study can come under the perview of plagiarism and if it
contains only borrowed ideas and expressions.
Thus, references and citation gives sanctity and authenticity to ones work. If a matter is properly
cited and relevant sources are provided then the originality of the work is established. The same
helps in gaining of proper knowledge and also acts as a guide for future study, research as well as
further and even more investigation and analysis of the same matter. The need of references and
citation have been also emphasised at the beginning of the study and it can be concluded after
studying the whole matter on references and citation that they act as the eyes and ears of the
study so done and conducted.
Regarding the forms and types of citation and study it can be well seen that there are various
styles available and also various methods which are followed in this regard. This clearly is an
indication to the fact that the matter of research and its authenticity is a cause of concern for one
and all. But the lack of uniformity of the citation and referencing has caused a problem for many
people. The multiplicity of the forms of citation and references has caused even more chaos at
times in the research field. The indulgence of certain universities and also journals in strict
adherence to certain particular styles of referencing causes the researcher to either come terms
with the style or else fall in the pit of improper citation which is also a ground of dismissal of
the study. The variety in the style and method of research though remains the same but the
difference in footnoting, citation and such authentications as are required from time to time in a
research, cause confusion in the minds of the researcher as well as those who are engaged in the
28
study of the subject matter. The numerous citation styles bring variety but due to lack of their
uniformity it is not possible to have a common research method that can be adopted across the
globe for better legal research. Depending upon the universities there are various acclaimed and
proper research referencing styles developed which have their similarities and dissimilarities and
even a single country can be said to have numerous referencing styles. Even in India this is very
widely seen and apart from the Indian Law Institute no other universities have their own method
of references but tend to follow the methods such as MLA style or Bluebook Citation or Harvard
System of Referencing. This again causes lack of uniformity and places and obligation upon the
researcher to make himself conversant with various styles followed widely.
The need of citation is also seen in context of any articles besides researches and these help a
person to grow as a researcher to further develop an intention of doing good research.
Thus, with certain shortcomings as mentioned above it is necessary that one includes the proper
method of referencing and citation while doing a study. Also, certain suggestions as to the
number of citation formats a uniform citation format should be present in a field of study as that
would help in better understanding of the same and proper inclusion of the sources used.
A few guidelines as to this aspect may be as follows:
Keeping the format simple and less complex;
Awareness should be made about this aspect at the grass root level of study i.e. at the time
one starts his under-graduation in his 1st year of study if possible;
Instructors should be well versed with the developments in citation formats across the
globe which is followed;
Emphasizing upon the students the need of references and explaining the methods clearly
so that there is no confusion as to what and how a format is to be used;
Lastly, an effort should be made to come up with a uniform referencing system that can
suit any type of research in a legal field thereby, causing decline in the number of
reference styles to be followed helping also less confusion and chaos;
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
1. Kothari, C.R., Research Methodology, Wishwa Prakashan, (1994 edn.)
2. Myneni, S. R., Legal Research Methodology, Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad,
Haryana, 2009.
3. Tewari, H.N., Legal Research Methodology, Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad,
Haryana, 1997
4. Watt, Robert., Concise Legal Research, Universal Law Publishing Co. Ltd., Delhi,
2001
5. Legal Reasoning, Research and Writing for International Graduate Students, (Anon.),
Aspen Publishers, 2008
E-MATERIALS:
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March 01, 2011, 1:49 p.m.
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o http://www.ehow.com/how_2305212_use-apa-citation-research-writing.html visited on
March 25, 2011, 11:45 p.m.
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p.m.
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on March 28, 2011, 11:18 p.m.
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o http://www.legalbluebook.com/Public/Introduction.aspx
visited on
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visited on March 29, 2011, 12:34 p.m.
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visited on March 30, 2011, 12:59 p.m.
MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS:
o Guide to the Harvard Referencing System (revised and updated, 2010)
o Harvard (Author-date) Referencing Guide, January 2007
o The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (15th edn., 1991)
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